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<\/p>\nJACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A text message is raising questions about how one of Jacksonville\u2019s most powerful public boards is chosen.<\/p>\n
Action News Jax\u2019s Ben Becker has obtained a text exchange between Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico and current JEA board member Arthur Adams that appears to show Carrico removing the sitting board member to repay what Carrico called a \u201cbig favor\u201d to his boss.<\/p>\n
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Arthur Adams Arthur Adams (CSX website)<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a>\u2018I owed a big favor\u2019<\/p>\n Five days before introducing legislation to replace Adams with Paul Martinez<\/a>, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, where Carrico serves as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Carrico sent a text to Adams informing him his term would not be renewed.<\/p>\n In that exchange, Carrico wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s up bro\u2026 hey I owed a big favor to a friend and opted to put him on the JEA board as your term is expiring\u2026 Not sure if you wanted to stay but I needed to do this for my guy.\u201d<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n Adams replied:<\/p>\n \u201cMy plan was to stay\u2026 I\u2019m disappointed – I wanted to serve a full term and felt I was adding real value\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Adams, formerly a 20-year CSX veteran, had served just one year and played a key role on JEA\u2019s Capital Projects Committee.<\/p>\n Text exchange between Kevin Carrico and Arthur Adams Text exchange between Kevin Carrico and Arthur Adams <\/p>\n End of text exchange between Carrico and Adams End of text exchange between Carrico and Adams <\/p>\n Designed to prevent politics<\/p>\n JEA is a multi-billion-dollar public utility. Its board oversees decisions that directly impact what Jacksonville residents pay for electricity and water.<\/p>\n The current structure of JEA\u2019s board was created after Jacksonville voters approved a charter amendment in 2020, following the failed attempt to sell the utility<\/a>, a scandal that led to the federal conviction of former CEO Aaron Zahn.<\/p>\n Under that structure, City Council selects four board members, while the mayor appoints three, a system intended to create checks and balances.<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/a>] <\/p>\n Former City Councilman Matt Schellenberg said the text message undercuts that intent.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy didn\u2019t he go at great length explaining why Paul Martinez should be on the board?\u201d Schellenberg said. \u201cHis first priority is he\u2019s a good friend — that\u2019s not a qualification. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo have this go on is deplorable.\u201d<\/p>\n Questions of conflict<\/p>\n The text exchange also surfaces amid broader scrutiny of Carrico\u2019s dual roles.<\/p>\n The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida receives more than $12 million annually in city grant funding<\/a> through Kids Hope Alliance. As Council President, Carrico plays a key role in shaping the city\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n State financial disclosures show Carrico\u2019s salary from the nonprofit increased from $111,500 in 2021 to $149,000 last year — more than a 33% rise over four years, including a $32,500 jump in 2023 alone. He also earns $60,000 annually as a council member.<\/p>\n Carrico has abstained from voting on matters directly involving the Boys & Girls Clubs.<\/p>\n The response<\/p>\n When asked what the \u201cbig favor\u201d meant and what he hoped to receive in return, Carrico did not directly answer those questions.<\/p>\n In an email, he said:<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision speaks for itself. Paul Martinez was appointed based on his qualifications and longstanding commitment to Jacksonville. 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\u2019m proud of the decision to make this change at the JEA Board and confident Paul will serve with integrity and sound judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Martinez Paul Martinez <\/p>\n The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida said it was not involved in any discussions regarding JEA board appointments: <\/p>\n \u201cOur CEO has not participated in any decision-making process related to board service. The organization remains focused on serving youth and families in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n JEA said it does not control board selection provisions. The mayor\u2019s office declined comment.<\/p>\n What happens next<\/p>\n Martinez\u2019s appointment must still clear council committees and be approved by the full City Council.<\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here<\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here<\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A text message is raising questions about how one of Jacksonville\u2019s most powerful public boards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[344,75612,75614,347,28,348,116,4040,351,118,117,501,75613,5896,75615,349,73056,350,346,345],"class_list":{"0":"post-157780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action-news-jax","9":"tag-arthur-adams","10":"tag-boys-girls-clubs-of-northeast-florida","11":"tag-cbs47","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-fox30","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-jacksonville-city-council","16":"tag-jacksonville-fl","17":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","18":"tag-jacksonville-news","19":"tag-jea","20":"tag-jea-board","21":"tag-kevin-carrico","22":"tag-matt-schellenberg","23":"tag-northeast-florida","24":"tag-paul-martinez","25":"tag-southeast-georgia","26":"tag-wfox","27":"tag-wjax"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/https:\/\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/cmg\/CCFASJL4BRDS3FAK4U35M454XQ.jpg\")
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