Jacksonville Bold for 4.16.25: Jet bet

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U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, a Jacksonville Republican, is among lawmakers urging the House to support funding the F-35 military aircraft program.

Rutherford, along with Reps. Marc Veasey, a Texas Democrat, Michael Turner, an Ohio Republican, and John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, all signed a letter addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to keep up the funding for the F-35 Lightning II program. In addition, the letter endorses financing the F-135 engine program, which the lawmakers call critical to U.S. national security and improving American workers’ livelihood.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union) endorsed the letter and sent a letter from union leaders imploring lawmakers to keep the programs going.

“The F-35 is the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, and continued investment in this program is essential to maintaining U.S. air superiority and national defense,” wrote IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “Equally important, the program sustains tens of thousands of good-paying, high-skilled jobs for IAM members and supports nearly 300,000 jobs across the country. As America faces growing global threats, now is not the time to waver in our commitment to readiness and innovation.”

Rutherford’s bipartisan letter to House Committees and Subcommittees echoes the union’s position. It focuses on the impact on manufacturing as much as on the national security elements of the aviation and manufacturing program.

“Beyond its national security value, the F-35 program is a key driver of the U.S. manufacturing base, supporting over 225,000 high-tech, high-paying jobs across more than 1,800 suppliers, (half of which) are small or disadvantaged businesses,” reads the bipartisan letter.

Museum momentum

After heavy lobbying from St. Johns County and St. Augustine, Sen. Tom Leek convinced his colleagues in Tallahassee to establish a Florida Museum of Black History in his home district in Northeast Florida.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously approved a bill (SB 466) sponsored by Leek that would establish the Florida Museum of Black History in West St. Augustine. A state task force recommended the site nearly a year ago.

St. Johns County leaders have been pushing to establish the St. Augustine museum for some time. In a March press release, Commissioner Sarah Arnold said Leek’s efforts fulfilled a long-held vision for the county.

“I am beyond excited,” said Arnold after testifying before legislative committees in the state capital. “It is another step forward on our journey to make the dream of the Florida Museum of Black History in St. Johns County a reality.”

The Senate bill also would establish a museum Board of Directors while “prohibiting specified members of the board from holding state or local elective office while serving on the board.” It would also require the board to work jointly with the Foundation for the Museum of Black History.

The House (HB 659) companion, sponsored by Rep. Judson Sapp, a Palatka Republican, is awaiting a vote on the House floor.

Clot spot

A bill establishing a statewide tracking and treatment registry for blood clots in Florida is one Committee stop from heading to the Senate floor.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services approved the “Emily Adkins Family Protection Act.” That panel concluded that the state should establish a statewide registry for blood clot reports within the Department of Health.

The proposed measure is named after Emily Adkins, who died at 23 years old due to an undetected blood clot following a broken ankle in 2023. While the Senate Committee approved the measure, some new questions arose about the bill (SB 890) sponsored by Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough.

The Committee deleted earlier language that would have required tracking impacts from thromboembolism and additional training for non-physician personnel.

Several representatives from Florida’s assisted care facilities industry also argued that they should not be included in the proposed bill’s stipulations.

Bijou Ikli, CEO of the Florida Assisted Living Association, said she supports tracking blood clot data. However, the requirement for assisted living facilities to be tasked with such a measure does not fall within the purview of those facilities. They are not medical institutions, she said.

“The expectation for assisted living facilities is unrealistic,” Ikli said as she addressed the committee. “We have residents, we don’t have patients. We rely on our health care partners. … Assisted living facilities are not there to diagnose.”

Yarborough later said there is “an open door” to modifying the bill’s language before a full Senate vote.

Friendly skies

Gear up for potential changes if you fly into St. Johns County later this year.

The House has passed Rep. Kim Kendall’s HB 4009, which would change the current Northeast Florida Regional Airport branding to St. Augustine Airport.

“This is a local bell that’ll change our local airport’s name to St. Augustine Airport based on location, identity and security reasons. This bill has passed unanimously on every level of its passage so far, and I hope for the same,” Kendall said before the 111-0 vote.

