by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
A group that will be charged with reviewing the City’s Charter took one step closer to the start of the project after 15 candidates were approved by the City Council Rules Committee Monday.
All 15 candidates were present at the meeting. Normally, one of the responsibilities of the Rules Committee is to review appointees to various Council boards and committees, but the selection of these candidates didn’t follow normal procedure.
“This is kind of an out of the ordinary situation that Council President (Ronnie) Fussell has already engaged in an aggressive vetting process,” said Jack Webb, chair of the Rules Committee. “That being the case, I am not going to request that anyone come down (in front of the committee to answer questions). If I see there is a specific question from anyone on the committee and the queue lights up, then come on down. You are all very respected members of the community and I think the Council president has done a great job of due diligence in bringing these recommendations before us.”
Geoff Youngblood, Ed Austin, Martha Barrett, James Catlett, Billy Catlin, Wyman Duggan, Teresa Eichner, Robert Flowers Sr., Beverly Garvin, Mechelle Herrington, Allison Korman, Jeanne Miller, Mary O’Brien, Gary Oliveras and Curtis Thompson were approved for the Charter Revision Commission by the Rules Committee member that were present: Webb, Glorious Johnson, Warren Jones and Clay Yarborough. Kevin Hyde, Daniel Davis and Art Shad were excused from the meeting.
Fussell also gave the group an idea as to why they were chosen and what to expect over the next couple of weeks as a potential member of the commission.
“We’ll probably get with staff, General Counsel’s Office and Legislative Services to set up your first meeting during the first week in June,” said Fussell. “From there I will come forward with some issues and maybe some charges to look at during that time frame. There are four or five good issues out there that we need to look into.”
Fussell followed the timeline with some tips for people who may have not been on a commission before.
“My colleagues and I will be available to anyone on this commission who has questions. I would just say read the package of information that is delivered for those of you who haven’t served on a board or commission before,” said Fussell. “That’s what I tried to do when I went through this list of appointments. I wanted to get some fresh thoughts along with the institutional knowledge that we have and develop a diverse group that really has no agendas.”
The group of 15 candidates mingled outside of Council Chambers after they were approved and they exhibited an enthusiasm to get started with the task they will be given in June.
“I want to make sure the Charter still represents everyone,” said Youngblood, president/CEO of Tools for a Time equipment rental. “And it stays the framework. It’s not government itself, but it’s the framework of government.”
Working as a public/government specialist has made Eichner, of Access Public Relations, interested in public policy.
“I’ve always been interested in contributing to the policy making process,” said Eichner. “This is a way to get my foot in the door.”
Miller, general counsel for Florida State College of Jacksonville, was impressed with the group that has been selected.
“I look forward to working with such a varied group of people who bring such a depth of experience,” said Miller. “It’s really an extraordinary group of people.”
Former Duval County School Board member and aide to Mayor Jake Godbold, Martha Barrett was excited about the business of the commission.
“There’s going to be some interesting subjects that will come up,” said Barrett. “We will see what is brought up and work as hard as we can to present a report to the City Council.”
Fussell is setting the guidelines for the Commission, but he will step down as Council president before the commission’s report is complete and presented to the Council in February.
The next step for the group of 15 candidates will be a vote of the full Council May 26.
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