Jacksonville Elections 2027

[thelakelander]

The NAVI fiasco also happened on his watch as a state leader. If he had a problem with it, he had an opportunity to do something about it. He did nothing. So that was what my glass house comment was about. The lack of comment that Marcus shared had nothing to do with my statement.

[Ken_FSU]

^Re: Glass houses.

Make sure to also toss rocks at the Chamber of Commerce, who heavily championed the U2C. And the Curry Admin, who heavily campaigned for the gas tax, knowing what JTA was planning to use it for. And Downtown Vision, for propagandizing the U2C/NAVI. And the City Council, who voted 14-5 in favor of a local option gas tax bill with $250 million set aside for NAVI.

I believe John Delaney and the Civic Council were the only major group to actively push back on NAVI when the gas tax was being debated.

Would be absurd to try to paint Donna as any kind of NAVI puppet-master when Ford had so many others brainwashed.

[fsu813]

Absurdity doesn't matter in politics. Just effective narratives.

[tufsu1]

Lastly, I would be interested to know of any connections between Curry and Duggan.  That could be politically "fatal" in my opinion.

These will be very apparent - don't think Curry is hiding it

[Ken_FSU]

Lastly, I would be interested to know of any connections between Curry and Duggan.  That could be politically "fatal" in my opinion.

These will be very apparent - don't think Curry is hiding it

I'm never a fan of unnecessary dirty politics or going low with your campaign, but I'd do it with Duggan.

Dude is Curry in sheep's clothing. Lenny helped launch Duggan's political career in the 2017 Florida House race, and appeared all over Duggan's ads.

The campaign was run by the Curry goon squad. Tim Baker. Brian Hughes. They're all still close. And it looks like Jordan Elsbury is buddying up to Duggan ahead of the election too.

If you want to go down a fun little rabbit hole, look into Duggan's connection to the JEA scandal. Seems that Lenny's buddy, while serving as a state representative, also served as a consultant and lobbyist for FPL/NextEra when they were colluding to privatize JEA.

https://jeainvestigation.com/wp-content/uploads/chronology/Witness%20Statements/SIC%20Investigation/Mousa%2C%20Sam/Transcript.pdf

So, Duggan wasn't just loosely adjacent to Curry/Baker/Hughes during the JEA affair. He had professional ties to FPL/NextEra when they were trying to acquire JEA, and Duggan was specifically identified in sworn testimony from the City Council investigation as part of FPL's team during the 2019 process.

Other than that, they barely know each other 

[jaxlongtimer]

GOP John Delaney was on First Coast Connect today and gave Duggan long odds against Deegan.  Says he even knows some MAGA's that would vote for her.  Interesting...

[Jax_Developer]

The NAVI fiasco also happened on his watch as a state leader. If he had a problem with it, he had an opportunity to do something about it. He did nothing. So that was what my glass house comment was about. The lack of comment that Marcus shared had nothing to do with my statement.

You said, "When it comes to the U2C, NAVI, JTA, both are residing in a glass house. So be careful with the stone throwing either way. Unless something super crazy pops up publicly that hasn't already, I don't see JTA being a major influence on the race either way."

My comments to that were "So then why does Duggan's lack of comment matter? Either this will impact the election or it won't and if it does, it won't be a -1 to Duggan for a lack of comment. It will be to the incumbent Mayor that publicly endorsed the clown cars."

Simply put, you can make the argument that this won't effect the Election, & that's your opinion. Either way, your statement was in reply to either Tacachale, Marcus or myself. All three of us made statements about Deegan or Duggan's comments/actions on the U2C.

The idea that Duggan could have influenced this compared to Deegan is totally bullshit too. I'd like to hear one good reason why she replaced an active board member with someone in her pocket. I understand the tilt on this forum, but let's not act like she has any type of plan with JTA. Anyone seriously saying that should be ashamed of themselves.

[thelakelander]

You know exactly the point I was making. You don't have to agree with it. Peluso and Diamond have been pretty consistent about the waste happening over at JTA. Duggan isn't in that small circle. Neither is Deegan. I'm not here to defend anyone. In my opinion, Duggan's house is full of glass on this particular issue. In fact, most elected leaders are on both sides of the fence. Be careful with those stones. 

[Jax_Developer]

You know exactly the point I was making. You don't have to agree with it. Peluso and Diamond have been pretty consistent about the waste happening over at JTA. Duggan isn't in that small circle. Neither is Deegan. I'm not here to defend anyone. In my opinion, Duggan's house is full of glass on this particular issue. In fact, most elected leaders are on both sides of the fence. Be careful with those stones. 