The St. Johns County Airport Authority pushed for the change during a January meeting of the county’s Legislative Delegation, presenting the move as a return to its historic roots.

The name was initially changed to the regional branding 15 years ago, when it was called the Northeast Florida Regional Airport at St. Augustine. According to Jacksonville Today, the locational descriptor was dropped in 2016.

 

Freeman fundraising

Terrance Freeman hasn’t officially announced his intention to run in House District 12. However, the former Jacksonville City Council President’s political committee is raising money as if an announcement is imminent.

The “For the Future We Want” committee raised nearly $103,000 in the year’s first three months. That’s the strongest reporting period yet for Freeman’s PC.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Dream Finders Homes contributed nearly half of that, each donating $25,000.

Other notable donors include Associated Industries of Florida, Mori Hosseini’s ICI Homes Residential Holdings, BestBet, Vestcor, and J.B. Coxwell Contracting.

Freeman will be termed out of the Jacksonville City Council in 2027, so his run in 2026 to replace term-limited House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan would be well-timed in ensuring he’s not out of office for any time.

Deegan dollars

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s new political committee, “Duval for All,” had eclipsed $200,000 in cash on hand as of the end of March, as local attention starts to turn to the 2027 election cycle.

The committee raised a relatively modest $31,250 in the first quarter of 2025 after taking in $136,000 during the final quarter of 2024. However, the committee’s donor profile reveals the power of incumbency over the last two quarters, with some prominent Republican names and institutions among the contributors.

These include former Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton’s family business, Gate Petroleum ($5,000), Mori Hosseini ($10,000) and Gary Chartrand ($10,000).

Deegan’s ability to corral cross-party support helped her at the ballot box in 2023. If she can secure backing from GOP donors over the next few years, she can position herself well against whatever Republican competition may emerge. Her strong working relationship with former opponent Daniel Davis in his capacity at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce is another positive sign.

Neither Deegan nor any major potential Republican candidates have opened campaign accounts, but many have political committee activity.

Among those was House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan’s political committee. He had an impressive Q1 for his associated Citizens for Building Florida’s Future committee.

That account now has over $815,000 after a Q1 haul of $222,900.

JAX Good Government, the political committee of City Council Vice President Kevin Carrico, also had a strong Q1, raising $119,450 and having more than $277,000 in cash on hand.

Two other City Council members are linked to mayoral runs. Both face term limits.

The Friends of Rory Diamond political committee raised no money in Q1 and has $68,000 on hand.

The Moving Jacksonville Forward committee, which is associated with Ron Salem, underperformed in Q1 if his goal is to run for Mayor, as he has suggested. It raised just $500 last quarter and has nearly $89,000 in cash on hand.

Taxman cometh

The President of the Jacksonville City Council is ready to make his next political move.

And appropriately enough, it’s on Tax Day.

Westside Republican Randy White is launching a campaign for Duval County Tax Collector.

“Public safety has always been my calling — and so has public service,” said White. “As Fire Chief, I managed emergency operations on a citywide scale. As Council President, I’ve worked to deliver results and transparency for Jacksonville families. I’m running for Tax Collector because I can use my experience to bring the same professionalism, efficiency, and trust to the office that I’ve shown in my more than four decades of experience.”

Incumbent Jim Overton will be term-limited in 2027. White, a former deputy director, assistant Fire Chief and head of the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters, will be the instant establishment favorite to take over the position.

He already has Overton’s support.

“Serving as Tax Collector has been my great honor. This office demands innovative but steady leadership to earn and keep the taxpayers’ trust. Looking forward to the end of my public service, I can say without hesitation that Randy White is the right person to take on the next challenges of this position. Mr. White is qualified, honest, and capable. The citizens of Duval County know him and can trust him to do an outstanding job,” the incumbent said.

Assuming an opponent emerges to challenge White, 2027 will be the first competitive election for the post since 2019, when Overton defeated Democrat John Crescimbeni, getting more than 58% of the vote in an election where no Democrats ran for Mayor.

Ho-hum home sales

The six-county region of the Northeast Florida housing sales market showed mixed trends in March.

