Basketball Hall of Fame center and Jacksonville University graduate Artis Gilmore announced he will run for Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 inside the Duval County Supervisor of Elections. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on October 13, 2026 at 2:37 pm
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A legend of March hopes to make another run.
This time it’s for a position on the Jacksonville City Council.
Artis Gilmore filed paperwork Tuesday at the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office to run for the Jacksonville City Council at-large Group 3 seat. The Basketball Hall of Famer will challenge incumbent Republican, and current Council President, Nick Howland in the March 9, 2027, election.
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Currently, Gilmore and Howland are the only two candidates for the countywide seat. The 77-year-old Gilmore filed to run as a Democrat.
Howland, 53, has served on the 19-member council since 2022. The Navy veteran and CEO of veteran-suicide prevention nonprofit The Fire Watch defeated Democrat Tracye Polson in a special election to replace the late council member Tommy Hazouri.
Howland’s win flipped the at-large Group 3 seat from Democrat to Republican. Howland was reelected for a full term in 2023, and his council peers selected him for the one-year stint as council president that started July 1.
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Gilmore, the 7-foot-2-inch basketball legend, strode into the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office joined by his wife of 54 years, Enola Gay Gilmore.
“I’ve always wanted to continue to give something back and put it back in the community,” Gilmore said. “And, this is my way of getting off the bench again, getting into the game and being able to contribute to this community.”
Gilmore says his candidacy will focus on serving people of all ages, increasing affordable housing stock and tackling blight in neighborhoods.
The Chipley native attended segregated schools in Northwest Florida and in Alabama until he attended college. Gilmore starred at then-junior college Gardner-Webb before transferring to Jacksonville University in 1969.
Gilmore led the Dolphins to the 1970 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament final. After being drafted in both the American Basketball Association and the NBA, Gilmore was named the 1972 ABA Most Valuable Player, the highlight of his 17-year career in professional basketball.
This is his first foray into politics.
Tuesday, Gilmore said Jacksonville University propelled him to success. That foundation is why Artis and Enola Gilmore have made the River City home for multiple decades.
“I am literally head and shoulders above the competition,” Gilmore quipped.
2027 election preview
Currently, Republicans hold a 13-seat majority on the city council. Democrats showed some signs of enthusiasm in countrywide races heading into next year’s city election cycle with Moné Holder’s special election win in August in the countywide at-large Group 1 seat.
Democratic incumbent Mayor Donna Deegan is also up for reelection in March, running in a field of 13 candidates, including Republican state Rep. Wyman Duggan.
And council member Jimmy Peluso, who currently represents District 7, is also opting to run for a countywide seat to replace term-limited Republican Matt Carlucci in at-large Group 4.
In addition to Carlucci, at-large Group 2 Republican Ron Salem is also term-limited.
