JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville City Council member is calling for a special committee investigating JEA to be disbanded, following a new Action News Jax investigation.
Councilman Jimmy Peluso said the committee appears ineffective.
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“I think it looks more like a circus than us trying to find the solutions,” Peluso said.
The three-member council committee was formed to investigate allegations of a toxic workplace culture at JEA, raised by former Chief of Staff Kurt Wilson and aimed at CEO Vickie Cavey.
Action News Jax’s Ben Becker revealed on Thursday that Wilson and former board chair Bobby Stein recruited a telehealth company, RightSite Health, for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department without disclosing they had been offered an equity stake in the company.
Councilman Rory Diamond, who serves on the JEA committee and Duval DOGE, has also proposed the city use RightSite Health, while leading an investigation into the city’s primary telehealth provider, Telescope Health.
Peluso said the findings prompted him to question Diamond’s role.
“Now that we have seen Ben Becker’s report … I think we have noticed there is a member of the committee who might be a little bit compromised right now,” Peluso said.
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Diamond pushed back in a terse statement, saying:
“Jimmy Peluso is Mayor Deegan’s errand boy and has been trying to stop accountability at every turn. Ask yourself, why would anyone oppose getting to the truth? It’s all to hide the corruption, and we won’t stop until we get to the truth.”
Meanwhile, Councilman Matt Carlucci is urging caution, saying the City Council should pause JEA board appointments until investigations by the State Attorney and Inspector General are complete.
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Action News Jax has been reporting on a series of controversies involving JEA in recent months, including a text message from Council President Kevin Carrico referencing a “big favor for a friend” tied to a board appointment. It has resulted in a probe by the State Attorney’s Office. Peluso previously had requested Carrico temporarily step down from his role during the investigation, to which Carrico responded by calling him a “drama queen.”
Carrico sent Action News Jax a statement regarding Peluso:
“Now more than ever, we need an independent and transparent review of JEA. Calls to shut down the Council’s Special Investigatory Committee are an attempt to avoid accountability at a time when it is urgently needed. With rates skyrocketing, serious concerns about a toxic workplace culture, and potential tens of millions in uncollected fees owed to taxpayers, the public deserves answers - not political interference designed to sweep these issues under the rug.”
The next JEA Investigatory committee meeting is scheduled for April 13.
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