by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Jenny Gleeson holds a unique distinction in the mayor’s office. Not only is she among the youngest working in Mayor John Peyton’s administration, she is one of the last remaining staffers who has been there since he took office in late 2003.
Staff manager Gleeson oversees payroll, the office budget and a variety of other incidentals. She said the diverse and complex nature of the job is a constant reminder that a busy day comes with the territory.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Gleeson, 27, said. “I’ve been able to grow and develop and learn so many things about how government works. I’ve been really lucky to be able to work with these people — the city’s greatest minds.”
Born in Gainesville — she attended the same high school as the mayor — Gleeson is the youngest of three sisters.
“But I wound up going to Florida State, that’s where my sisters, my aunt and my mom went” she said. “Growing up in Gainesville was a lot of fun. We lived about two miles from the school, but after I graduated high school I really wanted to get out of town. I was raised a Gator, but I cheer for the Seminoles now.”
After college, Gleeson went to work on a ranch in Wyoming during the summer. A job in Jacksonville-based Information and Computing Services followed shortly after.
“I loved Jacksonville as soon as I got here,” Gleeson said. “I knew it was going to be a place I could live for a long time.”
She worked one more summer in Wyoming, this time managing the wait staff at the ranch. Then it was back to Jacksonville.
Things were falling into place for Gleeson. Well, everything except a job.
“When I got back the election season was just getting underway,” she said. “I had never been involved with anything like that, but I understood that it was going to be a huge thing for the city.”
Gleeson had connections to the campaign — longtime Peyton volunteer Kathy Storm is the mother of a close friend — so she opted to give it a try.
“I was full-time there within two or three weeks,” said Gleeson who, with former Peyton Chief of Staff Scott Teagle, press aide Kristen Key and special aide Trey Byrd, ran the campaign. “For the next year, that was my life.”
Peyton won and Gleeson made the transition with him into City Hall.
“I started as an office manager and when (Communications Chief) Susie Wiles came on board I became her assistant,” Gleeson said. “I was promoted to staff manager a while later and I had to give that part of the job up, but that was an incredible experience. I grew so much when I was working with her.”
Growth, education and advancement: those are perhaps the biggest drivers behind Gleeson’s continued job satisfaction.
“I’ve been exposed to so many different personalities and experiences in this office,” she said. “I’m one of the last original staff people here and when I think about that, about all that has happened and all of the people who have come and gone, I realize how far we’ve come as an administration and as a City.”