New members are on their way to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority board and city Planning Commission.
On April 8, City Council approved appointments of Elaine Brown to the JTA board and Dorothy Gillette to the Planning Commission. Both approvals were on Council’s consent agenda, which passed on a 19-0 vote.
Mayor Donna Deegan made both appointments.
Elaine Brown
Brown, a former mayor of Neptune Beach and Council president, served as the Council representative to JTA for four years. She replaces JTA board member Megan Hayward, whose term was scheduled to expire in May 2025 followed by a four-year term.
In replacing Hayward on the board, Deegan said her goal was to “align board membership with background and experience to move city priorities forward.” She said the timing of the move was related to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointments of two new JTA board members, Max Glober and Donald “Donnie” Horner III, who were seated on the board earlier this year.
“For efficiency purposes, this transition allows all the new JTA board members – including the Governor’s two new appointments – to get up to speed around the same time to carry on the work of JTA for Jacksonville,” Deegan said.
In the last two monthly JTA board meetings, Hayward has raised questions about JTA’s ridership statistics, an ethical issue and an employee tuition reimbursement policy. JTA staff said its ridership numbers were correct, and ordered an independent legal review that cleared the organization on the ethical issue.
Hayward’s questions about the reimbursement policy were not immediately answered.
The seven-member JTA board comprises three members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate, three members appointed by the Jacksonville mayor and approved by Council, and the District Two secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation.
Members serve four-year terms with the exception of the FDOT official, who serves the length of his or her employment in that position and can be reappointed for another four years.
Dorothy Gillette
Gillette is a longtime educator in Duval County Public Schools, where she currently serves as hospital homebound program teacher.
According to her resume, she is a North Jacksonville community leader and former member of the advisory board of the University of Florida College of Education.
She takes the seat vacated by member Charles Garrison when he was reappointed in March to fill the seat previously held by Jack Meeks, who recently resigned. Garrison’s term is set to expire in September 2026.
Gillette’s appointment is for a partial term set to expire Oct. 1, 2027.
The mayor appoints all nine Planning Commission members, plus three alternates, all of whom are subject to approval by Council.
On April 8, Council also approved the appointment of former Council member Suzanne Jenkins as an alternate member, filling a seat previously held by Nicole Padgett. That vote also was 19-0.