>> The breaking news alert. ♪
We continue to honor the man who took charge in built-up Jacksonville tonight, the loss
of their Jake Scott Bowles.
>> It’s being felt by
♪
>> so many. Now cities.
>> This coupled with a
colorful and sometimes
controversial mayor yes, even
after his years of public
service godbold continue to
work to better our city.
He made an appearance just last
month to speak against the
potential sale of G E a
news 4 Jax investigative
reporter lynnsey Gardner is
here with a look at got both
continued activism so
much path passion. He had
Lindsay just and he certainly
did their joy godbold.
>> Was an institution in this
city. This is the place he was
born and raised and where you
made it his life’s work to
serve serving until the very
end.
>> A child of the Depression,
Jake, godbold so boiled peanuts
on the streets for money
rising from living in
Jacksonville public housing
to serving at the very top of
City Hall. His life celebrated
in his memoir published last
year and titled Jake,
the last Southern populous
mayor who transformed
Jacksonville Florida from a
sleepy city with an inferiority
complex into a dynamic
metropolis with a can do
attitude. On the cover a
snapshot of this moment godbold
pictured alongside the channel
4 helicopter. During the height
of cold fever years before
Jacksonville got
the Jags all thanks to the
mayor who dare to dream.
>> We needed
a centerpiece, not a corner
peace. A centerpiece that we
can build from.
>> His vision brought the
Jacksonville landing the
Riverwalk and the prime Osborn
Convention Center
during what was later dubbed
the
billion-dollar decade. A time
when godbold use creative bond
financing to bring 8 years of
capital construction projects
that all helped to revitalize
the failing
downtown core. He also
modernize the fire Department
and started the Jacksonville
jazz festival and eventually of
course brought the Jags home.
A win that even brought him to
tears, but he never forgot his
roots using the power of the
mayoral office to help secure
money for public housing
money that the federal
government had one point taken
away. He also never stopped
fighting. He sat down with our
Tom wills in December to
advocate against tearing down
the Jacksonville landing with
no plan for its future.
>> I think we all need to be
involved.
>> And that decision.
♪
Because
♪ Because this land belongs to the
public. Then the Bros the
public now.
>> And weeks before that Jim
Piggott was with godbold
in November as he used a Walker
to go back in to City Hall and
push back against mayor curry
and the plan to sell in
privatized VA e a
after publishing an ad that
called J e A’s current
leadership, quote arrogant
ignorant and corrupt.
>> We can stop it
♪
>> here today. The council can
stop it. Then we can get all
were running. The Che
a proper.
>> And that was a battle that
he knew that even on his
deathbed he had helped to win.
A victory not for Jake godbold
but for the city and the people
he loved so very much.
City councilman Matt Carlucci a close personal friend of Mayor godbold I shared with me his
copy of the book and he showed
me on the front that Jake had
in fact signed it.
>> That had not yet had a
chance to write the person
note. He had
promised him. Now after public
office godbold was involved but
local charities, including the
Hubbard House
which just released a statement
this afternoon that region
party after his sister-in-law
was killed by her abuser
Jake became a champion of
Hubbard House seeking to stop
domestic violence homicides
and violence at the hands of
those
loved ones. Jake will always be
remembered as someone who say