From his transition team offices on the fifth floor of the City Hall Annex, Mayor-elect John Peyton Monday morning made public his 16-member Transition Steering Committee. Calling them “the dream team,” Peyton said “today is about celebrating them.”
Over the course of the next six weeks, Peyton will rely heavily on transition team chair Walt Bussells and recently-appointed COO Sam Mousa to help him cull through current appointed City officials and others that will come from the private sector.
Peyton said by week’s end he expects to ask for the resignations of all of Mayor John Delaney’s appointees. He and the transition team will then evaluate personnel, decide who’s resignations to accept and which ones to decline.
Here is a look at the members of the transition team:
• Bussells will lead the transition effort as a member of the steering committee. Bussells, managing director/CEO of JEA, brings a history of proven leadership and broad thinking to this assignment.
• Barbara Darby is the North Campus president of Florida Community College at Jacksonville, which serves nearly 6,000 students. Darby is an ordained elder at Woodlawn Presbyterian Church, a member of the board of Mental Health Resource Center, a past president of the Leadership Jacksonville board, a board member of Eartha M.M. White Health Care Center and a former board member of Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.
• J.C. “Jay” Demetree Jr. is president and CEO of Demetree Brothers, Inc., a real estate development and management company in Jacksonville. He serves as a director of the St. Vincent’s Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, the University of North Florida Foundation Board, Compass Bank Advisory Board, the Florida Committee of 100 and the Georgia Tech National Advisory Board.
• Cindy Edelman is a community volunteer and art history instructor at the secondary and post-secondary school level. She is the current president of the Congregation Ahavath Chesed and board member of the Community Foundation. Edelman is a docent at the Cummer Museum and a former board member of Leadership Jacksonville. Edelman was also a board member of the Jacksonville Cultural Council. In 2001, she was honored by the National Conference of Community and Justice.
• Ronnie A. Ferguson is the president and CEO of the Jacksonville Housing Authority. Under Ferguson’s leadership, the authority has gone from a troubled agency to being designated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a “High Performer” in 2002, the most rapid rise in the nation. Under Mayor Ed Austin, Ferguson served as the deputy mayor for community development.
• Sheriff Nat Glover is a two-term sheriff and the first African-American to hold the position in Jacksonville. After a lengthy career as an officer, Glover was elected in 1995. The Edward Waters College graduate and Jacksonville native lost to Peyton in the May 13 runoff.
• Michael C. Hightower is vice president for governmental and legislative affairs for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. Hightower was the finance chair for the Peyton for Mayor Committee. He was also a George W. Bush “Pioneer” member of the finance committee, immediate past chair of JEA and chaired Government Affairs for the Chamber of Commerce four times. Hightower is vice chair of the Public Library Foundation and chairs the Capital Campaign. Hightower also chaired the Cecil Field Base Closure and Reuse Commission, appointed by Mayor John Delaney.
• Ted Hires is the owner of four local Sonny’s BBQ restaurants. Hires founded The Justice Coalition, a victims’ rights advocacy group, in 1995 and has been presented with numerous awards, including the FBI Director’s award in 1998 and the Florida State University School of Business Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1999.
• M. Ashton Hudson is a partner and general counsel of Rock Creek Capital, a private equity fund. He is a member of the board of directors of TimberVest in Atlanta, Cellport Systems, Inc. in Boulder, Colo. and Callixa Corporation, San Francisco.
• Rev. Willie C. “Pete” Jackson is senior minister and administrator of the Westside Church of Christ and vice president of Westside Ministries, Inc. Rev. Jackson was chair of the Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership Task Force, past board member of HabiJax and currently serves on the board of The Bridge of Northeast Florida, Clara White Mission, the Steering Committee of the Jacksonville Juvenile Justice Comprehensive Strategy and JIA/CRA of JEDCO.
• Ricardo Morales III is president and chief operating officer of Morales Construction Company, Inc. and has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. He was a member of the Florida Judicial Qualification Commission, a member of the board of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, Leadership Jacksonville Class of 1996 and was formerly board president of the Duval County American Heart Association and is a past board member of the H. Warner Webb Center for Independent Living.
• Duane A. Ottenstroer, now retired, was the co-founder of Unit Distribution, which became GATX Logistics. He chairs the governing board of the St. Johns River Water Management District and is a member of the board of the Community Foundation and Hospice Foundation. Ottenstroer is a trustee of Jacksonville University and was appointed by Gov. Bush to the board of Florida PrePaid.
• Bobby Stein is a partner with Chartwell Capital Management Company and serves on the board of The Regency Group, Southern Industrial Corporation, St. John’s Utilities, Kerrco, Inc. and Omega Insurance. He serves on the board for the Episcopal High School Foundation and the University of South Carolina Business School Foundation. Stein is a member of the Young Presidents Organization and the Florida Committee of 100. He is past chairman of the JEA board and served on the Jacksonville Port Authority.
• Carol C. Thompson is executive vice president of Baptist Health. She is responsible for the strategic development, including business development, strategic planning, marketing and corporate communication. She also serves as president of the Baptist Health Foundation. Thompson chaired the Chamber of Commerce in 2001, the first woman to do so.
• Ronald Townsend was formerly president of Gannett Television Group and was responsible for the operation of Gannett’s television stations nationwide. Townsend has been honored by the United Negro College Fund and received the Governor’s Award in 1985 from the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a past president of the United Way, a board member for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, a trustee of the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University and chairs the Jacksonville Airport Authority.
• Susan S. Wilkinson is the president-elect of the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership and currently serves as the executive director of Episcopal Children’s Services. She is also a former member and chair of the Duval County School Board.