Incoming City Council President Anna Lopez Brosche is betting on the experience of her peers to help lead council for the next year.
On Monday, Brosche announced her choices to lead the council’s standing committees as well as the group’s 41 boards, commissions, committees and authority assignments.
The standing committees will be led by Democrat Garrett Dennis (Finance) and Republicans Matt Schellenberg (Land Use and Zoning), Doyle Carter (Rules), Samuel Newby (Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety) and Al Ferraro (Transportation, Energy and Utilities).
All backed her bid for council president, which she won 11-8.
Brosche said Monday she wanted to “balance my priorities with the requests made by my colleagues.” She said she surveyed them after the May 23 election.
The 2017-18 year starts July 1.
Dennis, a first-term council member, is slated to take over for Brosche as Finance chair and is the only Democrat to lead a standing committee.
The Finance Committee oversees budgetary matters like appropriations, taxes and economic development incentives, among other issues.
It also will play an important role in crafting the next budget.
Dennis served as the 2016-17 Rules chair and as the 2015-16 chair of the Neighborhood Improvement and Community Enhancement Committee.
“Garrett isn’t like his other colleagues,” Brosche said. “He isn’t afraid to step up and get the conversation going.”
She said Dennis was the right choice because “he can advocate for what he wants and balance the needs of his committee.”
Danny Becton, this year’s Land Use and Zoning chair, will serve as vice chair for Finance.
Schellenberg, this year’s vice chair for Finance, will lead Land Use and Zoning. He serves on that committee this year.
Outgoing council President Lori Boyer will serve with Schellenberg as vice chair.
“We have a lot of development going on in Jacksonville right now, so I felt that we needed someone with experience,” Brosche said. “Matt has that experience, as does Lori.”
The Land Use and Zoning Committee considers legislation regarding the city’s zoning code, conservation efforts, building codes, urban renewal and more.
Carter will take over as chair for the Rules Committee with Scott Wilson serving as vice chair.
Having served on council from 1999-2003 and re-elected in 2011, Carter has led the Rules Committee twice.
Brosche said he’s “a great fit” who brings “a wealth of veteran experience to the council.”
Wilson, who unsuccessfully ran for council vice president, will take over as vice chair after serving on the Rules Committee this year.
Rules considers any legislation or items that deal with the operations of the city, such as confirming nominations, charter revisions and governmental reorganization.
Newby will head the new Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee, with Greg Anderson as vice chair.
It folds Public Health and Safety into the current Neighborhoods, Community Investment and Services Committee.
“My experience is that the PHS agenda wasn’t always lengthy, so from a resource and efficiency perspective, I felt like it was better to put them together,” Brosche said.
Elected to council in 2015, Newby currently chairs Public Health and Safety.
Brosche said he “repeatedly expressed interest” in leading the new committee and “brings with him the interest and experience from Public Health and Safety.”
Ferraro will return a second year to chair the Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee. Brosche said he “wanted to continue serving in that role, and has a tremendous interest in transportation issues facing our city.”
Jim Love will serve as vice chair of the committee, which presides over issues like road construction, traffic, and mobility fees.
Brosche said no one turned down a leadership role when asked, and she hopes the new makeup will continue the successes from this year’s groups.
Nearly every council member will serve on a committee, except for Brosche and Bill Gulliford.
Brosche said she decided to leave Gulliford off of committees in response to comments he made after she won the May 23 election.
“At the beginning of the process, he indicated that he didn’t want to serve on any of my committees,” she said.
Gulliford backed John Crescimbeni and voiced concerns over Brosche’s lack of experience.
In an email sent to council members May 24, Gulliford asked to be placed on “two of the lesser committees” to “live out my year’s exile as such”.
“I didn’t take it personally, but the thing is, I don’t have any ‘lesser committees’,” said Brosche. “All of my committees are equally important.”
Without a committee role, Gulliford will serve as a council liaison to both the Northeast Florida Regional Council and Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission.
Brosche appointed Crescimbeni, a Democrat, to serve on the Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee and the Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee.
It’s customary for the council president not to serve on standing committees. Council Vice President Aaron Bowman will serve on the same committees as Crescimbeni.
