JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Commission on Ethics is grappling with an uncommon leadership question from Jacksonville’s City Council - whether a son can seek a council leadership position while his father serves alongside him.
Joe Carlucci, a Jacksonville City Council member representing District 5, is seeking guidance from the state ethics commission about his potential bid for council leadership while his father, Matt Carlucci, currently serves on the same council.
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“I asked for ethics guidance so that, if I ever decide to pursue a Council leadership role, I’m doing it transparently and ethically,” Joe Carlucci said in a statement.
“The whole way that he’s going about it is the best way to steer clear of any hazards,” Matt Carlucci said.
The core debate centers on Florida’s anti-nepotism laws and how they apply to internal leadership elections within government bodies. The commission’s legal team believes such a move would violate state anti-nepotism statutes. According to their draft opinion, even if council members abstain from voting for their family members, it would still constitute a violation.
However, attorneys representing the council present a different interpretation.
“What we are saying is the advancement to council leadership is not an advancement to a different employment position,” Jason Teal, Council Secretary/Director, said in the meeting with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
The city’s legal team contends these are internal peer-elected positions where all council members maintain equal status. They also assert that the leadership roles are temporary, making them different from traditional superior-subordinate relationships covered by nepotism rules.
The Florida Commission on Ethics was split evenly in its initial vote on the matter. The question will return to the commission in March for further consideration.
Meanwhile, Joe Carlucci said he has received supportive guidance from the state Attorney General’s office, though he hasn’t committed to pursuing a leadership role.
Read the full statement from Councilman Joe Carlucci:
I asked for ethics guidance so that, if ever decide to pursue a Council leadership role, I’m doing it transparently and ethically. Situations like this have come up before, and there’s been no finding of an ethics violation. In this case, the Ethics Commission did adopt the staff’s draft opinion, so there is currently no prohibition on my ability to hold a leadership position. Ethics staff has since said they want to take another look, and one option being discussed is withdrawing the request and allowing staff to explore whether clearer legislative guidance would be helpful going forward.
Additionally, I received an opinion from the Attorney General who has come to the same conclusion in a letter that there is no legal conflict. If do decide to run for any sort of leadership position, I’m confident I’d be doing so legally and ethically, through a fully public process where transparency and public trust come first.
Councilman Joe Carlucci:
While the legal question remains unresolved, Matt Carlucci said his son is taking the best approach to a potential run for leadership.
“He’s a councilman in his own right,” he said. “We don’t always agree, but that’s how we treat each other as council colleagues.”