I miss people like Mr. Shortstein serving the publics interests, not his own, with integrity and principles.
His stand against the idea of JEA purchasing floating nuclear power plants to support Offshore Power Systems that planned to build them in Jax parallels the episode today of JTA buying Holon vehicles to be built in Jax. Unfortunately, no one, to date, has stopped JTA like Shorstein stopped JEA in the day.
He will be missed. One of the last of a generation in service to the public.
QuoteJacksonville leaders mourn former State Attorney Harry Shorstein
Harry Shorstein, who was Jacksonville's top prosecutor for 17 years and the city's one-time general counsel, has died at age 86.
A Marine combat veteran who gained national attention for his efforts to curb juvenile crime partly through rehabilitation, he was also credited with stopping an ill-conceived plan to build floating nuclear power plants in the St. Johns River.
"Harry's life was marked by extraordinary service to his country and our city," State Attorney Melissa Nelson said in comments released after Mr. Shorstein's death was announced Friday, Oct. 23.
"He was an excellent state attorney who demonstrated integrity and professionalism and he was an exceptional trial lawyer," Nelson said. "His legacy of 'do the right thing' will endure at the State Attorney's Office. We have lost a distinguished public servant and I — and so many others — have lost a valued friend."
Mayor Donna Deegan tweeted that Mr. Shorstein "was an example to all of us through his many decades of public service ... He believed deeply in delivering justice but also in second chances, a mission that is emblematic of his focus on working with at-risk youth. His wisdom and heart will be missed, but it is carried on through the many people he mentored who are now leading our city today."...
....At the age of 33, Mr. Shorstein was picked in 1974 to be Jacksonville's general counsel, the youngest person to hold the weighty role as top lawyer for the consolidated city-county government.
In that role, he quickly became a crucial obstacle to a plan by business leaders including directors of the JEA and Jacksonville Port Authority to service a business called Offshore Power Systems that intended to build locally nuclear plants that would operate floating at sea but, according to a 1978 report to Congress, carried risks of a core meltdown six to 30 times greater than a land-based nuclear plant.
Raising liability risks for the city, Mr. Shorstein issued a report saying the project was "contrary to the public interest" and could bankrupt the city, making those involved personally accountable. That stalled progress and the dramatic deal soon fell apart....
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2026/10/23/former-jacksonville-state-attorney-harry-shorstein-dead-at-86/92401576007/