So then hold Deegan accountable - do you agree with the comments she made today? Your voice means a lot in this space Lake. It may not be politically acceptable, but you absolutely need to. The damage control going on right now is disgusting.

[jaxlongtimer]

The below is a great move and long overdue.  To be clear, it needs to include fiduciary responsibilities to the taxpayers that support the agencies.  As a board member, you are not meant to be a "rubber stamp" or "yes" person, but a thoughtful, informed, engaged, mission-focused, financially prudent and questioning person that understands your oversight and support responsibilities and accountability not to the CEO/staff or appointing politicians, but to the public at large.

Deegan order encourages finance, ethics training for Jacksonville board appointees

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor Donna Deegan signed an executive order Tuesday encouraging people appointed to city boards and independent agencies to take training on finances, audits, ethics and public records laws.

The order also calls for independent agency leaders to certify the financial information they give the city.

Deegan said the training would help volunteers who oversee public money and make decisions for city boards and agencies.

"Taxpayers deserve confidence that the people overseeing their money understand the budgets, audits, and ethics rules in front of them," Deegan said.

New appointees are encouraged to complete the training within 90 days of City Council confirmation. Current appointees are encouraged to complete it within 180 days. The training would be free.

The city's Finance Office must offer financial training within 90 days. It will cover how to read financial statements, understand the city budget and spot possible financial problems, including risks tied to debt, credit ratings and pensions.

The order recommends that independent agencies include a signed statement from their chief executive when submitting budgets, financial reports or other financial data to the city. The statement would say the information is accurate and complete to the best of the official's knowledge.

The order takes effect immediately. It does not require appointees to take the training or make certification mandatory.

Deegan said she will work with the Jacksonville City Council on legislation to make the standards enforceable.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/10/06/deegan-order-encourages-finance-ethics-training-for-jacksonville-board-appointees/

[thelakelander]

You know exactly the point I was making. You don't have to agree with it. Peluso and Diamond have been pretty consistent about the waste happening over at JTA. Duggan isn't in that small circle. Neither is Deegan. I'm not here to defend anyone. In my opinion, Duggan's house is full of glass on this particular issue. In fact, most elected leaders are on both sides of the fence. Be careful with those stones. 

So then hold Deegan accountable - do you agree with the comments she made today? Your voice means a lot in this space Lake. It may not be politically acceptable, but you absolutely need to. The damage control going on right now is disgusting.

My voice has not changed in 10 years with JTA. I've said plenty of times over the years that the mayors office and council needed to force Ford to pull the NAVI plug or risk being beat over thr head with it once it failed. I've been consistent and vocal about this one on this website, in editorials and behind closed doors. Duggan is new to the convo here in these forums,  regarding JTA, which is why I commented about glass houses.

[Jax_Developer]

You know exactly the point I was making. You don't have to agree with it. Peluso and Diamond have been pretty consistent about the waste happening over at JTA. Duggan isn't in that small circle. Neither is Deegan. I'm not here to defend anyone. In my opinion, Duggan's house is full of glass on this particular issue. In fact, most elected leaders are on both sides of the fence. Be careful with those stones. 

So then hold Deegan accountable - do you agree with the comments she made today? Your voice means a lot in this space Lake. It may not be politically acceptable, but you absolutely need to. The damage control going on right now is disgusting.

My voice has not changed in 10 years with JTA. I've said plenty of times over the years that the mayors office and council needed to force Ford to pull the NAVI plug or risk being beat over thr head with it once it failed. I've been consistent and vocal about this one on this website, in editorials and behind closed doors. Duggan is new to the convo here in these forums,  regarding JTA, which is why I commented about glass houses.

Fair enough. Today's comments by Deegan prove the web is large. You don't remove a board member asking questions without a reason... Holon still a go? Lol.

[thelakelander]

I'll believe Holon happens when they roll that first vehicle off the assembly line. They're not here if we aren't subsidizing them along with being the largest purchaser of their product. JTA is out of money, so whats the point?

[Jax_Developer]

I'll believe Holon happens when they roll that first vehicle off the assembly line. They're not here if we aren't subsidizing them along with being the largest purchaser of their product. JTA is out of money, so whats the point?

Deegan isn't a dummy & knows this too. So then why say otherwise?

[thelakelander]

You'll have to ask her and the city council about it. I've always been against both NAVI and view Holon as an extension of that project. I've publicly shared that opinion for years. However, the majority of our political leaders that approved the incentives package have a different opinion.