Investigate the corrupt scheme to sell
JEA (Jacksonville Electric Authority)!
Ask Gov. Ron DeSantis to impanel
a special state grand jury!
JEA, formerly known as the “Jacksonville Electric Authority,” is the eighth-largest community-owned electric utility in the United States. Jacksonville’s taxpayer-owned utility has proven itself to be a reliable source of affordable power in northeast Florida for more than twelve decades.
In 2018, a plan was hatched within the executive branch of the City of Jacksonville along with JEA executives to put this valuable public asset on the auction block. To justify “privatizing” JEA, these officials falsely claimed JEA was in a “death spiral” due to shifting demand for electric power that would eventually lead to its demise.
The scheme to sell JEA collapsed in the fall of 2019 when it was revealed that its executives had cooked up a special “bonus plan” that would have potentially netted JEA insiders hundreds of millions of dollars when the utility was sold to for-profit business interests. This revelation resulted in a federal grand jury investigation and the indictment of JEA’s two top executives in March of 2022.
Unfortunately, the federal grand jury investigation appears to be ending even though important details surrounding the attempted sale of JEA remain shrouded in mystery.
This petition calls on Gov. Ron DeSantis to take the steps necessary to impanel a special statewide grand jury to investigate the failed plan to sell JEA as well as violations of Florida law that fall outside the jurisdiction of federal prosecutors.
In addition to identifying acts of criminal conduct, public corruption, and official malfeasance within Jacksonville’s municipal government, such a statewide grand jury would also be tasked with issuing a comprehensive report detailing the failed plan to sell JEA. The report would identify those public officials, private individuals, and business entities who intentionally mislead the citizens of Jacksonville regarding JEA, who have engaged in acts of wrongdoing that fall short of actual criminal conduct, who concealed material evidence from the citizens of Jacksonville or who may have conspired to improperly influence the privatization and bidding process.