JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The first chief executive officer of the Kids Hope Alliance was named Thursday.
Joe Peppers was selected to head the newly formed organization that oversees children's programs in Jacksonville.
In February, Mayor Lenny Curry signed the Kids Hope Alliance bill. The Jacksonville City Council approved $1 million to provide after-school programs for more than 6,400 Duval County students. The programs will target literacy, behaviorial health and physical disabilities.
But there's already some controversy surrounding the agency, which merged Jax Journey and the Jacksonville Children's Commission.
On Thursday, the board members of the Kids Hope Alliance voted for their choice of four finalists to become permanent CEO.
The first choice was Peppers, an Army veteran who works as an operations manager for Amazon. He is a former board member for Kids Hope Alliance.
Curry tweeted, "The Kids Hope Alliance selects their 1st CEO. Congratulations to Joe Peppers. We continue reform, change and challenging the status quo. Onward."
One of the mayor's rivals in City Hall, Councilman Garrett Dennis, challenged the selection.
"To play politics or cut deals behind closed doors, you know what it comes down to: our children," Dennis told News4Jax by phone. "The process should have been transparent, and it wasn't."
Dennis has complained that Peppers doesn't have the experience needed, and clearly hopes Peppers does not take the job when it is offered to him.
"I'm concerned about turning over the helm of this organization, a very important organization, to someone that is just flat-out not qualified," Dennis said. "He has a great story, but is not qualified."
The city's chief financial officer, Mike Weinstein, has been serving as the interim CEO.
The Kids Hope Alliance spokesperson told News4Jax that the four finalists were all interviewed Thursday. Then the board made its decision in a meeting at 4:30 p.m.
The spokesperson said it was a split vote, and the board decided to offer the job to Peppers.