Michael Fackler, acting city general counsel since Sept. 29, is recommended for permanent appointment by the Mayor’s Qualification Review Committee.
Committee members John Delaney, Blane McCarthy, Michael Fox Orr and Chair Jason Gabriel voted 4-0 on Oct. 26 to recommend Fackler to be the city’s top lawyer.
Committee member Braxton Gillam recused himself because he is Fackler’s law partner.
Fackler’s appointment now moves to the City Council for final approval.
During the public comment period of the 22-minute meeting, Fackler’s wife, Katie Fackler, spoke about his “servant’s heart and ability to pivot as a lawyer.”
A commercial litigator, Fackler has practiced law for nearly 20 years and is a partner at the Milam Howard Nicandri & Gillam law firm.
A past president of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Fackler also was an adjunct professor at Florida Coastal School of Law.
He is a board member of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and the Riverside Presbyterian Church Basketball League.
Fackler also served as president and a board member of the Jacksonville Historical Society.
Mayor Donna Deegan appointed Fackler acting general counsel effective Sept. 29 to succeed Bob Rhodes.
When she took office in July, Deegan named Rhodes as interim general counsel until Sept. 28.
Deegan’s first general counsel appointee, former Council member Randy DeFoor, withdrew her nomination Sept. 13 after several Council members questioned whether her appointment would violate Florida statutes that prohibit a former elected official from lobbying for compensation for two years.