by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
From the time Peggy Sidman leaves her Avondale home to go to work in the morning until she goes to bed, she stays busy. The Jacksonville City Council’s go-to attorney for a variety of legislative issues, Sidman balances 19 Council members, numerous bill drafts and a 5-year-old son before hitting the pillow every night.
But despite her crowded schedule, Sidman is known for being equally meticulous and good natured around City Hall.
“We look to Peggy for three things: bill drafting, legal advice at meetings and to make sure we follow our own rules, ” said Council President-elect Kevin Hyde, himself an attorney. “She has always been very responsive to meeting each of these needs and, as a fellow lawyer, I appreciate her attention to detail as well as the positive manner in which she approaches working with us.”
Sidman’s path to Jacksonville is a long one.
Born in Lawrence, Kan., where her father was a college professor, the middle child of five was living in Gainesville before she started elementary school and later lived in parts of England, Germany and Ireland before returning to Florida to attend Gainesville High in the early 1980s.
“Home of the Purple Hurricanes,” Sidman said. “Maybe you’ve heard of us.”
A swimmer, Sidman set school records for the women’s 50 and 100 yard freestyle relays. Both stand to this day.
After graduating, Sidman segued into the University of Florida to pursue a degree in History.
At that time, Sidman’s father Charles was Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the School, but instead of relying on nepotism to help her with her studies, Sidman hit the books hard, eventually graduating with high honors.
“I always felt like things didn’t come naturally to me so I worked that much harder,” she said. “I pursued History because I felt like it would give me a broad base of education. It has.”
Following a brief stint in Germany after graduating — she was offered a position with the German Senate while there, though she declined — Sidman decided she wanted to work for the government.
She traveled to Tallahassee, interviewed with former State Senator Bill Bankhead and landed a job as his aide. Sidman stayed on for two years with Bankhead before enrolling at American University Law School in Washington, D.C.
During much of her time at the school she worked full time and carried an 11-hour course load.
“It wasn’t easy,” Sidman said. “I still don’t know how I did it.”
A litigator, Sidman graduated in 1993, returned to Jacksonville and promptly went to work for some of the city’s most successful law firms including Rogers Towers and Stutsman & Thames. She also became active in the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission and served as president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild and Riverside Avondale Preservation.
She started with the City Council in 2003.
“I guess you could call me the Council’s counsel,” she said. “And I love the work I’m able to do here. I work for 19 individuals who
have different backgrounds and beliefs, but all of them are very passionate about making
Jacksonville a better place to live. It’s a real honor.”