City Council District 14 candidate: Sunny Gettinger

Name: Sunny Gettinger

Family: Trey Csar (husband), Children: Cort (7), Max (4)

Occupation: Communications Manager, Google

Political/Government experience: This is my first campaign for public office, but I have been very involved locally with organizations like Riverside Avondale Preservation, including 6 years on the board and as chair, and the Early Learning Coalition of Duval a quasi-governmental organization which works closely with other government agencies. Additionally in my role at Google Fiber, I served as the liaison between the company and both the City of Jacksonville, and JEA and the city of Tampa, and looked closely at our infrastructure and permitting process as a part of that job.

Years lived in Jacksonville: 10

Campaign website: votesunny.com

Why did you decide to run for office: Between my involvement in my community and my work with Google Fiber, I saw where we were on infrastructure and systems investment. After Hurricane Irma, I expected to see quick action, but it took almost a year and a half to even get a group to talk about sea level rise in Jacksonville. We need action now - we need to look at what we need for the next 40 years, not the next four. I'm running to build a brighter, and stronger, Jacksonville from the ground up.

What is the biggest problem facing Jacksonville as a city overall, and how specifically would seek to address that: First, we need to invest in our neighborhoods now to ensure we can meet future challenges and take advantage of long-term opportunities. The city has a responsibility to invest in the infrastructure of our neighborhoods left behind after consolidation, such as addressing flood resiliency, street and park maintenance, removing septic tanks and undergrounding utilities, including fiber. Improving our infrastructure attracts businesses and new jobs to Jacksonville while increasing our property values. This will encourage the necessary private investment to attract higher wage paying employers, retailers, supermarkets, banks, and other amenities that improve quality of life and reduce crime.

What makes your constituents unique, and how would that influence your time in office: District 14 is made up of unique neighborhoods, each with their own needs, but there is one commonality - every one of them needs an advocate who is accessible, transparent, and accountable. I will make sure that my constituents have many ways to understand what's happening downtown and in their neighborhoods and how they can get involved.

From newsletters and emails and office hours, I plan to have lots of ways for my constituents to find me and tell me what’s important to them.

What would be your main budget priority for the upcoming fiscal year: Resilience & Infrastructure Improvements

How do you define what you hope Jacksonville will be ten years from now: In 10 years, Jacksonville will be the type of city to attract the east coast headquarters of the next Amazon. We'll have be fulfilling a strategic infrastructure plan and our federal funding requests will be prioritized and organized, thus increasing our access to those funds. We'll have invested in our cultural institutions and museums and our downtown will be thriving, along with increased investment in each of our neighborhoods. We'll be setting the tone not just for Florida, but for the southeast, on being inclusive, innovative, and engaged across our community

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EDITOR’S NOTE: WOKV asked all candidates in a race to answer the same questions, and the answers here are their unedited responses. WOKV has not independently verified information in these answers, nor is WOKV endorsing any candidates.