Jacksonville, Fl — Days before the first meeting of a special committee investigating JTA, Mayor Donna Deegan tells WOKV News she hopes to leave politics out of the process and figure out why the agency is staring at a $38 million deficit.
Deegan says everyone was in the dark on the depth of the problems.
“Was this something that Mr. Ford was familiar with, or was he as surprised as everybody else. He should have been familiar, it’s his organization, right? We need to find out what got us to this place and I think beyond that it’s going to be really important for us to look at ways to make sure we don’t get into this place again,” Deegan said on Monday.
Deegan also addressed the allegations by former JTA Board Member Megan Hayward, who said she warned Deegan about invoices that now may be tied to an investigation by Florida’s Attorney General.
When asked if she still backs Nat Ford’s years of leadership at JTA, which she lauded after his resignation, Deegan shared that she’s always had a high opinion of him.
“I need to find out what happened here. He’s the leader of the organization and therefore that’s his responsibility. So I think there is a lot to answer for there. So certainly I’m disappointed. Let’s put it that way. At this point I am deeply disappointed,”, Deegan said.
Deegan also addressed the latest contender in the 2027 race for her re-election. WOKV reported when Republican House Speaker Wyman Duggan filed to run on Friday.
Deegan defended her record and pushed back against allegations of playing partisan politics.
“I don’t like to be lied about. And that is the one thing about the establishment punishment politics that we have had in this city for the past decade or so that I don’t want to see back in this city,”, Deegan said.
Deegan also previewed her role in a Jacksonville delegation headed to London for the Jaguars annual International Series games, as well as her observations about future London games once stadium construction ends.
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