JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax’s Ben Becker has learned Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico plans to introduce a resolution at Tuesday night’s meeting that would appoint his boss to one of the city’s most powerful boards.
Carrico is sponsoring the resolution to appoint Paul Martinez, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, to the JEA Board of Directors. Carrico serves as a vice president at the Boys & Girls Clubs.
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If approved, Martinez would replace outgoing JEA board member Arthur Adams.
Action News Jax first reported in October the Boys & Girls Clubs receive millions of dollars in city grants from children’s agency Kids Hope Alliance.
In November, Action News Jax discovered ties between Carrico, the Boys & Girls Clubs, former City Council Finance Chair Raul Arias, and a local company that did work for BGC and briefly held a city contract with KHA.
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Becker asked Carrico whether appointing his boss to the JEA board could present a perceived conflict of interest and if he would abstain from voting. Carrico did not directly answer the question. Instead, he issued a statement saying:
“Paul Martinez is a longstanding civic leader who has spent decades serving Jacksonville with distinction, from leading the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida to senior roles with the City of Jacksonville and service on the Children’s Commission. He has earned broad bipartisan respect for his steady leadership, having served under both Republican and Democrat administrations and built strong credibility across our civic and business communities. I appreciate Paul’s willingness to step forward and continue serving our community on the JEA Board.”
Becker reached out to BGC and is waiting to hear back.
Ethical questions
Action News Jax also learned Carrico did not seek an ethics opinion before introducing the resolution, nor is he required to.
While there is no identical case on record in recent memory, there are past examples of when ethics and potential conflicts have arisen.
In 2019, Council Member Rory Diamond requested guidance from the Ethics Office after then-Mayor Lenny Curry appointed Dana Grey to the JEA board. At the time, Grey served on the board of K9s For Warriors, where Diamond was CEO.
The Ethics Office consulted with the State Ethics Commission and advised Diamond that he could legally vote on Grey’s nomination under state ethics law.
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Diamond released a statement to Action News Jax Tuesday, emphasizing that K9s For Warriors did not receive city funding during his tenure and that the matter was cleared in advance:
“K9s For Warriors never took a penny from the City of Jacksonville while I was CEO. When Mayor Curry appointed one of our board members to the JEA Board, we had the matter cleared by ethics to make sure there was not even the appearance of a conflict.”
In another case in 2022, Council Member Aaron Bowman abstained from voting on the appointment of JAXUSA President Aundra Wallace to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority board because Bowman worked for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce at the time.
JEA controversial board history
In 2020, voters approved a charter amendment giving the City Council authority to appoint four of JEA’s seven board members, reducing the mayor’s control to three appointments. The change came after the failed sale of the utility under former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn, who was later convicted of fraud.
JEA said it does not dictate the provisions of board member selections or qualifications. Article 21 of the Charter spells out those details.
What’s next?
Carrico’s resolution must first move through City Council committees before it can be considered by the full council for a final vote.
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