Jake Godbold Biography
Jake Godbold (born March 14, 1934) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1978–1987.
Jake Godbold Age
Godbold was born on March 14, 1934, in Jacksonville, Florida. He is 84 years old as of 2019.
Jake Godbold Career
Godbold was elected to the Jacksonville city council in 1967 and served until 1979; he was city council president from 1971 to 1978. When mayor Hans Tanzler announced he would be resigning his position to run for governor of Florida in 1978, Godbold was appointed to take his place for the last six months of the term.
He was elected in 1979 and re-elected in 1983. During his time as mayor Godbold initiated a number of “brick and mortar” projects to revitalize the city’s failing downtown. He initiated the efforts to secure an NFL team, started the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, initiated the construction of the Jacksonville Landing and the Southbank Riverwalk, and secured funds for public housing that had been taken away by the federal government. His “creative” use of bond financing meant eight years of capital construction projects by the city.
He ran for mayor again in 1995 and ultimately lost to John Delaney, the city’s first Republican mayor since Reconstruction. He has since become involved with local charities, including Hubbard House.
In 2007 the city commissioned a new fireboat, its most recent since 1972, named after Godbold. At the commissioning Fire Chief Larry Peterson asserted that Godbold had “brought this fire department to one of the top fire departments in the nation”.
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As the Jacksonville Landing is set to be destroyed and the city officially starts soliciting bids to tear it down, the iconic former mayor responsible for the decades-old landmark has a plea to the city’s present leader: let the public help decide its future.
Following a decline in popularity and success, repeated discussions about how to revitalize the riverfront mall, and legal battles, the city of Jacksonville bought out the lease of developer Toney Sleiman’s company for $15 million in order to take control of its future.
City Council’s approval of the deal included an additional $1.5 million to buy out the long-term leases from businesses operating at the Landing and then another $1.5 million to demolish it.
Recently, former Mayor Jake Godbold — who was the mayor of Jacksonville 32 years ago and is credited with the creation of the Landing — joined News4Jax anchor Tom Wills at the downtown landmark to talk about what the Landing was expected to become when it was built and what the future really holds.
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