1. A Stronger Jacksonville Economy
During the past four years, Jacksonville has gained nearly 36,000 new jobs for every skill set and the
unemployment rate has been cut in half. Mayor Brown worked with job-creators, City Council, the Florida
Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott to streamline business growth and make Jacksonville more competitive. The
mayor also expanded efforts for summer jobs for Jacksonville youth, to both build vital work experience and
keep kids off the street in the summer months.
Over the next four years, Mayor Brown is prioritizing Jacksonville’s economic momentum to ensure everyone
who wants a job can get a good job no matter where they live in town. Mayor Brown is the only candidate with
a track record of working with Republicans, Democrats and independents to benefit the Jacksonville economy.
 Cutting the red tape: Mayor Brown worked with Gov. Rick Scott and major stakeholders to create the
Office of Economic Development to greatly speed up the timeline for job-creators looking to expand or
launch their business in Jacksonville.
 Growing international trade: Mayor Brown led efforts to secure Congressional authorization to
deepen the shipping channel and fix navigation issues at Mile Point. The mayor also appointed a port
task force and secured Jacksonville a role in the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project of the Brookings
Institution and JP Morgan Chase aimed at expanding global trade at JAXPORT.
 Supporting working families: Mayor Brown is committed to an increase of the minimum wage to
$10.10 an hour, something that would benefit more than 84,000 Jacksonville workers who currently
earn under $15,000 a year. The mayor also supports equal pay for equal work, and has appointed
more women to top leadership roles in city government than the city has seen in at least a decade.
 Rejuvenating the manufacturing base: Mayor Brown is working with Jacksonville City Council to create
advanced manufacturing industry policy in order to grow more good-paying jobs, such as the 50 new
aircraft assembly jobs recently created with Embraer at Jacksonville International Airport. Mayor Brown is
committed to enhancing Jacksonville’s strength as a city of production.
 Economic opportunity for our nation’s heroes: Mayor Brown launched Jobs for Veterans, an award-
winning partnership of 250 companies to hire men and women with military experience. Working with
community partners, the mayor also is committed to eradicating homelessness among vets.
 Opportunity for all: Under Mayor Brown, Jacksonville became the top-ranked city in America for
economic opportunity for Hispanics. The mayor has increased diversity in city government and
broadened outreach citywide. Moving forward, the city will be working with Operation HOPE for
neighborhood-based skills training, and the Community Wealth Building Initiative to focus on
economic advancement in Northwest Jacksonville.
 Supporting a new generation of workers: Mayor Brown has expanded mentoring in schools and
launched the Learn2Earn college immersion program to inspire more young people to go on to earn
college degrees. He’s working with the private sector to expand summer employment opportunities
that build job skills and keep kids off the streets.