Rick Scott not ready to commit to Jacksonville City Council picks
Image via A.G. Gancarski

Rick Scott smile

Suspended Jacksonville City Councilors Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown are going to have their legal fates decided this summer in a federal court relative to an alleged scheme to defraud.

Meanwhile, the fate of their Council seats will be determined by Gov. Rick Scott.

Since the two are not resigning, both Democrats are leaving it to a Republican to pick their (at least temporary) replacements.

Scott, in Jacksonville to highlight endorsements from sheriffs from Northeast Florida, addressed the issue with local press Friday.

“We started the process. Our expectation is that everybody who’s elected or appointed does their job. We shouldn’t have issues like this, but we do,” Scott said, in response to a question from First Coast News reporter Janny Rodriguez.

“If anybody is interested, they should call my office. We’re going to try to get the appointment done as quickly as we can.”

Worth noting: Jacksonville City Council President Aaron Bowman wants the pick made by the end of the month so appointees can get acclimated.

When asked by this reporter if he wanted Democrats or Republicans in the spots, Scott said he wanted “the best person.”

“We’ve got to get people who represent those communities. That’s the most important thing to me,” Scott said.

On June 1, Scott suspended the two and is now mulling a long list of potential temporary replacements for the duo.

The list (as it stands) includes: Joseph WillisDarrin WilliamsDwight BrisbaneTerrance BrisbaneBrenda Priestly JacksonJu’coby PittmanTameka HollyCelestine Mills, Terry Fields, Angela NixonChristopher PendletonJean TranquilleRandolph HallCharles Barr, James GreinerKeshan Chambliss, Rahman JohnsonClarence JamesDwight BrisbaneNiki BrunsonRalph ChaversCornelius CoxTheresa GrahamKing HolzendorfKevin Monroe, Latangie WilliamsChandra Griffin, Charles Barr, Ralph Chavers, Pat Lockett-FelderJames BreakerMincy PollockLeslie HarrisJames GreinerBarney Spann, and Nancy Walker.

Both suspended Browns maintain their innocence.

Jacksonville’s city elections are in 2019, with a “first election” in March and a general election in May.

Reggie Brown, a Florida Senate candidate, is slated to be termed-out next year. Katrina Brown, a first-termer, is an active candidate for Jacksonville City Council at this writing.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


One comment

  • Frankie M.

    June 16, 2018 at 12:42 am

    Why didn’t Scott suspend Corrine when she was indicted? Or Matt Shirk when a grand jury recommended he step down? My guess is Scott will take his time vetting curry’s hand picked successors. Probably in time to coincide with bowmans presidency.

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