After disputes with his predecessor’s JEA appointments, Mayor Lenny Curry is placing a couple of his own selections to the public utility’s governing body.
Curry has appointed Tom Petway and Delores Kesler, two well-known business leaders, to the board.
It comes in the weeks after a Florida Times-Union story detailed how JEA board members scripted comments to be made at the board’s public meeting with the help of administrative staff. That led to Curry last week meeting individually with the JEA board to talk about the issue.
Petway is replacing Peter Bower, who resigned. Kesler will take the place of Lisa Strange Weatherby, who was asked to resign by Curry but initially refused. She ended up sending Curry her resignation letter Monday evening.
Both were appointed by former Mayor Alvin Brown. Neither met with Curry last week.
Petway most recently served as Curry’s transition chair, but has a long history in the insurance and real estate industries, as well as the civic community. He was a founding partner of Touchdown Jacksonville Inc., served eight years on the State University System of Florida’s board of regents and is a past chair of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and JAX Chamber.
He and his family were major contributors to Curry’s campaign.
Kesler is a veteran entrepreneur and founded Associated Temporary Staffing, a company that eventually became MPS Group Inc. and then sold to Adecco Group.
New legislation will be filed Wednesday.