Kevin Carrico sworn in as new City Council President by Judge Gary Flower
City Council member Kevin Carrico was sworn in as new City Council President by Judge Gary Flower June 26, 2025.
- Incoming Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico will prioritize youth programs, parks, and downtown development.
- Carrico plans to create a special committee with a dedicated budget focused on youth empowerment and digital literacy.
- Revitalizing downtown Jacksonville and making it a more vibrant destination are key goals for Carrico’s term.
Youth programs, parks and downtown will get high-level attention at City Hall when City Council president-elect Kevin Carrico moves July 1 into the position that is the second-most powerful post in city government besides the mayor.
The focus on youth flows from Carrico’s own work as vice president of strategic initiatives for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida. In the sphere of downtown, he served over the past year as chairman of a special committee on the future of downtown.
“Nothing is more important to our city’s future than investing in our youth,” Carrico said after he took the oath of office at a June 25 swearing-in ceremony attended by several hundred people at Deerwood Castle on the Southside.
The ceremony itself put a spotlight on young people. Nico Flowers, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida who received the organization’s national Youth of the Year award, served as a master of ceremonies.
The Jax Gents Step Team showcased its award-winning routines that combine rythmic stomping with fast-paced spin moves. Carrico’s daughter Monroe lead the “Pledge of Allegiance” followed by the “Pledge to the Christian Flag.” The Mandarin High School Navy JROTC presented the colors.
Carrico, a Republican, was the youngest member on City Council when he won a special election at the age of 37 to the District 4 seat in November 2020.
He became chairman of the council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee in his second year on council and said council members serving their first terms on council will lead all the standing committees during his one-year tenure as council president.
“So keeping with the theme of the future, we need to build up our future leaders,” he said of his approach. “With much respect to those of us who have been here for a few years now, myself included, we need to build a bench.”
He also will have three special committees working on targeted issues, including a new special committee on youth empowerment, youth services and parks programming.
“We’ll look at park programming, how to reach the kids that aren’t being reached, how to help with increasing digital literacy, closing the digital divide, workforce development initiatives, and strengthening our partnership with Duval County schools to make sure we’re all working together for the future of our young people,” Carrico said.
He said the committee will have a budget attached to its work so it can put recommendations into action.
For downtown, he said the “time is now to seize the momentum” and he will carry over the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown that was started in 2024.
Referring to a recent ranking by FinanceBuzz that listed Jacksonville as the most boring city in the U.S. out of 75 cities, Carrico said that shouldn’t be a word that’s applied to downtown.
“So instead of being the most boring city, we compete to be the most vibrant,” Carrico said. “My goal is to continue the growth of downtown through public-private partnerships and look to activate our greatest resource, the St. Johns River.”
He said Jacksonville should be the destination of choice for conventions, vacations and youth sports events.
“I want to see downtown Jacksonville be a culinary destination,” he said. “Dare I say, maybe get a Michelin star. That’s my vision.”
He also will continue the Special Committee on Duval DOGE that has been examining the city’s budget and spending. Carrico said that committee will take a “sharp and deep look” into ways to improve the permitting process.
He announced several appointments to committee leadership posts.
Terrance Freeman will head up the special committee on youth and parks. Joe Carlucci will be chairman of the downtown committee. Ron Salem will continue as chairman of the Duval DOGE committee.
The chairmen of the standing committees will be Raul Arias for the Finance Committee, Chris Miller for the Rules Committee, Carlucci for the Land Use and Zoning Committee, Mike Gay for the Neighborhoods and Public Safety Committee and Will Lahnen for the Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee. Ken Amaro will be chairman of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission.
Carrico served the past year as council vice president before being elected by the council to become president. Council members elected Nick Howland as the next vice president, which would put him on track to become president in the 2026-27 year.
Howland, a Navy veteran, compared City Council to serving in the military in how it forges ties through shared experiences and challenges.
“This council has political differences,” he said. “But we also share a common mission.”
He said those shared goals are safe streets, a “vibrant and growing downtown,” investment in public works projects in every neighborhood, and efficient government that’s fiscally responsible.
“This council, lead by this new president, has the talent to deliver those goals and priorities and we will do so as a team,” Howland said.
Carrico thanked Ballard Partners, a national lobbying firm that has an office in Jacksonville, for organizing the swearing-in ceremony and raising money to pay for it. Carrico said the title sponsor for the night was Aubrey Edge, who is president and CEO of First Coast Energy, the Jacksonville-based company that owns the Daily’s chain of convenience stores.