JEA Managing Director and CEO Aaron Zahn fired with cause

[thelakelander]

City Office of General Counsel says it found negligence, evidence that Zahn allegedly doctored a presentation slide

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jea-managing-director-and-ceo-aaron-zahn-fired-with-cause

[Papa33]

A lawsuit is filed.  The case settles for about 1/2 of the entire amount potentially due.  Hopefully that will be the last we hear of Zahn.

[itsfantastic1]

I look forward to the discovery portion on this appeal. Might try to take as many people down with him as he can.

[Steve]

I look forward to the discovery portion on this appeal. Might try to take as many people down with him as he can.

This. We're at the point that if the players are going to go "Donner Party" on each other, it begins now.

[Steve]

Board Chair April Green has resigned.

[itsfantastic1]

Board Chair April Green has resigned.

Does this leave Fred Newbill as board chair? Dear god...

[fieldafm]

Board Chair April Green has resigned.

Does this leave Fred Newbill as board chair? Dear god...

Talk about being asleep at the wheel... literally.

[itsfantastic1]

My fears are unfounded...the whole board is quiting. Of course; that is what got us in our current situation since the current Mayor picked all the board members...

https://twitter.com/ChrisHongTU/status/1222247221904773120?s=20

[jaxjags]

Read a more detailed report linked in the JBJ about Zahn's performance. They basically say he orchestrated a plan to sell the utility, with the PUP plan in place as a get rich scheme for himself and other top executives.

[Papa33]

Lenny's statement says they are resigning to help rebuild the public trust.  Then he says he will work with City Council to appoint new board. Not how you build public trust, Lenny.  You are the one who caused this mess.  You need to go to timeout.

[Snaketoz]

You're next Lenny!

[jaxlongtimer]

First Coast News tonight ran a replay of Curry's explanation for replacing the enitre JEA board he inherited when he took over as mayor in his first term.  Oh, the irony!

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/jea-board-exodus-is-the-second-of-its-kind-under-mayor-currys-reign/77-9723aa71-eab7-4762-8f7d-c96ccd5aff84

JEA board exodus is the second of its kind under Mayor Curry's reign

In the wake of investigations, the current board members have announced a mass exodus, but it isn't the first time the city has seen a major shakeup like this.

Author: Shelby Danielsen

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — What's happening with JEA and the City of Jacksonville right now is unprecedented, with at least five known separate investigations underway and a CEO fired "with cause" after a failed attempt to sell the public utility.

In the wake of it all, the current board members have announced a mass exodus, but it isn't the first time the city has seen a major shakeup for the utility's Board of Directors.

Just five years ago, there was tension between the city and the JEA board of directors. The tension unfolded publicly in September of 2015, just a couple months into Mayor Lenny Curry's first term, as questions over transparency were investigated by city attorneys. The allegation was that meeting agendas were sent out to board members in advance, a practice some believed violated open government laws.

As that investigation started to wind down, Mayor Curry asked for all JEA board members at the time to submit their resignations.

In his letter asking for their resignation, Curry said the findings by the Office of General Counsel had so far led to "strong concerns about the behaviors and practices exhibited by JEA board members" at the time, but he went on to state that no proof had been found of illegal actions or wrongdoing. He writes that "no information produced or discoveries made that demonstrate any deliberate intent to skirt sunshine laws."

Prior to asking for their resignations, the mayor requested private meetings with each board member to discuss the issue of transparency. That request resulted in heated exchanges with at least two board members, which led to conversations that turned the question of transparency back on the mayor's office.

In one lengthy email exchange, the JEA Vice-Chair at the time, Peter Bower, asked the mayor's staff if he could bring his own attorney to the private meeting, or at least have the city's general counsel present, since he would be questioned by the mayor's administration and wanted someone neutral to be able to document the conversation.

"If the mayor still feels the need to have others present, then I want to have someone with me," wrote Bower.

Bower was scolded for making such an "unusual" request and was ultimately told he must attend alone or not come at all.

"Since the subject matter regards sunshine law issues, let's hold the meeting in the sunshine," Bower argued.

Bower is then accused of adding "obstacles and unnecessary complications" for the mayor's office by asking for the meeting to be held in the open. He was also denied information when he inquired about the subject of the meeting so he could "prepare." Ultimately, he was asked to immediately resign and the meeting never took place.

In another heated email exchange, the JEA Board Chair at the time, Lisa Strange Weatherby, also asked for the meeting to be held in the open, which she was also denied.

In an email to the mayor's office, she writes, "The mayor has chosen to insist on the government in the darkness."

She submits her resignation weeks later.

Mayor Curry accepts every resignation of that board, except for one. He allows Husein Cumber to remain on the board, at the insistence of some council members but appoints replacements for everyone else. City Council confirmed each of his appointees.

Since then, there's been more turnover at JEA with additional board replacements, the biggest of which took place in April of 2018 when longtime JEA CEO Paul McElroy announced he was leaving just as controversy was heating up over a possible sale of JEA.

McElroy's replacement, Aaron Zahn, was fired this week and remains under investigation along with the entire JEA Senior Leadership Team. With no permanent CEO in place and an impending exodus of the entire JEA board, there is still a question over who will lead the public utility.

On Wednesday, the mayor's office told First Coast News that he is already compiling a list of "qualified, potential board members". The mayor's office says he will work with the city council to make those appointments.

The next question many people have been asking is whether the people the mayor appoints to join the board will accept the position at such a turbulent and uncertain time?

The mayor's office says we should expect more details to come out about the board's future next week.

[vicupstate]

Has anyone brought a lawsuit on his removing people on boards for seats that have not expired?  If not, it needs to happen. He overthrew precedent but it needs to be determined if laws were broken too.

[Steve]

Has anyone brought a lawsuit on his removing people on boards for seats that have not expired?  If not, it needs to happen. He overthrew precedent but it needs to be determined if laws were broken too.

To my knowledge, every person he "removed" was technically them resigning.

[vicupstate]

Has anyone brought a lawsuit on his removing people on boards for seats that have not expired?  If not, it needs to happen. He overthrew precedent but it needs to be determined if laws were broken too.

To my knowledge, every person he "removed" was technically them resigning.

Too bad no one called him on it. 
Was that true with the Planning Commission or whatever board he started his purging with?