I hated to hear those words.  As a young girl, my father would ask that question to any young man who wanted to take me out on a date.  I would cringe to think my dad could be so ridiculous to ask that question.  I was so embarrassed but that was the way it was if a guy wanted to take me out.  No ifs, ands or buts were good enough for my dad.  You had to answer the first question that would then set off a string of other questions that were even more embarrassing.  They would send me to my room quietly screaming how much I hated my Dad until the interrogation was over. 

Guys knew what to expect.  It was public knowledge that if you wanted to date me, you had to go through the list of questions and endure the look of wrath from Mr. Rogers.  He never let on that he liked any of them so they all feared him.  (Including my husband who eventually won my heart and my dad’s!)  I could never understand why a guy would put himself through that agony but when you are a young man and you want to date a young girl, you’ll do whatever it takes to make the sale!

Today is Mother’s Day and I am not able to celebrate Mother’s Day like so many others do.  My mother left our family when I was six and my dad raised us.  When Mother’s Day rolls around, I think of my dad and next month on Father’s Day, he’ll get a double blessing!  He served two roles and he did a wonderful job and although it was difficult for him – he never left his post.  He wasn’t perfect and he really irritated me over the years, but his heart was right and he wanted only the best for me.

My dad loved politics and I could have cared less about it.  In fact, politics were boring to me and if my dad was that crazy about it, I knew I didn’t want anything to do with it. 

However, as we grow older, we begin to realize how smart our parents were and their wisdom is something they engrain into us – even if we don’t want it!

On this Mother’s Day, I think about how Dad would approach this Mayoral election.  I can see him now with his furrowed brow and a cigarette between his thumb and forefinger with the smoke billowing around his head.  (I hated that he smoked but he finally gave it up in his late 60’s.) 

Dad would start out with the question, “So you want to be the mayor of my city?”  He would listen to the respondent say - “Yes” and then he would start with the more in-depth questions.  His brow would wrinkle and he would ask -- “Tell me why I should let you.”  He would listen to their answers while taking a drag on his cigarette, flipping the ashes in the tray, and staring deeply into the eyes of the candidate.  He would then take his cigarette and begin the art of crushing the flame out by digging the cigarette into the ashtray and blowing the remaining smoke from his lungs into circles around the head of the candidate.  He would pause a minute, make the candidate squirm and then he would begin asking the deeper questions to get to the soul of the person.

In honor of my Dad on Mother’s Day, I thought it would be helpful to ask Alvin Brown those deeper questions to get to the soul of the man who wants to be our Mayor.  Alvin would not meet with us and if Dad were here he would say – “Why not, Alvin?”  We don’t know why and Alvin can answer that for himself.  Until he does, all we have are the deeper soul burning questions so we’ll start there:

Question #1:  Harvard Kennedy Business School:  Jacksonville University sent out a press release regarding you joining JU as Executive-in-Residence with JU’s Davis College of Business.   (See press release here:  http://www.ju.edu/departments/marketing/news/3364.aspx).  It stated you had completed post graduate work at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  Upon checking that statement, Harvard referred us to this website to obtain the information:  www.studentclearinghouse.org.  This website could not verify any record of you attending school there.  Why?

Question #2:  Willie Gary Classic Foundation:  The press release also stated that you were the CEO of the Willie Gary Classic Foundation.  The Willie Gary Classic Foundation was given sponsorship money by the City of Jacksonville to the tune of more than $400,000.  Can you explain how the money was spent; how much money you made personally from this foundation; why the City of Jacksonville decided to stop funding it; did the Foundation make money from this venture; what happened to the Willie Gary Classic Foundation; and why is it not in business anymore?  We spent a lot of money on this sponsorship so the answers to these questions are very important.

Question #3:  Brown Empowerment LLC: We reviewed your Form 6 posted with the Duval County Supervisor of Elections.  You mention JU as your top source of income at $24,000 per year.  You also mention that you own a company, Brown Empowerment LLC, but you do not mention how much money you personally take from this company.  A spokesman in the Florida Department of State’s office said Monday, May 2 that The Brown Empowerment LLC has missed the May 1 deadline for filing its annual report. According to the Department of State, you are listed as chairman and resident agent of The Brown Empowerment LLC.  Your wife, Santhea L. Hicks, is registered as managing director.  You have not publicized this company nor has the company been disclosed in news articles with reporters nor when JU announced your position with them.  Why do you not talk about the company you own, Brown Empowerment LLC?  You do not mention it in any of your commercials either.  Why?  What does your company, Brown Empowerment LLC, do and why do you choose not to mention it in press releases or commercials?

Question #4:  You parlay your former position in Washington for the White House Community Empowerment Board as evidence of your qualifications to serve as mayor. This board brokers federal funding deals with communities.  This was created by the Clinton White House.  The board offers “special incentives for government contract awards to businesses in distressed communities” through Clinton’s Empowerment Contracting program. Federal Empowerment Zones are laden with tax incentives and loan deals.  Barack Obama has preserved the Clinton-Gore era programs.  Tell us more about that job.  What happened to this once-promising program?  Why did you leave it?  Are you still in favor of these types of programs?  If so, why?    

Question #5:  According to Federal Elections Commission website http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml, you gave money to 13 different Democratic political candidates and stated on the FEC form that you were an attorney.  We checked with the Florida Bar website (http://www.floridabar.org/) and they do not have Alvin Brown at your address registered as an attorney on their website.   Are you an attorney and if not, why do these forms reflect that you are?

