Donna Deegan stands behind controversial library board pick facing ‘partisan’ attacks

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is turning the tables on the critics of Elizabeth Andersen, whose nomination for the Jacksonville Public Library Board of Trustees is on thin ice after the Rules Committee refused to advance it.

Andersen, a former member of the Duval County School Board who called conservative activist Tia Bess a “token” during her failed re-election campaign, said in committee that she was “so sorry” that Bess “was offended.”

And for the Democratic Mayor, that apparently is good enough.

“We are simply reaching a point in our civil discourse that is not only unfair, but it is dangerous. We can disagree about things and not resort to lies and name calling and an effort to literally destroy a person’s reputation, all because of, frankly, partisan political agendas,” Deegan said in a video Wednesday night.

During her introductory remarks to the committee, Andersen decried “false” claims about her beliefs as an attempt to “derail” her nomination in recent weeks.

Yet some saw Andersen as just another bad pick from the administration.

Republican Terrance Freeman lamented Andersen as part of the succession of nominees from the Deegan administration that divides the public, which he said was a sharp break from the past, and designed to make “leaders … debate and fight” and take controversial votes.

Deegan doesn’t see it that way, and urges critics to watch what they say.

“I would just hope that all of us could perhaps check ourselves just a little bit in terms of what comes out of our mouths, over which we are completely in control, and make sure that we are being thoughtful, that we are making arguments in a way that make a point, but do not degrade another human being.”

Andersen approved of the Mayor’s comments.

“Regardless of politics, I am committed to building bridges of understanding and fostering mutual respect. When we allow hateful rhetoric to take the place of honest dialogue, when we reward bullying over merit, we chip away at the very fabric of a healthy democracy. Let’s do better,” she said.

Whether Andersen can get 10 votes on a supermajority Republican City Council is an open question. But what’s clear is the Mayor is standing her ground and investing political capital into this pick.