The woman who is the top choice of Mayor Donna Deegan to become the city’s next top lawyer has taken her name out of the running

The woman who is the top choice of Mayor Donna Deegan to become the city’s next top lawyer is running into some resistance.

Saying her nominee for general counsel is “facing a smear campaign,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan held a news conference Wednesday to rally support for Randy DeFoor’s appointment.

Former City Council member Randy DeFoor is Mayor Donna Deegan’s pick to become Jacksonville’s next general counsel. But it’s DeFoor’s former role as a city council member that might be the problem.

After much deliberation and debating, Jacksonville City Council members made a final decision Friday on a redrawn redistricting map.

A sergeant with JSO is expected to provide more information around 10:30 a.m.

A woman died Wednesday after she was found shot multiple times in an area of Jacksonville near the Clay County border that has seen gun violence, drugs issues, homelessness and panhandling over the years.

The attempt to privatize JEA is now getting international attention. A delegation from African nations has visited Jacksonville to study ethics and transparency, and it’s using what happened with JEA as a case study.

City Council member Randy DeFoor announced Wednesday that she won’t be seeking re-election for the district, which includes Riverside, Avondale, Lake Shore and parts of the Westside to the Clay County line.

Hundreds of people in the Jacksonville community have complained about the traffic and dangerous conditions at the Starbucks on Roosevelt Boulevard at Beverly Avenue.

Viewers are again complaining about the ongoing issue but now they’re saying it’s become a safety hazard -- causing near-crashes regularly.

The I-TEAM discovered that in just the month of August, the city received 9,008 complaints about yard waste pick-up delays. That’s nearly 700 more complaints than were received in July.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced he wants the city to invest $100 million in neighborhood parks, pools, libraries and other quality-of-life enhancements over the next two years.

The Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday elected current Vice President Sam Newby to serve as Council president beginning summer 2021.

Jacksonville city council members are holding Town Hall meetings to get input from the community on the proposed 6-cent local gas tax increase.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a debate that turned heated and slightly personal at times, Jacksonville city leaders approved an amended version of a bill to adjust how city council raises are handled. The original plan would have done away with automatic pay raises for council members and forced them to vote each year on whether to take salary increases. The NOPE bill stands for “No Obligatory Pay Enlargement,” but after a debate centered around a cost of living increase, the city council passed an amended version of the bill that removed the original language. City council salaries make up only a small part of the city’s $1.3 billion budget. Last fall, council members approved a 4.6% increase, bringing salaries for most council members to over $52,000 a year.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After months of debate, City Council voted 12-7 against a deal to bring a major entertainment complex to Downtown Jacksonville. “We pulled the plug on Lot J. It’s dead,” Lamping said. When asked if the Jaguars might consider another proposal for Lot J, Lamping said he thinks “it’s time to turn the page.”“We’ll leave that behind,” Lamping said. The legislative body spoke and unfortunately Lot J will not move forward. Under the deal, the entertainment district, which was planned for Lot J outside TIAA Bank Field, would have been one of the biggest investments in the city’s history.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city of Jacksonville is investigating a “chemical-like” pungent odor in the Murray Hill area after dozens of complaints have poured in. “We have a lot of unhappy constituents in Murray Hill in relation to the smell,” said City Council member Randy DeFoor, who represents District 14, which includes Murray Hill. Neighbors describe the smell as a sickly sweet, turpentine smell that makes them queasy and typically lasts around three hours. We are aware of the recent inquiries from the Murray Hill area. DeFoor assured residents during Thursday’s town hall that she’s working to get to the bottom of the smell.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Members of the Jacksonville City Council spoke virtually Monday night on whether to subpoena key witnesses in the attempted sale of the city-owned utility, JEA. There are three outstanding witnesses that the committee would like to talk to, who might not testify unless theyre compelled to by subpoena. Our job isnt to represent these people in a criminal defense matter, said City Councilman Randy DeFoor. That warning frustrated Councilwoman Randy DeFoor who said that if the City Council cant use the power of a court order, the City Council cant do much in determining what went wrong with the attempted sale of JEA. Someone explain to me what we got going left.No decision was made Monday night, but council members said they want to hear from the public.

City leaders want to prohibit JEA from exploring or investigating any type of sale. If it does, City Council members have a limited amount of time to get it on the ballot. It comes as the Department of Justice is requesting Jacksonville leaders not to interview key witnesses in the attempted sale of JEA. Two, we haven’t interviewed anyone who was on the board when Zahn was hired,” said Randy DeFoor, City Council member. City council members tell News4Jax it would be necessary if they were re-allocating power from the Mayor’s office, but they are not.

Committee Chairman Diamond said from the beginning of the probe earlier this year he planned to subpoena the bidders and find out who their lobbyists were. Meeting via a Zoom video conference on Tuesday, The Rules Committee unanimously approved issuing 22 subpoenas. The Rules Committee UNANIMOUSLY approved 22 subpoenas to the JEA bidders and investment banks. “Honest to God, this is embarrassing to you and JEA,” DeFoor said last month. The committee plan to look through documents to see if JEA leadership started looking into the potential privatization of the city-owned utility before it was approved by the JEA Board of Directors.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville City Council members leading an investigation into JEA’s failed bid to sell the city-owned utility kicked off the special investigating committee meeting on Monday by calling out delays in public records requests sent to JEA. Councilmembers Rory Diamond, Randy DeFoor and Brenda Priestly Jackson all expressed their frustration to JEA lawyers that their public records requests from more than a month ago have produced zero documents so far. The committee plan to look through documents to see if JEA leadership started looking into the potential privatization of the city-owned utility before it was approved by the JEA Board of Directors. The committee also heard from former JEA executive Mike Brost and current Vice President Steven McInall. The committee wants to know more.

“You have to talk to (JEA spokeswoman) Gina Kyle,” JEA Chief Operating Officer Melissa Dykes said. On Thursday, Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson said she was filing an emergency resolution asking that JEA to stop plans to privatize. Her concern is when the talk of a sale started, City Council was not notified in a timely manner, which she believes that should void the entire deal. The full council could vote Tuesday night on the resolution calling for the end to the process. JEA did ask us not to air that exchange with Dykes after the meeting, saying it would make her available later.