Brosche is set to officially announce her selections before the next Finance Committee meeting scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in council chambers at City Hall.
Council’s new leadership will be sworn in June 29.
Broches was elected in 2015 to represent At-Large Group 1.
Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health & Safety
Samuel Newby (Chair, R, At-Large Group 5)
Greg Anderson (Vice Chair, R, At-Large Group 4)
Aaron Bowman (R, District 3)
John Crescimbeni (D, At-Large Group 2)
Garrett Dennis
Jim Love
Scott Wilson
Transportation, Energy and Utilities
Al Ferraro (Chair, R, District 2)
Jim Love (Vice Chair, R, District 14)
Lori Boyer
Aaron Bowman
John Crescimbeni
Tommy Hazouri (D, At-Large Group 3)
Joyce Morgan (D, District 1)
Finance
Garrett Dennis (Chair, D, District 9)
Danny Becton (Vice Chair, R, District 11)
Lori Boyer
Katrina Brown (D, District 8)
Reginald Brown (D, District 10)
Reginald Gaffney (D, District 7)
Matt Schellenberg
Rules
Doyle Carter (Chair, R, District 12)
Scott Wilson (Vice Chair, R, District 4)
Greg Anderson
Reginald Brown
Al Ferraro
Joyce Morgan
Samuel Newby
Land Use and Zoning
Matt Schellenberg (Chair, R, District 6)
Lori Boyer (Vice Chair, R, District 5)
Danny Becton
Katrina Brown
Doyle Carter
Al Ferraro
Reginald Gaffney
Waterways Commission
Lori Boyer (Chair)
Al Ferraro (Vice Chair)
Aaron Bowman
Jim Love (alternate)
Tourist Development Council
Anna Lopez Brosche (Chair)
(R, At-Large, Group 1)
Aaron Bowman
Lori Boyer
Value Adjustment Board
Danny Becton (Chair)
Scott Wilson
Al Ferraro (Alternate)
Personnel Committee
Anna Lopez Brosche (Chair)
Aaron Bowman (Vice Chair)
Garrett Dennis
Doyle Carter
Scott Wilson
Chaplain
Doyle Carter
Floor leader
Scott Wilson
Cultural Council
John Crescimbeni
Downtown Development Review Board
Reginald Gaffney
Greg Anderson
Downtown Investment Authority
Lori Boyer
Reginald Gaffney (Alternate)
Downtown Vision, Inc.
Lori Boyer
Election Canvassing Board
Anna Lopez Brosche
Lori Boyer (Alternate)
Florida Association of Counties
Matt Schellenberg
Garrett Dennis
Florida League of Cities
Reginald Brown
Samuel Newby
Group Health Benefits Committee
Danny Becton
Jacksonville Aviation Authority
Doyle Carter
Jacksonville Children’s Commission
Samuel Newby
Jacksonville Fire Museum Advisory Board
Doyle Carter
Jacksonville Housing Authority
Katrina Brown
Jacksonville Housing and Community Development Commission
Garrett Dennis
Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority
Katrina Brown
Jacksonville Journey Oversight Committee
Scott Wilson
Jacksonville Port Authority
Aaron Bowman
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
Tommy Hazouri
Jacksonville Transportation Authority
Samuel Newby
JEA
Matt Schellenberg
Joint Planning Committee
Tommy Hazouri
Juvenile Justice Circuit Advisory Board
Joyce Morgan
Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Commission
Joyce Morgan
Library Board of Trustees
Tommy Hazouri
Jim Love
Mayor’s Council on Fitness and Wellbeing
Scott Wilson
Military/Veterans Affairs
Al Ferraro
Jim Love (Alternate)
Northeast Florida Regional Council
Bill Gulliford
(R, District 13)
John Crescimbeni
Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission
Bill Gulliford
Office of Economic Development
Matt Schellenberg
Police and Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees
Greg Anderson
Public Service Grants Council
Joyce Morgan
School Board
Tommy Hazouri
Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning Council
Anna Lopez Brosche
Sister Cities
Reginald Brown
Transportation Planning Organization
Lori Boyer
Doyle Carter
Samuel Newby
Garrett Dennis (Alternate)
Zoological Society
Al Ferarro
Lori Boyer (Alternate)