The North East Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) monthly report on the housing market shows there were 1,784 closed single-family home sales last month. That’s down from a year ago when there were 1,980 houses sold on the First Coast, or a 9.9% drop in the year-over-year comparison. But last month’s figure is a substantial jump from the February figure, when 1,315 houses sold, or a 35.7% increase in the month-over-month numbers.

“Spring is shaping up to be a strong season for buyers. With more homes hitting the market, there’s greater choice and sellers are more flexible on price, terms, and repairs,” said 2025 NEFAR President, Mario Gonzalez.

While sales went up, at least monthly, the home prices are starting to dip. The median sales price for a single-family house settled at $379,995. That’s down by 1.8% from February’s median price of $387,000, a drop of 1.8% and a 2.5% decline from March 2025’s price tag of $389,000.

Meanwhile, the number of homes on the First Coast market saw substantial increases, as there appears to be a possible glut developing in houses for sale. Last month, there were a total of 8,258 homes listed in the active inventory, a whopping 63.7% hike from the March 2024 figure of 5,046 and a 10.2% increase over February, which had 8,258 houses for sale.

Duval County, the First Coast’s most populous county and home to Jacksonville, saw 967 homes sold in March, which was a notable hike over February’s figure of 697 houses sold or a 38.7% jump, but down from March 2024’s figure of 1,000 or a 3.3% decline. The median home price settled at $320,000 last month, a 7.8% decline from March last year and a 3.6% slide from February.

St. Johns County, Northeast Florida’s most lucrative housing market, held steady on median sales price in March at $549,000, the same price as February. But it is slightly up by 1.7% from March 2024, when the figure was $540,000. There were 415 homes sold last month, down by 19.9% from a year ago but up a robust 34.3% compared to February.

Nassau County, the northernmost county in the region, isn’t far behind St. Johns in sales prices. The median price tag for a home was $515,000, an 18.4% hike from a year ago and a 12% increase from February. There were 93 houses sold in March in Nassau, a substantial 38.4% decline from March 2024, but a 9.4% increase compared to February.

Clay County reported 253 houses sold in March, a notable 39% hike from February but a 2.7% slide from March 2024. The median home sales price was $379,990 in Clay last month, an 8.9% increase from a year ago and a 7.7% climb from February.

Chamber chats

JAXChamber is ramping up interactive events with the business community to enhance both business development and the business-political interchange.

JAXUSA Partnership, the chamber’s commercial development wing, will host its Partnership Luncheon on Thursday. The event will be held at the Florida Blue Conference Center, 4800 Deerwood Campus Parkway, in the Deerwood area of Jacksonville’s Southside.

The event will “dive into how bold infrastructure investments and regional collaboration are fueling our future. This is your opportunity to connect with Jacksonville’s leaders and change makers,” a JAXChamber X post said.

The luncheon will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, and anyone who wants to attend can register online.

Meanwhile, JAXChamber is launching a series of meetings for local business officials to meet with some of the city’s top leaders. The Influence JAX series of meetings will put commercial representatives directly in contact with some of the most influential leaders, beginning in August and running through May 2026.

“The Influence JAX program is designed for professionals who want to deepen their political knowledge and make an impact in our region,” a JAXChamber description said.

It won’t be cheap. Each business must apply for entry; the program fee will be $3,000. Those wanting to apply should contact Kelly Pourciau at [email protected].

The speaker lineup is notable, including Deegan, former Mayor John Peyton; John Bachman, former anchor at Action News Jax; Matt Galnor, former reporter for the Florida Times-Union (Bachman and Galnor now are partners in their own public relations firm); Tia Mitchel, Washington Bureau Chief for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and former Times-Union reporter, and Rachel Cone, senior managing partner of The Southern Group.

JAXChamber will provide “facilitators” to moderate and manage each session. JAXChamber President and CEO Daniel Davis will be one of those facilitators. There is no word if he’ll directly interact with Deegan, who defeated Davis in the 2023 Mayoral race.

That alone might be worth the price of admission.

Lifeguards wanted

Any young people in your life looking for Summer jobs?

