NBA Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore filed Tuesday, Oct. 13, to run for the Jacksonville City Council seat held by Council President Nick Howland. The at-large seat covers all of Duval County, including Mandarin.

Gilmore, 77, entered the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office accompanied by his wife of 54 years, Enola Gay Gilmore, to file paperwork for the At-Large Group 3 seat, Jacksonville Today reported. He registered as a Democrat. It is his first run for elected office.

As of Oct. 13, Gilmore and Howland are the only two candidates. The first election is scheduled for March 9, 2027.

"I am literally head and shoulders above the competition," Gilmore said at the filing, a nod to his 7-foot-2 frame.

Gilmore said his priorities include increasing affordable housing, tackling neighborhood blight and improving conditions for schoolchildren, including children with special needs. His formal campaign platform had not launched as of Oct. 13, according to First Coast News.

A Jacksonville basketball legend

Gilmore starred at Jacksonville University, leading the Dolphins to the 1970 NCAA championship game against UCLA. He went on to play 18 professional seasons in the ABA, NBA and in Europe, suiting up for the Kentucky Colonels, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics, among other teams.

He earned 11 All-Star selections, won the 1972 ABA Most Valuable Player award and led the Colonels to the 1975 ABA title, earning Finals MVP honors. He still holds the NBA career record for field-goal percentage at .599, according to the Florida Times-Union. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Before entering the race, Gilmore served Jacksonville City Hall as former Mayor Alvin Brown's ambassador for sports, entertainment and physical fitness.

The incumbent

Howland, 53, is a Navy veteran and CEO of The Fire Watch, a veteran-suicide prevention nonprofit. He won the At-Large Group 3 seat in a 2022 special election, defeating Democrat Tracye Polson to replace the late council member Tommy Hazouri.

That victory flipped the seat from Democrat to Republican. Howland won a full term in 2023, and his council peers selected him as council president starting July 1, 2026.

In a statement to First Coast News after Gilmore's filing, Howland said he welcomed the challenge and pointed to his record on infrastructure, public safety and jobs.

On the same day Gilmore filed, the council voted 15-0 on an emergency measure Howland introduced. The plan allows the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) to use up to $30 million in unspent local gas-tax funds to pay down transportation debt, according to News4Jax. A select committee investigating JTA's finances is due to deliver its final report Dec. 4.

2027 election landscape

Republicans hold a 13-seat majority on the 19-member council. All council seats are up in the 2027 cycle. At-Large Group 2 Republican Ron Salem and At-Large Group 4 Republican Matt Carlucci are both term-limited and will not seek reelection, opening additional countywide contests.

The March 9 first election will also include the mayoral race, with Democratic incumbent Donna Deegan up for reelection.