Special Unscheduled Conference with Mayor Peyton

Without warning, Mayor John Peyton dropped in on the MetroJacksonville.com Board meeting to discuss a number of issues, foremost of which was the embattled nomination of Brad Thoburn to Planning Director for the City of Jacksonville. Accompanied by Policy Chief, Adam Hollingsworth and a security detail, the Mayor was seated at the table and immediately plunged into discussions over the direction of the city's planning and the reasons behind his controversial nomination, bringing to light many details which were hitherto unknown to the general public to further clarify his thinking behind the choice.

The Mayor's impromptu and very congenial visit followed an  extensive interview with his candidate the night before in a special session  with MetroJacksonville, and joined an in progress meeting regarding the lighting  of Laura Street Project with George Moore, the project manager for Cameron  Kuhn.  Dinner and drinks were served and the conversation was direct, succinct  and in a word: engaged.

The full story of the surprise (and  surprisingly candid) conference with Mayor Peyton will appear later on this  week, along with the singular and revealing video interview with Brad  Thoburn.One thing is for certain, whatever else might be said of this  mayor, he's fearless and straightforward.

Stay tuned for the rest of the  story.