A.G. Gancarski
There has been just a scintilla of controversy about the board moves made by Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, which have included requesting resignations from every member of the JEA Board and appointing replacements for Planning Commission Chair Lisa King and member Joey McKinnon… a gambit which occasioned a fairly epic public comment outcry in Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The moves have been called “unprecedented” by critics, foremost among them former mayor Tommy Hazouri.
However, at least one former mayor is throwing cold water on that heated narrative.
In an exclusive interview with FloridaPolitics.com on Wednesday afternoon, John Peyton argued, as most currently in City Hall are doing, that the right to reshape independent boards and commissions is the prerogative of the executive branch.
“Elections are about change,” Peyton said.
“Mayor Curry is entitled to surround himself with people,” said the former two-term Republican mayor, “committed to his agenda,” which Peyton described as “business-friendly” and requiring a “highly functional government.”
Curry’s revamping of boards, Peyton continued, are not rooted in partisan considerations, but in what he called “high-performing government.”
The support of former mayors Peyton and John Delaney was essential in the stretch run of the mayoral campaign between Curry and Alvin Brown.
In May, Peyton galvanized a crowd at the Curry campaign office in Avondale, saying that Brown has been “one of the greatest disappointments” he’s seen in his career.
“Four more years would set the city back for decades,” Peyton added, contending that Brown demonstrated the “highest level of incompetence” by playing a photo-op driven “political game.”
“The circus has been in town long enough,” Peyton said at the time.
