JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA might owe ex-CEO Aaron Zahn damages and attorneys fees for what an arbitrator deemed a breach of his original employment agreement when the board of directors fired him nearly seven years ago amid public controversy, according to a report from our news partner the Florida Trib.
The arbitrator’s decision, issued Wednesday and which largely sided with Zahn, represents an extraordinary godsend for a former utility executive who was recently released from prison following convictions of wire fraud and conspiracy – all tied to his highly controversial and unsuccessful effort as JEA’s leader to privatize the agency.
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The arbitrator, Leslie W. Langbein of Miami Lakes, issued a 36-page decision that does not once mention Zahn’s convictions, which followed a years-long federal grand jury investigation.
Langbein said that instead of firing Zahn without cause, as the board had initially agreed to in December 2019 during a frenzied effort to tamp down public criticism of the agency, city attorneys improperly “favored a course of action that yielded to … public clamor and political pressure demanding Zahn’s termination with cause.”
Without naming her, Langbein was critical of former board chair April Green, a one-time Zahn ally who turned into a fierce critic by the end of his tenure. She had pressed for Zahn’s termination with cause in an effort to deny him months of severance-like pay.
A JEA spokesperson noted that the decision was not final but otherwise said the agency had no comment.
Langbein’s decision does not specify how much JEA might ultimately owe Zahn, and JEA attorneys can appeal, though such efforts are rarely successful.
Nate Monroe is the executive editor of The Florida Trib. He can be reached at nate.monroe@floridatrib.org.
Molly Farrar is a Report for America corps member and The Florida Trib’s Jacksonville municipal watchdog reporter. She can be reached at molly.farrar@floridatrib.org.