JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Monday marked 100 days since Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan was sworn in and a lot has happened in that time.
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Action News Jax sat down with the Mayor Wednesday to discuss the biggest events, challenges, and successes the city has seen under Deegan’s leadership.
Even before Mayor Deegan was sworn in on July 1st, she was already facing a tight deadline to put together a budget proposal to present to the council.
She managed to do it and secured the first unanimous vote for a city budget in more than 15 years.
“We were able to zero in very quickly on priorities and as I said all along Jake, I felt that my priorities for the city in terms of infrastructure, in terms of health, in terms of economic development, were very aligned with what council would want to do and as it turns out we all want to accomplish a lot of the same things,” said Deegan.
Deegan also managed to secure $25 million in undedicated funding in the city budget.
That money can later be directed to projects and issues she hopes to tackle.
“The fact that $25 million got through the budget unscathed with all the things that we had outlined that we wanted to do from the transition committees I think was really a big win,” said Deegan.
But Deegan has faced questions regarding her decision to approve 22 grants in the budget for non-profits, some of which have direct connections with council members.
“You campaigned on ending ‘sweetheart’ deals as you called them on the trail. Why did you decide to leave that funding alone this year?” asked Action News Jax’s Jake Stofan.
“If I had vetoed those things they would have been overridden. But for me to zero in on those things when there’s so much that came before it, to me, would be very performative,” said Deegan.
READ: Donna Deegan officially becomes Jacksonville’s first female mayor
While Deegan held back on vetoing the grant funding in this year’s budget, she said she hopes to work with council members to rethink the way city dollars are awarded in the future.
“We have to make sure that the system looks transparent to people that are looking from home,” said Deegan.
Things haven’t been all easy going between the mayor and the Republican supermajority on the council.
Deegan’s picks for General Counsel and Director of Neighborhoods both faced staunch pushback, as did her funding request for a Chief of Diversity and Inclusion.
All three were ultimately blocked.
“Looking back do you think you would have handled those appointments differently?” asked Stofan.
“I did not expect the level of pushback that I received. So, I’ll say the lesson is to make sure you line up your votes,” said Deegan.
But Deegan said those battles pale in comparison to her hardest day on the job.
“That racist killing over in New Town. That was the hardest moment for me. It felt like a personal failure that during my time in office, we had citizens that lost their lives for such a horrendous, horrendous purpose,” said Deegan.
However, in the midst of that tragedy, Deegan also witnessed the unity and resilience of the people of Jacksonville.
“I was grateful to see a lot of people from all over the community saying if it happens to one part of the community it happens to all of us and I think that’s very true,” said Deegan.
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Going forward Deegan said she plans to push for new ways to combat hate in the community.
“An entire program to address how we eradicate racism from our community. What can we do to reach out to the different facets of our community and make that not something that affects our community,” said Deegan.
There’s no shortage of challenges on the horizon.
The highest profile of which, is arguably the effort to strike a stadium renovation deal with the Jaguars.
It’s a goal the mayor said she still believes is within reach, as negotiations get underway.
“We both want to get to yes and I think we will,” said Deegan.
One issue the mayor believes still has a long road ahead is the proposed relocation of the jail.
“The phase that we’re in now is really a study phase. We need to take a look at the study, see what the study comes back with, and then make recommendations after that,” said Deegan.
In terms of priorities Deegan campaigned on, the restoration of the Jacksonville Journey is already underway.
Deegan explained literacy is at the center of the crime reduction initiative.
“We’re gonna include the community with a whole program of 20 minutes of reading a day. We’re gonna have a competition. We’re gonna have people get involved for prizes and things to get it kicked off, so people get focused on it,” said Deegan.
Deegan has made a point of directly speaking to and hearing from the community during her time in office and has held numerous community conversations.
She said what has stood out the most in those conversations is even though political spats often consume the headlines, it’s things like potholes and maintenance that are top of mind for most residents.
“I think it really has validated the additional money that we’ve spent on the mowing and edging and trash pickup and just the basic infrastructure needs. It’s what real people, in the neighborhoods really care about,” said Deegan.
The mayor still has more than three and half years to go in her term and only time will tell how all of these initiatives and challenges play out.
Action News Jax will be there to keep you informed every step of the way.
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