With all 46 precincts reporting, the $120 million sales tax increase was rejected by voters, 55.37% to 44.63%.

Mayor John Peyton said he was encouraged by the successes in Miami-Dade but questioned whether now is the right time for Jacksonville.

"In this environment anyone would be hard-pressed to suggest a revenue enhancement," he said.

Adam Guillette, the Florida director for Americans for Prosperity, a national nonpartisan group that advocates for limited government interference in economics, countered that a sales-tax increase would deter tourism and hurt residents who are already struggling.

"This is a tough economy. No business can afford this right now," Americans for Prosperity state director Adam Guillette said at a debate moderated by WOKV's Jared Halpern Thursday night.

Here's my two cents on the 1 cent sales tax: Vote "No" this Election Day and keep penny-pinching bureaucrats out of your pockets.