A JEA board member recently asked utility CEO Vickie Cavey to step down from her post, according to two people familiar with the situation.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A JEA board member recently asked utility CEO Vickie Cavey to step down from her post, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Cavey has served almost two years as CEO of JEA where a seven-member board appointed by the mayor and by the council president is in charge of her employment.
City Council President Kevin Carrico said Feb. 19 that utility employees have told him JEA suffers from a “toxic corporate culture” under Cavey that the board should address.
“Everyone is entitled to an investigation but if what I’ve been told in confidence by her employees comes to light then she should absolutely be removed,” Carrico said.
In a statement, Carrico said he plans to announce an appointee soon to the JEA board.
“Since becoming council president and as a leader of this community, I have unfortunately taken numerous meetings and calls from JEA employees with allegation of racism, toxic corporate culture and other leadership challenges associated with with the CEO,” Carrico said.
“I am currently having conversations with community leaders interested in addressing these challenges and moving our utility forward,” he said. “I look forward to announcing a name in the coming days given the disturbing culture observed at our utility.”
JEA declined to comment on Carrico’s statement and whether a board member asked Cavey to step down as CEO.
Cavey worked 32 years at the utility until her first retirement in 2016. She later came back to the utility to assist Paul McElory in 2020 when he returned as an interim CEO in the aftermath of the failed attempt to sell the utility in 2019.
Cavey came out of retirement a second time when the board named her interim CEO in April 2024 when then-CEO Jay Stowe stepped down. The board later removed the “interim” from Cavey’s title in September 2024.
This article was originally published by the Florida Times-Union.