If they can swim 200 yards, tread water for two minutes, and retrieve a brick from the bottom of the pool, Jacksonville can float an opportunity to make $15 an hour this Summer.

“Training classes are coming up and they are free. Experienced swimmers apply only. Just email [email protected] or call 904-255-4271 and join the team today,” urges the Jacksonville Parks Department.

Training courses are available for the weeks of April 28 and May 12. The weekends of April 26 and May 10 offer hybrid options, in which some work is completed online.

Road returns

The St. Johns County Clerk of Courts allows many drivers to drive again after their licenses are suspended.

Operation Green Light, part of a local and statewide effort, has concluded that many residents had their licenses reinstated and can now return to the road as drivers. The program, which was held from March 29 through April 12, reduced financial roadblocks and helped residents pay off court fines and other obligations.

As a result of the program, 189 cases that involved fines or other financial penalties were paid in full in St. Johns County. Some 16 drivers were able to have their licenses returned to them. Another 309 payment plans were established to facilitate the transition for drivers who can eventually get their licenses back after clearing collections. And more than $84,000 was collected in payments to the county for outstanding court fees owed by residents facing traffic penalties and financial obligations to local officials and to the state.

Feel the draft

If it wasn’t clear, Tuesday’s pre-draft luncheon at the Jaguars’ practice facility showed that the team’s approach has changed.

Flanked by head coach Liam Coen, general manager James Gladstone was the polar opposite of his predecessor, Trent Baalke, as the Jaguars’ brass discussed the upcoming NFL Draft.

Gladstone was quotable and inspiring. He described the innovative approach he has brought to the Jacksonville scouting process. What remains is how the new approach will impact success on the field.

Gladstone mentioned the search for players with particular qualities, which Gladstone calls “intangibly rich,” that will allow them to be successful.

What Gladstone did not do this draft season was just as notable. He did not bring any players to the Jaguars’ facility as part of the Top 30 visits, which are typically used by teams to get to know their top targets better individually. The Jaguars did not host any players or hold a local pro day where players from nearby schools could work out for the team.

“In my experience … the implicit bias that can come to life this late in the process, the last player you might sit down with, and how that might differ from the first player you sit down with, knowing that it’s closer to the decision that’s upcoming,” Gladstone said. “In addition to that, so much of the work that’s done in preparation for these decisions starts years in advance. The source intel from those who have lived with these individuals is likely to be more accurate than me sitting down with a prospect for a short period of time and attempting to dissect who that human being is.”

Gladstone also praised the existing scouting staff he inherited when he took the job. Scouts have been in-house this week for the first time, and in a recent meeting, Gladstone was impressed with how the scouts did not have to reference their notes when talking about specific prospects.

“That was a really cool moment for me to see our scouting staff walk in the door as prepared as I could have ever heard for those initial conversations,” Gladstone said. “I used the phrase, ‘Being a fighter, not a fencer.’ Instead of having to put on armor, pick up a sword to fight, they simply had to close their fist. They were ready for that moment.”

The Jaguars will continue refining their draft process over the next week and a half.

“We’re using the mornings with our scouting staff, afternoon with our coaching staff, we’ll do that throughout the remainder of this week,” Gladstone said. “Next week, we have mock drafts that we’ll just simulate at the beginning of the week before getting to draft day.”

Those mock drafts are not as much the kind of play-acting exercises that many NFL teams conduct, where they try to predict which teams will draft certain players leading up to the Jaguars’ pick. Instead, Gladstone says the mock drafts are about operational efficiency and stress-testing the technology, so they are ready to go on draft day.

So, who will the Jaguars draft with the fifth pick of the first round? Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham is the player most often attached to the Jaguars in mock drafts. Whoever it is, the player will be more than just a first-round pick. He will be Gladstone’s first draft pick as a general manager.

“We’ve had discussions on that subject a number of times,” Gladstone said. “(We) certainly feel really good about the pot of players right now that we’re discussing and that would align with all the messages that we would like to send to the locker room, to our fan base, to the greater football landscape, about who the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to be moving forward.”

We’ll learn who that player is a week from Thursday.