JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The attempt to privatize JEA is now getting international attention. A delegation from African nations is visiting Jacksonville to study ethics and transparency and government, and it’s using the failed attempt to privatize JEA as a case study.
Two of the utility’s former executives — CEO Aaron Zahn and CFO Ryan Wannemacher — were indicted this year on federal charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. They’re accused of trying to make millions for themselves through a controversial bonus plan if the city-owned utility were sold.
Tuesday and Wednesday, the delegation heard from citizens groups, city auditors and city council members about the efforts to stop the proposed sale.
Jacksonville City Council member Randy DeFoor spoke to the delegation.
“It was a well-orchestrated campaign, and I will tell you, it’s a miracle it got stopped,” DeFoor said. “And it got stopped because my colleagues had the courage to stand up to it and start asking questions.”
DeFoor said her credibility was attacked, her car was broken into, and her identity was stolen.
Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson says her skepticism of the system as an outsider and her decades of experience as an attorney helped her realize something was wrong. She said she fought through opposition and doubt to follow the facts and protect her constituents.
“That’s what you want to think about. Can you find the way into something if the tide is going one way, and you know it’s going to drown you folks, can you find a way to stop the tide and push it back to going the other direction?” Priestly Jackson said.
Councilman Ron Salem said his business experiences told him the proposed bonus structure that would have made some executives millions of dollars from the sale of JEA was “mind-boggling” and should be questioned.
“It was different perspectives, and I think that’s the most important thing,” Salem said.
Jody Brooks, JEA’s chief administrative officer, also spoke, saying she left her job as the utility’s chief legal officer several years ago, when the newly installed CEO seemed suspicious to her.
“Whenever I would try to give him counsel as the lawyer for JEA, he wouldn’t listen to my counsel,” Brooks said. “He said he needed to have someone that was creative.”
Brooks came back to the utility last year as new leadership took over.
For Silvio Custodio, who is the national director for public accounting in Angola, the story of stopping what prosecutors say was a corrupt deal is an inspiration.
“The difference that we have in our country is that you have some institutions from the civil society that push hard for the transparency, and in our country, we do not have yet this type of institution,” Custodio said.
Changes have been made in JEA’s governance and city policy in response to the botched effort to try to sell the utility. After the proposed bonus structure was exposed, JEA’s CEO and CFO were fired. The entire board resigned.
Zahn and Wannemacher have pleaded not guilty to federal charges. They’re scheduled for trial next spring.
A request for comment from Zahn’s attorney Wednesday was not returned by publication of this article.