Question #6:  Four years ago, in promotion of this event, you noted you were a Partner with Roger Staubach Company:  http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/NBMQ0307/index.php?startid=66 

We contacted Roger Staubach Company and they merged with Jones Lang LaSalle.  They did not have any record of you being a partner with Roger Staubach Company.  Can you explain what happened and why they do not have their information correct?  What did you do for Roger Staubach Company; how long were you with them; and why did you leave?  Can you also tell us why you do not talk about this experience with this excellent company?

Question #7:  In an article in the Times Union dated, Saturday, May 7, 2011, it stated, “Brown portrays himself as a conservative not linked to the national Democratic Party.”   Early in your campaign, you received many contributions from individuals in Washington, DC and its suburbs.  A campaign fundraiser was held in Washington in 2010, according to state election records.  Why did the Democratic Party give your campaign more than $300,000?  Also, why did out of town donations of more than $200,000 pour into your campaign for a local mayoral race?  Those numbers can be found on the Supervisor of Elections campaign site at:  http://duvalelections.com/

Question #8:  Is it true that you were the Executive Director of the “Katrina Fund Interfaith Advisory Committee” after Hurricane Katrina?  Is it also true that seven of the nine members of the committee resigned including Bishop T. D. Jakes?  Is it true that the committee members said checks were cut to churches without first performing an audit to make sure the church “exists?”  Can you tell us if this article noted here is true and what say you about how the money was spent:  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_4_110/ai_n16609007/ 

Question #9:  In the TU article dated Saturday, May 7, 2011, it stated:  “Brown sought an apology Friday for the letter that Brown said unfairly calls him a liberal and links him to President Barack Obama.”  You were recently quoted in an article in BlackAmericaWeb.com, “Brown said if he becomes mayor, bringing jobs to Jacksonville will be good for residents, good for the city and good for Obama since job creation is also Obama's top priority.”  You can read the entire article here:  http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/moving_america_news....  Why then would you say you were owed an apology because Mike Hogan linked you to President Obama?

Question #10:  In another recent article published by The Jacksonville Ledger on April 11, 2011, it stated:  Vaulted into a May Jacksonville Mayoral general-election, that no one seriously anticipated, may have thrown Alvin Brown‘s political ambitions for a loop.  Since he announced his bid for Jacksonville’s top job, it had long been rumored by local politicos that his run was a ruse to raise local name recognition for a future Congressional bid. In 1994 Alvin Brown unsuccessfully ran against Congresswoman – and current “I’m with Alvin” supporter – Corrine Brown.  Whether he makes another bid for her seat remains to be seen, but his past political posturing points to Alvin being more comfortable on Capitol Hill than in Hemming Plaza.  Read the entire article here:  http://jaxledger.com/2011/04/11/alvin-brown-for-mayor-or-congress-t...  Our question for you Mr. Brown is this:  Would you be more comfortable on Capitol Hill than in Hemming Plaza?  If you would be, why chance being our Mayor when it is so important to have someone in the seat who really desires to be there?

Question #11:  In an article by Folio magazine this week (http://www.folioweekly.com/documents/folio0503wkl004.pdf), it appeared to be written verbatim from a Press Release than an actual fact-based story.  Do you agree with that statement?  We have copied the Press Release that was sent to the local media by your campaign consultant.  We believe if you lay it side by with the article from Folio you will see most of it is almost word for word.  See the article noted above and see the email from your political consultant below.

Press releases are understandable and used to “help” a reporter dig up the facts.  They are never to be used as a “story” because the reporter is expected to look for the whole truth and nothing but the truth and of course, they should never be biased in their reporting.  Also note that this type of journalism does not meet the code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists.  Check them out here at:  http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp   Our questions to you:  Do you believe this is excellent journalism or a horrible smear campaign against a good man, Mike Hogan?  Do you think this is the type of politics that most Americans abhor?  Do you believe Mr. Daigle served you well?  Do you believe the First Coast Tea Party has a right to endorse a candidate who was willing to meet with us, went through the entire FCTP process and made himself available to us?  Can you say you were not given the same opportunities as Mr. Hogan?  Can you tell us why you refused to meet with us or participate in our process?  Can you tell us why Mr. Daigle would think the First Coast Tea Party is important enough to use to send a Press Release but we are not important enough to meet with?

Question #12:  At a recent unplanned encounter, you stated that you would be happy to meet with the First Coast Tea Party now.  Why now? Why wouldn’t you meet with us before the primary when all the other candidates did so – except Audrey Moran? 

Dad would love these questions and he would especially love to hear the answers.  Because Dad had to be both Mom and Dad, he understood the role of a Mom more than most men.  He understood that a Mom had a responsibility to ensure the nest was safe.  Dad took that role on well and he did a great job of making sure no one messed with his family.

As citizens of Duval County, we need to learn from Dad.  We need to make sure “no one messes with our nest” in Jacksonville and send the following message to:

• Outsiders:  We do not appreciate or like anyone from outside Jacksonville coming to our town; sending money to candidates; funding people on the streets to hold signs; creating robo-calls from former Presidents; telling us what to do; or trying to get their operative in office.
• Special Interests:  We do not appreciate special interest groups trying to manipulate the voters by crossing over party lines.  They might appear to have the best interest of Jacksonville at heart and reality is --- they have their own personal agendas in mind. 
• Journalists:  We do not appreciate journalists taking press releases and not doing their homework before publishing articles or writing articles filled with personal biases.
• Candidates:  We do not appreciate candidates who are not transparent, have too many unanswered questions and are not willing to meet with all the people, not just “their” people.

Happy Mother’s Day, Dad!  Although I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes when you were putting my boyfriends through the ringer – the message got through: 

If they are not willing to answer the questions,

they do not deserve my attention or my vote!

You were a good mom, dad!