by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The clock is ticking and City Council started the process to seat a Charter Revision Commission by the end of May.
Former Jacksonville Mayor Ed Austin (1991-95) leads a list of 15 candidates that Council President Ronnie Fussell presented to the City Council Tuesday night for review. The group will be charged with reviewing the City’s Charter over an eight-month period and making recommendations for amendments which will be considered by the Council.
The candidates will be evaluated by the Council’s Rules Committee, which is charged with reviewing nominations that the council is asked to confirm at its next meeting Monday at City Hall. If the nominations are approved by the Rules Committee, they will be voted on by the Council at its May 26 meeting.
The commission is required to have at least one representative from each of the seven school districts and can be made up of 11-15 commissioners. The City’s municipal code requires that the Commission be created every 10 years.
The candidate with some of the most hands-on experience with Jacksonville’s consolidated form of government is Austin, selected as an At-Large candidate. He was also the third general counsel for the consolidated City of Jacksonville in 1971.
Beverly Garvin has been selected as a candidate to represent District No.1. She is vice president of Watson Realty Corp.
James Catlett applied to represent District No. 2. He is a consultant with Agency Approval & Development, which offers consulting, land development and lobbying services.
Allison Korman is being considered to represent District No. 3. She is director of marketing and community relations for Stellar, a design-build firm.
Michelle Herrington filed to represent District No. 4. She is an assistant public defender with the Public Defender’s Office.
Robert Flowers Sr. applied to represent District No.5. He is an administrator with the Duval County School Board.
Gary Oliveras filed to represent District No. 6. He is a police officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Geoffrey Youngblood has applied to represent District No. 7. He is the CEO of Tools for a Time, a sales, service, rental and distribution company for professional power equipment.
At-Large candidates include:
Bank of America Senior Vice President of Market Development Martha Barrett who is also a member of the Duval County School Board.
Billy Catlin is vice president of sales of Stare Decisis FL, LLC.
Wyman Duggan is a shareholder with law firm of Rogers Towers.
Teresa Eichner is a senior vice president with Access Public Relations.
Jeanne Miller is general counsel for Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Mary O’Brien is the chief marketing officer for Advanced Disposal Services.
Curtis Thompson is retired. He was quality manager at Anheuser Busch from 1986-2003 and plant superintendent for Kaiser Aluminum Corp. from 1969-86.
List of appointees for the Charter Revision Commission
356-2466