A.G. Gancarski
The Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday backed a committee vote and stopped a resolution drafted last week that would expressly discourage interim JEA CEO Aaron Zahn from applying for the permanent position.
The vote was 4-10 against the resolution, with sponsor Garrett Dennis, Council President Anna Brosche, and Councilmembers Joyce Morgan and Reggie Gaffney the sole no votes.
The bill went down 1-6 last week in a vote of the Rules Committee, a harbinger of this predictable fate.
But the show went on.
On Tuesday, Dennis contrasted Zahn with the “excellence” personified by COO Melissa Dykes, by way of selling his bill.
Councilman Al Ferraro said “everybody should have the right to run,” offering opposition to Dennis’ position.
Both men were rehearsing positions expressed in committee.
Zahn expressed interest in the permanent JEA CEO role in a previous interview with Florida Politics.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, Council President Anna Brosche, a Republican, wondered if JEA had acted “independently” when the board set up the joint meeting Feb. 14 between the City Council and the JEA Board, a meeting in which Brosche has charged the Mayor’s Office with attempting to push through an emergency bill exploring a sale of the utility.
Brosche vowed to ask that question again next Tuesday at the full Council meeting.
That question wasn’t asked in floor debate, however.
7 comments
Seber Newsome III
May 2, 2018 at 6:51 pm
Mr. Dennis has problems. I think he has the Napoleon Complex. He hates Mayor Curry and tries to stab at him every chance he gets. I think Mr. Dennis is a racist. There you go, I said it.
Frankie
May 2, 2018 at 11:11 pm
Every black person that stands up to the good ol boys club is racist. Got it. Board chooses JEA CEO. Mayor chooses the board. Hence Mayor chooses JEA CEO. It’s not hard to understand. Hughes criticizing Dennis for interfering is the ultimate example of the pot calling the kettle black. Black. There I said it.
John
May 3, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Mr Curry invites the stabbings with his lack of ethics and cronyism
David
May 3, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Your a sorry piece of shit seber newsome III….. I think Mr Dennis is doing his best to hold off the cronyism happening in our city and all you can say is he’s racist with a agenda against the mayor. With all due respect. Fuck you…. and I’m white. The mayor has chosen the side of his donor friends instead of putting the city first! You pos
seber newsome III
May 3, 2018 at 7:58 pm
Your such a big man using profanity, wooooooooooo
Stv
June 12, 2018 at 7:49 pm
It’s you’re… you POS
Tucker
June 5, 2018 at 9:25 pm
If the JEA board creates a scorecard that is fair, it would stipulate a CEO candidate must have so many years experience running a utility company, thus eliminating Zahn.
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