JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just days before the inauguration of Mayor-elect Donna Deegan, her transition team is hard at work to make some changes to programs in the city.
Deegan said she’s ready to be sworn in on July 1 as Jacksonville’s first female mayor.
“It feels like I’ve already been here for four years, these last four weeks have been, wow. But I’m so excited. I can’t wait to actually officially get started. And of course, the festivities will be wonderful,” Deegan expressed.
Committee chairmen and women met Monday to discuss their goals for their committees.
Each chair provided an update on their progress and the plans they have to tackle certain issues throughout the city.
Public Safety Chair W.C. Gentry said his committee is focusing on three areas.
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“We’re looking to see what exists today versus what may have existed in the past, and what programs we can implement, that will have an impact on preventing crime,” Gentry said.
Gentry said one need for the city is literacy.
“That’s one of our long-range goals is to make our community more literate. We have in our poor areas of town, we have elementary schools where only 10 or 15% of the children can read. And if you can’t read by the end of third grade, then the chances of being successful are very slim,” Gentry said.
Another goal for the committee is to bring back Jacksonville Journey.
“Our first goal is to look at where we are, for example, the Jacksonville journey was very effective back in 2008 through 2010, we had a 30% drop in crime as a result of all the programs we were doing. We want to go back and see what all was recommended back in those days, what exists today, what’s working today, and what isn’t working today,” Gentry said.
Deegan is thrilled to have a team that provides good ideas and great momentum before she is officially sworn into her new position.
“One of the things that we said, and set out as a priority of this administration was to bring the people into City Hall. And that’s one of the things we’ve attempted to do with these committees. You heard several of them say, Gosh, I didn’t realize my committee was going to be so large. Well, that’s because we ask people who want to be involved,” Deegan said.
She also spoke about her relationship with civil rights activist Ben Frazier, who passed away after a nine-month cancer battle.
“I think the last night that most of us saw Ben Frazier was the night that I was elected and he was there celebrating. I have so much respect for Ben because he was always out there causing good trouble. He had the heart of the community in mind. He was always out there fighting for the voiceless. And I always appreciated that so much about him. [...] He was a good man and worked hard for all of us. And we’re gonna miss him a lot,” Deegan said.
Deegan’s administration also wants people in the community to feel like they are included in the city government.
“We’ll connect you with the committees and we’ll get you involved in those committees because we want more voices than just your experts. We want to hear from people who are impacted, we want to hear from the community,” Deegan said.
To join a committee, email your resume and a cover letter indicating which committee you are interested in joining to transitionteam2023@coj.net.