Duval Dems Support the Creation of Special Investigatory Committee

Committee will investigate the failed attempted sale of JEA

"Duval Dems stand in support Council President Scott Wilson’s decision to appoint a Special Investigatory Committee to look into the failed attempted sale of JEA. Ratepayers deserve to learn the truth about JEA’s secretive sales talks, its illegal performance incentive plan, and the outside players who pushed the sale.

For two years we’ve continued to state our unequivocal opposition to a proposed sale and now it is our hope this new special committee will uncover what lies beneath this debacle. 

Our very own Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson will be a member of the committee and will bring her long and consistent advocacy to protect one of our city’s greatest public assets. We look forward to an open and transparent committee process and the results of their investigation."

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"Duval Dems welcome the news that State Attorney Melissa Nelson has referred her JEA investigation to federal authorities. From the beginning, we’ve called for this action and we look forward to the results of the federal investigation into the proposed sale of JEA."

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DUVAL DEMS CALL ON STATE ATTORNEY MELISSA NELSON TO RECUSE HERSELF FROM THE JEA INVESTIGATION

 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County Democratic Party calls on State Attorney Melissa Nelson to recuse herself and requests Governor DeSantis appoint a state attorney of another judicial circuit to investigate matters regarding the sale of JEA. Recent news reports have revealed that Political Strategist Tim Baker attended and provided material support in multiple meetings involving the sale. The integrity of the ongoing investigation could be compromised if handled by Nelson's office because Baker played an integral role in her successful 2016 campaign and could consult for Nelson in her upcoming re-election bid. Earlier this year, Nelson requested that DeSantis recuse her in the Matt Shirk grand jury investigation, to avoid [in her words] the "appearance of impropriety". The public investigation of alleged corruption in the proposed sale of JEA requires no less than an equivalent ethical standard.

The pursuit of the privatization of JEA has been fraught from the beginning. City and JEA officials have not been straightforward with the citizens of Jacksonville regarding the intention to sell the utility nor the reasons for the sale. JEA officials warned the board of massive rate hikes and layoffs if the sale was not pursued, but these claims were later called into question by the Civic Council and remain unverified. There are already state ethics investigations into conflicts of interest with JEA negotiators and retention bonuses they could receive if JEA is sold. The Curry administration ignored the city’s Ethics Director who advised that sunshine laws were being violated and recommended that sales talks be canceled. 

These concerns, however, pale in comparison to the proposed Long-Term Performance Unit Plan, which led to the termination of JEA CEO Aaron Zahn, an ally of the mayor. Curry’s political consultant Tim Baker attended multiple closed-door meetings at JEA at Zahn’s request, ostensibly to offer political advice on the sales process. Multiple high-level officials at JEA have resigned or been terminated in the wake of the failed sales attempt and performance pay scheme plan. Any investigation into the sale and associated pay scheme must determine the full extent of Baker’s involvement and whether further ethical or legal violations occurred.

The entire JEA privatization process, from start to its inglorious finish, requires an objective and fair investigation. From allegations of violations of state sunshine laws to concerns of corruption in the performance pay scheme, the people of Jacksonville deserve an uncompromised accounting of what city leaders are doing with their tax dollars. The Duval County Democratic Party calls on State Attorney Melissa Nelson to recuse herself to avoid any conflict of interest in this critical investigation into the attempted sale of JEA, the associated allegations of sunshine law violations and self-dealing.

Click Here for the Full Press Release

Before the January 14th City Council meeting, take a few minutes to call and email each of the city council members listed below and ask them to support 2019-894!

Daniel Henry, chair of the Duval County Democratic Party, released the following statement in response to the US House’s formal impeachment inquiry and the release of transcripts from Trump's call with Ukraine :

"Duval Dems stand by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Al Lawson, and Congressional Democrats in their efforts to safeguard our democracy. The clarity of President Donald Trump's actions to undermine his oath of office and the integrity of our elections cannot be ignored. Trump used taxpayer dollars to shakedown a leader of another country for his own political gain — while subsequently attempting to conceal his misdeeds. This exhibits a blatant disregard for our Constitution and rule of law. These actions demand a comprehensive investigation and power check from the Legislative Branch. Our government should be working in the interest of all Americans, not for the selfish gain of this President."

DUVAL DEMS CONDEMN CURRY ADMINISTRATION’S DECISION TO WAIVE ETHICS CODE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County Democratic Party condemns the bypassing of municipal ethics codes by Chief Administration Officer Brian Hughes to allow former CAO Sam Mousa to consult the Jacksonville Jaguars on development projects related to Lot J. This action continues a pattern of corruption in which only a small, select group of well-connected individuals within the administration are hand-picked from the top to oversee major city initiatives.

Revolving-door ethics rules exist to rid politics of money, fraud, and corruption, and pave a pathway to transparent processes. In recent months, this administration has shown a disregard for transparency while signaling that “pay-to-play” tactics are the most effective manner to conduct city business.

