JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tuesday marks the first day of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s second year in office.
She was sworn in on July 1, 2023, as the first woman mayor in Jacksonville history.
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Since then, she passed her first budget, launched several new programs and helped negotiate the Jaguars stadium deal.
Deegan already has a full plate as she begins year two with two key issues taking center stage this month.
First, the mayor will present her second budget to the City Council when they return from summer break in two weeks.
RELATED: Mayor Deegan talks hot topics, pushes back against stadium deal critics on This Week in Jacksonville
She and the council also plan to follow up on the stadium deal with a vote on the community benefits agreement that was removed before the final vote on the renovation project.
The mayor said the stadium deal will keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville for decades to come and build a world-class stadium that can be used for non-NFL events.
The community benefits agreement would pump tens of millions of dollars into workforce development, affordable housing and programs that address homelessness, particularly in the city’s Eastside around the stadium.
The mayor said she is committed to passing that package later this month.
Looking at some of the other projects from the mayor’s first year in office:
- The city re-opened Friendship Fountain on the Southbank and opened the first link of the Emerald Trail project that’s been in the works for years.
- In a controversial decision, the mayor ordered the removal of the Confederate monument in Springfield Park late last year, facing criticism over the timing of the statue’s removal after work began in the early morning hours. State Rep. Dean Black responded, filing a bill that would punish local governments for removing historic monuments, but it died in committee in the State Legislature.
- The mayor also launched the River City Readers program in January. Since then, local families have already passed one million minutes read -- and counting. The reading effort followed a report that less than half of the city’s third graders are reading at grade level.
Looking ahead, there are still some questions surrounding downtown development.
Just last week, the Laura Street Trio project went back to the drawing board, following setbacks to other projects, such as the Ford on Bay at the old courthouse site and the fire at the RISE Doro apartments.
Marking the end of her first year in office, Deegan released this statement on social media:
“The time is now to turn renderings into reality, ensure that prosperity is felt across our entire community, and build a city that works for all of us. Let’s keep working together to continue our progress.”
According to a recent UNF Public Opinion Research Lab poll, the mayor has a 63% approval rating, which is on par with her Republican counterparts in local government.
Sheriff T.K. Waters and State Attorney Melissa Nelson also scored above the 60% mark on their job performance.