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<\/p>\nMessages revealed that Council Member Kevin Carrico intended to replace a JEA board member with his colleague, Paul Martinez, because he owed him a ‘big favor.’<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico’s pick for the JEA board announced he is withdrawing his name from consideration after recently released text messages raised ethical concerns from local leaders.<\/p>\n
“After thoughtful consideration, I have decided not to pursue appointment to the JEA Board, as my priority remains the strength and stability of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida,” Paul Martinez, the organization’s president, said in a statement Wednesday. “While I am disappointed that I will not be able to serve the City of Jacksonville in this additional capacity, I remain fully committed to leading this organization with integrity and focus.”<\/p>\n
President Carrico, who is also the vice president of strategic initiatives at the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida, introduced a resolution to the Jacksonville City Council on Feb. 10 to replace JEA Board Member Arthur Adams with Martinez.<\/p>\n
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Martinez’s decision comes after text messages between Carrico and Adams came to light.<\/p>\n
In the messages, Carrico tells Adams he plans to replace him with a friend whom he owes a “big favor,” and that he “had to do this for my guy.” Adams, who was only appointed to the board in January 2025, replied that he had been hoping to stay for a full four-year term.<\/p>\n
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“I respect Paul Martinez\u2019s decision and thank him for his decades of service to Jacksonville. His leadership of one of the top-performing Boys & Girls Clubs organizations in the nation, serving 18,000 local children annually across 59 locations, speaks for itself,” Carrico said Wednesday. “It\u2019s unfortunate that political noise and unfair attacks sought to distract from a lifetime of service, but our community continues to benefit from his leadership and commitment.”<\/p>\n
Several local organizations and City Council members raised concerns regarding Carrico’s motivations.<\/p>\n
Longtime City Councilman Matt Carlucci said Tuesday that the text put both Adams and Martinez in an uncomfortable position and undermines confidence in how board appointments are made.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Adams is performing very well on the board. He\u2019s only had a year. He should get four years. He deserves it,\u201d Carlucci said. \u201cYou are replacing somebody who\u2019s doing a very good job because of somebody you owe a favor to, and he is your boss. It smacks of favoritism. The optics are bad, and the reality is bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrico has defended Martinez’s qualifications for the position, but did not address the controversy surrounding the alleged favor in his statements to First Coast News.<\/p>\n
In a letter, the Jacksonville 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.”<\/p>\n