JEA, the Downtown Investment Authority and JaxPort gained new board members in votes March 25 by the Jacksonville City Council.
Council approved the appointments of Donald “Worth” McArthur to the city-owned utility’s board, Carrie Bailey to the DIA board and Charles Spencer to the JaxPort board.
Donald “Worth” McArthur
McArthur, the president of Jacksonville-based N.G. Wade Investment Co., will fill the seat previously held by Bobby Stein in a term expiring in February 2029.
Stein resigned from the board in January, about a month before his term was scheduled to expire. He cited business and family obligations as well as his work with community nonprofits.
According to McArthur’s resume, he is a 2008 graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia and participated in 2019 in a transition-to-business program for military veterans and Olympic athletes at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
A Navy veteran who served as a SEAL Team commander, he is a member of the Jacksonville Civic Council, NAIOP and Vistage Florida Group 2041, an executive coaching and peer advising organization.
The Council vote on McArthur’s appointment was 17-0, with members Jimmy Peluso and Reggie Gaffney Jr. not present.
The JEA board comprises seven positions, with four nominated by the Jacksonville City Council president and three appointed by the mayor and confirmed by Council.
In a related matter, Council voted 17-0 to approve legislation providing a limited exception to a requirement for JEA board members to be Jacksonville residents.
Ordinance 2024-0930 allows one board member appointed by Council and one appointed by the mayor’s office to reside within JEA’s service area or maintain a substantial business interest in that area.
The ordinance, introduced by Council member Ron Salem, acknowledges that residents outside Duval County but within the JEA service area have a vested interest in the utility that would qualify them to serve on the board.
Carrie Bailey
Council voted 13-4 for Bailey’s appointment, with some Council members expressing concerns that although she works in Downtown Jacksonville, she is a resident of Alachua County.
The approval of her appointment came with a waiver of a requirement for DIA board members to be Jacksonville residents.
Member Terrance Freeman said that although he believed Bailey was capable, he was filing legislation to address the residency issue overall. He did not offer details.
Member Raul Arias, who cast a no vote, said he had a difficult time believing the seat could not be filled by a Duval County resident given that Jacksonville is home to about 1 million people. He said he was concerned that Bailey would be making decisions about local tax dollars despite not paying taxes in Duval County herself.
Member Rahman Johnson urged his colleagues to vote in favor of Bailey, saying her employer pays taxes to Duval County and had selected her to represent the business on the DIA board.
Freeman, Arias and members Mike Gay and Rory Diamond voted no.
Bailey is senior vice president for Rimrock Companies, a privately held real estate development and investment company headquartered at 1301 Riverplace Blvd.
She succeeds Melinda B. Powers on the nine-member DIA board, whose members are required to be Downtown business operators or employees, or have experience in such fields as real estate and finance.
Bailey's term is scheduled to extend through June 2028.
The DIA board comprises five positions appointed by the mayor and four by the City Council president with Council approvals for all.
Charles Spencer
On a 17-0 vote, Council approved Spencer’s appointment to a partial term replacing M.C. “Ceree” Harden III. The term is set to expire Sept. 30, 2027.
Spencer attended Matthew Gilbert High School, Florida Community College and Edwards Waters College.
He served previously as the president of the International Longshoreman Association for 15 years and now serves as executive vice-president emeritus of the ILA South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District and VP of the Florida AFL-CIO.
Four of the seven members of the JaxPort are appointed by the mayor, with the other four appointed by the Florida governor.