JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – All eyes will be on JEA as one of its board committees gets ready for a key meeting on Monday, where the city-owned utility’s board chooses its leaders for the next year.
It comes as controversies have swirled for weeks after text messages about an appointment to the JEA board eventually led to allegations about leadership and workplace culture.
What started with text messages from City Council President Kevin Carrico referencing a “big favor” tied to a board appointment has now sparked subpoenas, political finger-pointing and growing scrutiny over how the city-owned utility operates.
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After the text messages became public, Carrico issued a statement that redirected the story – to criticism of JEA CEO Vickie Cavey.
He wrote:
“I have unfortunately taken numerous meetings and calls from JEA employees with allegations of racism, toxic corporate culture, and other leadership challenges associated with the CEO.”
That shift is something that News4JAX political analyst Rick Mullaney discussed on This Week in Jacksonville:
“At first blush, this appears to be changing the subject to be changing the subject away from the appointment -- that was, as we said, inappropriate at best -- and changing it to a different topic. But then you get into the question, what was that really about?” Mullaney said, adding that it could involve relationships, lobbying contracts, and political influence—claims that Mayor Donna Deegan has called a smear campaign against Cavey.
“There was a very significant press conference with the mayor and the chair of the board in which they were unequivocal in their support for Vickie Cavey,” Mullaney said.
The JEA board also showed its support for Cavey in its meeting on Tuesday – with a 6 to 1 vote backing Cavey’s leadership and confirming their confidence in her as CEO.
The one “no” vote came from vice-chair Rick Morales, who also called for an outside investigation into Cavey’s leadership. The board decided against an external review.
Now, as the JEA board’s executive committee meets Monday to choose board leaders for the next year, the events of the past week could come into play.
“Usually, the succession of the vice chair to becoming the chair is pretty collegial, pretty automatic. That may not be the case here,” said Nate Monroe, executive editor of The Tributary. “I mean, there is a substantive argument that a vice chair should not become the chair if they don’t have confidence in the CEO.”
Once the executive committee comes up with its slate of officers, it will be up the full JEA board to accept it at a future board meeting.