JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor-Elect Donna Deegan, the first woman to be elected mayor of Jacksonville, will be officially sworn into office Saturday amid two days of celebrations of the historic event.
Before Deegan can move into City Hall, current Mayor Lenny Curry has to move out, which he did Friday with quite the escort.
After Curry said his goodbyes, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department joined the two-term mayor at City Hall as he left the Mayor’s Office for the last time. The caravan escorted Curry to his San Marco area home.
But before he left, Curry left a letter for Deegan on her new desk.
Curry said this week that public safety was one of his biggest goals and he feels he accomplished what he set out to do.
He wished Deegan well and gave her some advice: Stick to your goals and keep running, literally -- something both Curry and Deegan love to do.
Amid her celebrations Friday, Deegan shared thoughtful words for Curry as he departed City Hall.
“I just hope he can reflect on all the time that he has spent loving this city and feel really good about the fact that he has the opportunity, like so few of us have the opportunity, to serve in this way,” Deegan said. “I wish him all the success and I thank him for all of his generosity the last month and a half.”
The inauguration events, which all require tickets, kicked off Friday morning with the Mayor’s Inaugural Prayer Breakfast at the Garden Club of Jacksonville in Riverside. The interfaith event included Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders wishing the new mayor well.
Deegan spoke with News4JAX after the breakfast about her latest staff selections, which include former City Councilman Garrett Dennis, a Democrat, and outgoing Republican Councilman Al Ferraro, who also ran for mayor -- against Deegan.
“I hope that I have set the table pretty well for how I’m going to proceed. We are going to have a lot of diversity. We’re going to have a lot of across the aisle conversation in the mayor’s office in the appointments that I make,” Deegan said. “I want to bring diverse voices into the room, people of every political persuasion, so that we could have good conversations to bring the community and I’m so far very pleased with it.”
The breakfast was followed Friday by the Mayor’s Inaugural Kick-Off Celebration at 5:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
And Saturday will feature:
- Swearing-In Ceremony: Deegan will be sworn in during a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts at 300 Water St. Tickets to the free event are “sold out.” To join the waitlist, click here.
- Inaugural Ball: The Mayor’s Inaugural Ball will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at The River Club at One Independent Drive, Suite 3500.