Sierra Club Raises Ethical Concerns Over JEA Board Texts, Opaque Energy Planning

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - This week, a reported text exchange between Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico and current JEA Board Member Arthur Adams appears to show Carrico removing Adams in order to give his JEA Board or Directors position to Paul Martinez, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, where Carrico serves as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. Carrico calls the move a "big favor to a friend."

In addition to this blatant act of cronyism, JEA has also removed information from its website on an Open House highlighting the utility's proposed $1.57 billion gas plant. Previously scheduled finance committee meetings have also been canceled.

JEA's shifting public meetings and board practices are especially concerning as the utility enters their upcoming energy planning process, specifically its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) scheduled to be released in 2026.

"Transparency is not optional when the public is funding the outcome,"said Suzanne Sapp, Senior Campaign Organizer with Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign. "Jacksonville families deserve clear and consistent access to information involving high price-tag, billion-dollar infrastructure projects that will impact our bills for decades. Moreover, our city needs a strong, competent, and dedicated Board of Directors, not one made up of cronies due favors. In the face of poor leadership and an opaque energy planning process, Sierra Club remains committed to fighting for a cleaner energy future for Jacksonville, where communities not only breathe easier but pay less on their bills."

Sierra Club is calling on JEA to:

• Ensure all public meetings and engagement opportunities are clearly posted and widely accessible to Jacksonville residents.
  
• Provide transparent financial modeling related to proposed power generation investments that considers solar and a future without coal.
  
• Commit to a community-informed planning process before finalizing major capital expenditures and where energy decisions are made that impact ratepayers.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.