JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Attending a holiday party is a normal occurrence this time of year but it’s a little different when you attend a holiday party on a yacht hosted by billionaire and Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
Ethical concerns were the topic of conversation surrounding the holiday party.
Nine city council members and Mayor Donna Deegan attended the party.
- Council President Randy White
- Matt Carlucci
- Joe Carlucci
- Kevin Carrico
- Ron Salem
- Raul Arias
- Michael Boylan
- Rahman Johnson
- Reggie Gaffney Jr.
Matt Carlucci said Shad Khan was not at the event but the ethics of the event have come into question because Khan’s business dealings with the city have been heard and discussed by the city council, including the recently approved ‘Stadium of the Future’ deal.
Curtis Fallgatter, a Jacksonville attorney who is a former chief assistant federal prosecutor, shared his thoughts on the matter.
“If they’re just there having a party, then there would not be any sunshine law violation, and the Sunshine Law doesn’t prevent, you know, public officials from being entertained or entertaining others,” Fallgatter said.
Melissa Ross, a representative for Mayor Deegan’s office shared this statement with News4JAX about her attendance at the party:
The Mayor’s Office did clear this with an ethics expert before attending the event. Carla Miller, a Special Advisor to the Mayor and former Ethics Director for the City, confirmed with Paul Harden that the value of the event was less than $50 per person. Thus, it does not violate any ethics rules, and it does not need to be reported.
News4JAX learned from Kirby Oberdorfer, the director of the ethics office that they are currently vetting the event and awaiting information from the host and that this is a common occurrence, as council members are frequently invited to events that require review.
Rick Mullaney, News4JAX Political Analyst and Executive Director of the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute, said that based on what we know so far it doesn’t appear there are any ethics violations by city leaders.
“The council members, unlike the mayor, are subject to the Sunshine Law,” Mullaney said. “The mayor is not. And for council members, if two or more members of the city council get together wherever it is, whether it’s on a yacht or whether it’s at a restaurant or anywhere, and they’re going to discuss something that comes before them, then it’s subject to the Sunshine Law, which means they have to give notice, and the public has to have access. You have to take minutes. But that does not appear to be the case here unless there’s something we don’t know.”
Even with multiple city leaders attending the holiday party, Fallgatter said Sunshine Laws only apply if they’re discussing government business.
“They could have had all 19 members of the city council there. They’re not talking about business,” Fallgatter said. “They’re talking about the holidays. What do you do for Thanksgiving? What do you plan to do for Christmas? You know, that’s not prevented by the Sunshine Law. So it’s not the number of public officials there, it’s really the subject matter of any discussions that they have.”
So far Matt Carlucci and Rahman Johnson have shared statements on the party in addition to the Mayor’s office.
News4JAX reached out to the 7 other council members who we know attended the party for a comment on the ethical concerns. We only got a response from Michael Boylan, saying that he stopped by the party for about 30 minutes, and admitted that it wasn’t a typical holiday venue but was ordinary otherwise.