Mayor John Delaney, leader of the Better Jacksonville Plan campaign

Situation: Jacksonville voters are asked to pass a ½ cent sales tax increase to help finance $2.2 billion worth of improvements that would vault the city to the forefront of American cities. The project includes transportation projects, a new courthouse, main library, arena, baseball park, sewer lines, environmental clean up, and "smart growth" land preservation purchases. A tax increase had not been approved in 12 years.

Response: Our spring research dictated what emphasis to put on the individual components of the plan, that the referendum should be during the September primary, how to best defuse the opposition and how to tailor the Mayor’s rhetoric for his many audiences. Our summer-long survey efforts drove the media and precise TV messages that took the Plan from an even-chance proposition to a solid victory.