Mayor alleges ‘smear campaign’ against JEA chief executive

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is defending JEA CEO Vickie Cavey from what she calls a politically motivated “smear campaign” alleging the utility executive has allowed a toxic corporate culture and racism. 

Deegan appeared with Cavey and JEA board Chair Joseph DiSalvo in a news conference Friday at City Hall where the mayor called Cavey an “honest and trustworthy public servant.” 

The move came after reports that JEA board member Rick Morales asked Cavey to resign this week. it followed comments by Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico that he fielded complaints from JEA employees with allegations of racism, a toxic workplace and leadership challenges.

But the mayor claims the effort to discredit Cavey is retribution for JEA’s decision not to renew a lobbying contract with Ballard Partners Inc., where former Lenny Curry is a partner and his former chief of staff, Jordan Elsbury, manages the Jacksonville office.

“This vile smear campaign magically appeared after she resisted pressure to renew a lobbying contract with people who are politically connected to a handful of council members including our council president,” Deegan said. “That’s when all of this started.”

In 2019 and 2020, Curry’s administration endorsed an effort to sell JEA — Jacksonville’s publicly owned electric, water and wastewater utility — to a private company. The process led to the resignation of several JEA executives and the federal conspiracy conviction of its CEO at the time, Aaron Zahn. 

No one in the Curry administration was accused of legal wrongdoing.

“These are the same people who were part of the effort to sell our public utility, and frankly who have been responsible for much of the toxic political culture in Jacksonville the people elected me to end,” Deegan said.

On Thursday, Cavey cut the position of JEA Chief of Staff Kurt Wilson. She dropped the role after Wilson spoke with board members about Cavey’s leadership, according to a report by the Florida Times-Union.

JEA and Ballard

JEA’s most recent relationship with Ballard Partners began in February 2025, when the utility executed a $153,000, one-year contract for Duval County and federal executive branch services. The contract had an option for JEA to renew for up to five years. 

According to Cavey and a JEA spokesperson, that contract was not used enough to renew. Despite ending the federal and local lobbying arrangement, JEA still retains Ballard Services in Tallahassee. 

JEA said it put out an invitation to negotiate to hire lobbyists to represent the utility in the Florida Capitol after its 15-year lobbying team joined Ballard’s Tallahassee office. Ballard ended up winning that JEA contract at $168,000 for one year. 

Elbsury told Jacksonville Today on Friday that his Ballard office had little interaction with JEA related to the firm’s federal lobbying contract. He says Ballard was supposed to advise and help the utility navigate likely changes in federal energy policy after the 2024 presidential election.

According to Elsbury, he facilitated meetings between utility officials and Ballard D.C.-based lobbyists, but says neither he nor Curry had direct conversations with Cavey related to the contract. Elsbury said he didn’t know about Deegan’s comments until reporters contacted him.  

“JEA is a current client of ours. This is the Wizard of Oz,” Elsbury said. “I’m not sure what (Deegan is) referring to. But she can blame us for whatever she wants. I haven’t spoken to the CEO over there or anyone on their board. And apparently it was good enough work that they selected us again in Tallahassee.” 

When reporters asked Cavey on Friday who was calling her about the Ballard contracts or if she was pressured, she hesitated. She then said that she never felt threatened or that she was under a “pressure campaign.” 

Deegan interjected and said, “Vickie, tell the truth and shame the devil. … I want you to be honest and stop protecting people.” 

Cavey then alluded to being asked to renew the contract but said the order had already been given to terminate it.

The mayor said her comments Friday were not to pick a fight with City Council or the larger Ballard Partners firm.

According to Deegan, she didn’t know about the contract until it was done, but indicated someone from her administration knew. 

“I think someone, probably, from my office expressed surprise that the contract would go to somebody who had played such a large role in the conversations and the efforts around the entire scheme around JEA,” Deegan said. “But there was never any pressure from our side to do anything.” 

Cavey was named JEA’s managing director and CEO in April 2024. She’s worked for the utility for 32 years.

She retired from JEA in 2016 but returned as special assistant for external affairs to interim CEO Paul McElroy in 2020, then worked for CEO Jay Stowe as board liaison until January 2021. She first joined JEA in 1984 as a mechanical engineer in the power engineering division, one of JEA’s first female engineers.

Carrico’s texts

Before the mayor weighed in, the latest JEA drama began early this week after Action News Jax reported that Carrico sent a text message to a JEA board member and retired CSX executive Arthur Adams. The message said the council president was not going to renominate Adams to the board.

“What’s up bro … hey I owed a big favor to a friend and opted to put him on the JEA board as your term is expiring. Not sure if you wanted to stay but I needed to do this for my guy. Tab is on me when we link up next.”

Carrico, a vice president at the Boys & Girls Club, nominated his boss, CEO Paul Martinez, who has since removed himself from consideration for the seat.

A JEA charter change was made in 2020 by voter referendum and a 19-0 vote of the City Council as a response to the failed sale attempt. It removed the mayoral authority to all seven JEA board members. That power is now split, four with the council president and three with the mayor. The full council confirms the appointments. 

Council members Jimmy Peluso, Michael Boylan and Matt Carlucci expressed concerns this week about Carrico’s text exchange. 

But council member Rory Diamond, who sits on the Finance and DOGE committees, took to social media Friday after the mayor’s news conference calling for an investigation into Wilson’s dismissal.

“A whistle blower got fired for raising concerns and JEA working overtime trying to buy silence,” he wrote on X. “Never again.”

Carrico still has the authority to appoint someone else to fill Adams’ spot, including retaining Adams.

Elsbury said Friday that he had no influence over Carrico’s nomination.

After Carrico came under scrutiny for his text, he made the accusation of racism and poor corporate culture in a statement to News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner. 

“Since becoming council president and as a leader of this community I have unfortunately taken numerous meetings and calls from JEA employees with allegations of racism, toxic corporate culture, and other leadership challenges associated with the CEO,” Carrico wrote. “I am currently having conversations with community leaders interested in addressing these challenges and moving our utility forward. I look forward to announcing a name in the coming days given then [sic] disturbing culture observed at our utility.”

Cavey declined to comment about Wilson’s departure Friday but rebutted Carrico’s claims. 

“Racism doesn’t have a place anywhere, especially at JEA where I am charged to make sure none of that exists,” she said. “No, there is nothing that I know of — and especially not from me. One hundred percent I can say that.” 

DiSalvo, the JEA board chair, says the comments are a “calculated initiative” to intimidate Cavey and him into resigning.

“All the bogus claims — and I fully expect this disinformation campaign to continue — have no merit and are all hearsay,” he said during the news conference Friday.

JEA’s next meeting

The JEA chair said an independent audit of the utility last year by an outside agency examined the company “from soup to nuts” and found no morale issue among employees. Jacksonville Today has put in a public records request for the audit report.

The JEA board is scheduled to meet Feb. 24, when Cavey’s future with JEA could be discussed.

“Every board member has a prerogative to bring up that. That’s part of it,” DiSalvo said. “And it comes to a motion, and then we vote on it. It’s pretty simple.”