JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s safe to say Donna Deegan has worn a lot of hats over the years. Local television broadcaster at First Coast News, a three-time breast cancer survivor, the founder of The DONNA Foundation, and now, the mayor of Jacksonville, becoming the first woman to hold the job in the city’s history.
“It is truly the honor of my lifetime to be able to say that I’m the first woman mayor of the city that I love,” Deegan said. “I can’t think of anything else that I would check off my bucket list, except maybe the grandkids someday.”
Deegan was sworn in on July 1, 2023. A lot has happened since then.
Most notably, the Stadium of the Future deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, along with the big moves made toward revamping downtown and elevating the city’s profile.
However, Deegan says it’s the sense of unity and togetherness in the community that fills her heart with pride.
“I came in saying I really wanted to see more unity within our community,” Deegan said. “And we see so much buy-in from people, people wanting to get involved, people who feel like we’re moving in the right direction. And I hear from those people every day that they feel seen, they feel involved.”
One way Deegan has seen a growth in community engagement is at her town halls. She hosted a series of them in different neighborhoods pertaining to questions about the budget process and a variety of other topics.
“It is the most comfortable I [could be] when I step into one of those meetings,” Deegan explained. “A lot of times, in a gym or just in a place where people are, they’re coming after work, or whatever it is, and we just sit down and have a conversation, even when people are unhappy about something. It’s just great to have that exchange because you feel like you’re involved in the actual issues people are having in their daily lives.”
Though she feels it’s been a productive 20 months, as one of a small handful of elected Democrats in City Hall, Deegan says there have been challenges, and among those, maintaining her sense of self has been the biggest one.
“For me, the biggest challenge has been to remain who I am,” she said. “I really love people, and I came into this job with that attitude, to be a collaborator, a bridge builder.”
She continued, “And I think we’ve done a good job with that, but I think that the silliness of politics occasionally will get to me. When I go, ‘Gosh, you know, I came in really wanting to change the political system in our city where the folks who really were just putting politics before everything else really would come together with those of us who wanted to be collaborators,’ And it doesn’t. It’s not that easy.”
Additionally, Deegan says that, at times, she feels pressure as a woman in a position of power.
“You are, as a woman in leadership, constantly having to watch how you portray and react to things,” Deegan said. “Fortunately for me, I think I’m generally in that space anyway, but it is absolutely an additional challenge that any woman has to face.”
“You can’t be too this or that,” she said, referencing America Ferrera’s famous speech in the “Barbie” movie.
As for her long-term goals for Jacksonville, Deegan says it all comes down to quality of life, adding that she hopes to leave behind a better one for all.
″I believe in this city, and I believe in having that signature that we had back in the day," Deegan said. “But also, I believe it will provide us with the [necessary] revenue to invest in the rest of our city that so desperately needs attention.”
Furthermore, Deegan said she hopes to inspire future generations of women. During public events, she says she’s had young women approach her and tell her they aim to have her job one day.
Her message to other girls and women reading this story is to stay optimistic and stay curious. But just know: Challenges will always present themselves.
“That will become your superpower,” Deegan said. “I think if I had not been a survivor, if I had not gone through the things that I’ve gone through, [I would not have] come face to face with my own mortality. Everybody may not do that, but there’s going to be some challenge that puts you in a box where you realize, ‘Hey, I don’t have control over everything in this life,' [but] that’s where you find your true self.”
