Councilman Reggie Brown replacement signed lease in Dist. 10 same day as appointment

The man selected to replace suspended Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Brown signed a lease to rent a house in District 10 on Tuesday, the same day Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to the position.

Terrance Freeman does not live in the district Scott appointed him to represent.

Scott announced he was appointing Freeman to replace suspended councilman Reggie Brown and Clara White Mission president Ju’Coby Pittman to represent suspended councilwoman Katrina Brown.

Reggie Brown and Katrina Brown have been indicted on a combined 38 counts in a federal fraud case.

They’re expected to go to trial in September.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

Freeman has lived in a Mandarin home since 2017, according to Duval County Property Appraiser records, not in District 10.

City code requires council members to live in the district they represent.

Freeman told Action News Jax he signed a lease to rent a house in Northwest Jacksonville in the Imeson area on Tuesday.

Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan confirmed Freeman also changed his voter registration address on Tuesday.

“The City Charter requires that the Governor’s appointee reside in his or her district from the moment that person takes the oath of office and during the entire pendency of their tenure. As for becoming a candidate for that office in a future election, the Charter also requires residency 183 days prior to qualifying as a candidate for that office. Our understanding is that the Governor’s appointees meet both such requirements,” said city of Jacksonville General Counsel Jason Gabriel in an email to Action News Jax.

City Council President Aaron Bowman said he respects the willingness of his former council assistant to move to District 10 for the council position.

“I think that tells you a lot about his character, in wanting to take care of that district,” said Bowman.

That’s not how the Duval County Democratic Party sees it.

“It just doesn’t make any sense and it defies logic,” said Duval County Democratic Party vice-chair Daniel Henry.

Henry said he questions why Scott would appoint a Mandarin Republican with business connections to replace a District 10 Democrat.

“The voters of District 10 should actually be represented by someone that actually has strong ties to their community, has a residence there, that people know and trust,” said Henry.

Tax records show Democrat Ju’Coby Pittman owns properties in Districts 8 and 7.

When Action News Jax checked on Tuesday afternoon, Pittman had not filed a homestead tax exemption for either of them.

After Action News Jax questioned Pittman about that, the Duval County Property Appraiser’s Office said Pittman came in to the office in person and filed the exemption for her District 8 home.

Pittman and Freeman are scheduled to be sworn in to their new positions on Thursday at 3 p.m.

Bowman has assigned Pittman to serve on the Land Use and Zoning (LUZ) Committee and the Rules Committee.

Bowman assigned Freeman to serve on the Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety (NCSPHS) Committee, as well as the Transportation, Energy and Utilities (TEU) Committee.

Cox Media Group