Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico is facing ethics questions after text messages between him and a sitting JEA board member came to light.

JEA provided First Coast News with the following text message chain between Carrico and Board Member Arthur Adams, in which Carrico says he intends to give Adams’ seat to a friend whom he owes “a big favor.”

Adams was appointed to the board in January 2025 and is the former senior vice president of sales and marketing at CSX.

In the messages, Adams says he planned to stay on the board for a full term, but Carrico says he “needed to do this for my guy.”

A council meeting agenda from Feb. 10 shows a resolution to replace Adams with Paul Martinez, the CEO and President of the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida, for a full first term.

The Jacksonville NAACP sent President Carrico a letter regarding the messages, calling them “deeply troubling,” a “breach of public trust.” The organization also raised concerns about a conflict of interest, due to Carrico serving alongside Martinez at the Boys and Girls Club as its vice president of strategic initiatives.

In a statement to First Coast News, Carrico said Martinez is a wonderful candidate, but did not address the ethical concerns surrounding the idea of placing a board member as a “favor.”

“The decision speaks for itself. Paul Martinez was appointed based on his qualifications and longstanding commitment to Jacksonville,” Carrico said. “He is a respected civic leader, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida serving 18,000 children annually across 59 locations, and a public servant who has worked effectively under both Republican and Democrat administrations. I’m proud of the decision to make this change at the JEA Board and confident Paul will serve with integrity and sound judgment.”

In its letter, the NAACP called on a withdrawal of any attempt to replace a JEA board member for reasons unrelated to “objective qualifications, performance, and the public interest.”

In a statement, a JEA spokesperson said the utility “does not dictate the provisions of board member selections or qualifications and will not have further comment on the exchange.”

According to Article 21 of the city’s code of ordinances, JEA board members must be confirmed by the Jacksonville City Council and generally serve four-year terms. Four members of the seven-member board are nominated by the city council president, while three are appointed by the mayor.

The mayor’s office declined to comment on the matter.