countless number of people who for the
past decades worked or did business with
the city in that old building today's
demolition brings back memories some
good some happy some bad some painful
and really no one has more memories in
that building than former mayor and
former city councilman Jake God volt
they really spanned the 60s the 70s and
also the 80s Tom wills sat down with him
to take a look back of all the public
servants in Jacksonville you probably
served in that building as the council
member before consolidation council
member after consolidation and then your
two terms as mayor you probably served
in that building longer than any other
public figure did you ever think about
that elected official yeah III was
probably the one to serve the most time
there so there was a lot of time then
there was a two years on the old council
then when when I did decide to run and
run at large I got elected so I was
going to say it we had two councils
going at one time that was very very
challenging we would meet on the regular
basis and get the everyday business of
the council done and then we'd have to
meet with the new council to plan taking
over oh the new government when
consolidation came in what's your
happiest memory of your time in that
building a lot of happy memories a lot
of happy memories huh most of my happy
memories was really you know in two
phases here you got the council period
of time and and and then you had the
mayor's period of time eight and a half
years there as mayor as a councilman god
bold remembers witnessing political
courage in the 70s when then City
Attorney Harry Shorstein went against
the administration of Mayor hand
Stanzler and urged the council to vote
down a deal to buy floating offshore
nuclear power plants there was no doubt
about it he changed that vote which a
few years a year later offshore powers
what broke City would have been right
down the line with it but it was
to lobby they've been successful and was
prepared to vote for that thing that
night had Harry and I come down I
thought that was courageous old Harry's
part God bolts to terms as mayor brought
momentous progress to the city the
arrival of the Mayo Clinic converting
the old train station into a convention
center developing the landing and the
south bank Riverwalk but one memory may
stand out above all the others how about
cold fever code fever almost
accidentally happened you know we we and
it was a very very it turned out to be
very very important to Jacksonville and
very excited at the time we were making
it happen and I had mixed emotions about
whether we ought to do that neither God
bold nor anyone else foresaw that more
than 50,000 people would turn out in the
old Gator Bowl to tell Baltimore's NFL
owner Robert Irsay we want the Colts
thus began Jacksonville's long march
toward landing the jaguars
back then that night in August 1979 got
national attention remember Tom that I
went out I went to the White House about
three or four days after this happened
and uh they came in and I was gonna talk
to him about the People Mover project
get everything and they said no no
before we talk to you about anything we
want to know how in the hell you got
fifty thousand over 50,000 people
another twenty thousand people outside
to come down and say we coped you know
they were so impressed with this thing
but I think it was very important night
it kind of put Jacksonville on the map
how about your most painful memory in
that building well the post painful
memory is when we went through the
federal attorney and looking into the
administration that was a hard times
it hurt me very personal I always felt
like the United States government versus
take God law a little guy at Brookwood
project I couldn't understand it turned
out okay and I still believe in a system
I believe in the justice system
I believe in the FBI I believe it is
said in the federal Attorney's Office
but it was a bad time