Kevin Carrico rejects Jimmy Peluso call to temporarily step down as Jacksonville City Council President

One of Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico’s antagonists is urging the Southside Republican to step down from his leadership role.

City Council member Jimmy Peluso, a Democrat representing the Urban Core, Riverside and Avondale, says Carrico should temporarily relinquish the presidency in light of questions about his actions regarding a JEA Board position.

Carrico rejects the suggestion, meanwhile.

“This is nothing more than political theater from the biggest Drama Queen on the City Council. My office is fully complying with the State Attorney’s requests and will continue to do so. While Mr. Peluso chases relevance, he has established himself as the least effective member of this Council and has neglected his district for most of his term.”

Peluso’s record may be up for debate, but the events in this controversial arc are not.

Carrico reached out to JEA Board member Arthur Adams Jr. to urge him to step down, saying that he owed a “big favor” to his intended appointment and boss at his day job, CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, Paul Martinez.

The outcry has led to an investigation from the 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office, with communications sought between Carrico and board members, former JEA Chief of Staff Kurtis Wilson, and Martinez relating to a potential board appointment. Additionally, any other communication with words like “JEA,” “Board appointment,” and “lobbying contract” are also part of the request.

Carrico didn’t respond to a text asking for comment on Peluso’s call for him to step down, but the two have beefed since Carrico took over the presidency. After appointing Peluso only to the low-prestige Transportation, Energy, and Utilities (TEU) Committee, Peluso skipped the first meeting and was then removed from all standing committees.

Carrico has defended his approach to texting, saying it’s because he’s a “millennial” and therefore prone to “talk a little different and have more of a casual, laid-back collegial tone to my conversation.”

Perhaps, though, it was too laid back and collegial, especially regarding the administration of Jacksonville’s public utility, which has been a flashpoint of controversy for the last decade, rife with political machinations and power plays.