Since Mousa’s exit from the administration less than 60 days ago, he has already exerted himself into the ongoing debate over a school tax referendum and now a development project that will heavily impact the city’s downtown. In each scenario, Mousa—who has close political and personal ties to the mayor and Hughes—has professed himself to be the most capable individual for the task at hand.

The Lot J project seeks over $233 million in city incentives. Duval County residents deserve all city affairs be handled in the sunshine, especially those with such a staggering price tag. This move by the same group of problematic players we see time and again bend the rules for their gain raises concerns that residents will not get an independent assessment of the project and signals that decisions will be made outside of the public purview. This is exemplified by Hughes’ decision to bypass the ethics rules and approve Mousa for this lucrative consultant position in one of his first actions as the city’s Chief Administrative Officer.

“The Curry administration, including Brian Hughes and Sam Mousa, has once again been exposed as less interested in democratic processes and safeguards, and more concerned with lining their pockets,” said Duval Dems Vice Chair Angie Nixon. “They have capitalized on loopholes within the City Charter and used their political influence to strong-arm the residents, institutions and other elected officials of Duval County over and over again. In a political game of who-knows-who amongst political allies, the city of Jacksonville will always find itself on the losing side.”

We call on Mousa to follow the spirit and the letter of Jacksonville’s Ethics Code and recuse himself from matters concerning the Lot J development. Furthermore, we call on Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration to adhere to our city’s ethics codes and govern in a manner that is in the best interest of all of Duval County residents, not just in the best interest of political allies.

DUVAL DEMOCRATS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT MULTI-AGENCY INVESTIGATION INTO MAYORAL OFFICE’S ACTIONS

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County Democratic Party is calling for an independent multi-agency investigation by the City of Jacksonville Inspector General, State Attorney for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit, and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida into the actions of Mayor Lenny Curry’s office during the city’s “Stop the Violence” initiative. Specifically, we call for a conduct review of then officials Brian Hughes and Sam Mousa, and if they – or other members of the administration and the city's Office of General Counsel – exerted unlawful pressure to give favored treatment to select organizations, helping them secure thousands of dollars in public grant funding.

In a recent report by the Florida Times-Union, Kids Hope Alliance CEO Joe Peppers cites the disdain of Hughes and Mousa over his decision to hire a contract manager to oversee the initiative’s $364,000 in micro-grant money. “This is family talking; this is political,” Peppers claims Mousa said. During this private conversation, Hughes and Mousa urged the funds be managed in-house as “there would be designated applicants that would get preferential treatment during the application process,” according to Peppers. 

Peppers continued that he was expected to “pass certain applicants based on [Hughes and Mousa’s] discretion regardless of how they scored on the [request for proposal].” When he sought legal advice with the city’s Office of General Counsel, he was instructed by Deputy General Counsel Lawsikia Hodges to not “bite the hand that feeds” him and it was “not a big deal”.

This intimidation signifies the administration’s willingness to exert influence over a community program that was designed to help those in need and groups providing assistance to them. We are deeply concerned these actions amount to unlawful procurement fraud, abuses of executive power and possibly more unethical activity.

Additionally, this incident occurred in the months building up to the mayor’s re-election campaign. This leads to troubling concerns that taxpayer-funded micro-grants could have been utilized by the administration for political pay-offs to quiet criticism of Mayor Lenny Curry during the upcoming election cycle.

We demand the offices of the Inspector General, State Attorney, and U.S. Attorney explore the roles Hughes, Mousa, and the mayoral administration played in selecting micro-grant winners, and what role these preferred organizations played in the Curry re-election campaign. We also demand the actions and responses of Hodges be reviewed for unethical misconduct by the Florida Bar’s Department of Lawyer Regulation.

STATEMENT ON JEA BOARD’S DECISION TO EXPLORE PRIVATIZATION

DUVAL DEMS OPPOSE THE SALE OF JEA

JACKSONVILLE, FL, July 24, 2019 -- Duval County Democratic Party released the following statement on the JEA board’s decision to explore privatization of the public-owned utility.

“Yesterday, the JEA board of directors unanimously voted to explore selling the city-owned electric and water utility — one of the largest such utilities in the nation. This decision would impact every resident of Jacksonville and hinder the public’s ability to hold JEA accountable and transparent.

“The impact of a sale would cede control of the city's most valuable asset, create a $118-million hole in the city’s budget, and would present negative long term consequences, long past any one-time rebate or short term benefit from a potential transaction. These effects would be felt by all ratepayers through the possibility of increased rates, additional fees, and lackluster service once a deal’s honeymoon period has surpassed. 

“We stand with the 73% of voters that expressed in 2018, their desire to have a say in the fate of JEA. The residents of Jacksonville deserve and demand transparency in a process that has operated in the shadows since the idea of selling the utility was first discussed in 2017. We also deserve better than reactionary quick-fixes to complex situations.

“For this and many additional concerns, the Duval County Democratic Party reiterates its opposition to the sale and/or privatization of JEA and encourages all ratepayers to express these concerns with their City Council members and demand transparency in discussions moving forward.”

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