by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
General Counsel Rick Mullaney drew from many quarters to assemble the names of the greatest influences on his life. Parents, friends, teachers . . . and a boss.
The traits they all have in common is a strong faith and a need to put service to others above all else.
“They are people of remarkable commitment to other people,” Mullaney told the Christian Legal Society during its Friday luncheon. “It has been about service to others.”
Sister Mary Paul was one of four nuns who came from Northern Ireland in 1960 to establish Sacred Heart Elementary School. She taught English, math and science to Mullaney and other young students.
“But she taught us more than that,” he said. “She was a role model. With her, there was right, and there was wrong. There was hard work, and there was laziness. There was a commitment, and there was not.”
Former Pepsi-Cola executive Bob Shircliff has gotten Mullaney involved in a number of civic projects, including a $40 million fund-raising effort for Catholic schools.
After his initial meeting with the group at Epping Forest, Mullaney reported back to his wife, “There were three kinds of people there: rich people, the waiters and waitresses and me.”
Shircliff has continued raising money for schools, an inner-city literacy center and St. Vincent’s Hospital, among a lifetime of projects.
Perhaps the biggest influence was Ed Austin, who gave Mullaney a job when he came back to Jacksonville after law school.
“In my opinion, he is the greatest public servant in the history of our city,” said Mullaney. “If you take a look at the 35 years he contributed to this community — state attorney, public defender, general counsel, mayor, private practice — he is an extraordinary man.
“I would have to say more than any other individual, he has shaped my view of public office, shaped my view of professionalism.”
Quite often, when Mullaney is wrestling with a problem, he still asks himself, “What would Ed Austin do? His admonition to us as prosecutors was simply, ‘Do what’s right.’ That sounds awfully simplistic, but I can’t tell you how often it carries the day.”
Austin also told those around him, “It’s remarkable what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit,” Mullaney recalled. “I would suggest that, from 1991-2003, the Austin-(John) Delaney years, are some of the most remarkable in the history of our city. I take great pride in suggesting that, during that time period, we have molded and changed the future of this city.
“Take a look at where we were and where we are today. On any report card, the foundation of that is Ed Austin.”
Mullaney’s mother, Lillian, told her children there were two things that couldn’t be taken from them: their faith and their education.
His father, Richard, “told me consistently you’ll never find happiness in yourself because it’s really not about you.
“My father, the person I respect most of all, said, ‘If you want to do something good for yourself, do something for other people. A life spent in the service of others is a life well spent.’”
Mullaney said he has taken those influences and continues to apply them to his daily life.
“As general counsel, I hold that office in trust,” he said. “I occupy the seat; I do not own it.
“At City Hall, I hope I contribute to shaping, molding the policies of this city to make it better for the people of Jacksonville.”