{"id":892603,"date":"2026-06-25T21:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T21:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/892603\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T21:10:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T21:10:21","slug":"unredacted-texts-from-council-president-carrico-shed-new-light-on-big-favor-investigation-into-jea-dealings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/892603\/","title":{"rendered":"Unredacted texts from council president Carrico shed new light on \u2018big favor\u2019 investigation into JEA dealings"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. <\/strong> \u2013 News4JAX and the Florida Trib on Thursday obtained new documents from the state attorney\u2019s office connected to a subpoena sent to current Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico.<\/p>\n

Investigators requested a large number of text messages from Carrico after it came to light through a public record request that he was trying to appoint his boss to the JEA board as a \u201cbig favor.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico pictured with a text message he sent to JEA board member Arthur Adams Jr. Carrico nominated his boss at the Boys and Girls Club for the position. (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

RELATED | <\/b>Timeline: How \u2018big favor\u2019 texts sparked a JEA board shakeup and allegations about utility leadership<\/b><\/a> | <\/b>JEA CEO denies \u2018toxic\u2019 culture, \u2018racism\u2019 claims; Mayor Deegan calls it a smear campaign by those out to control utility<\/b><\/a> | <\/b>Council president responds to released documents through lawyer, says personal texts don\u2019t have to be released<\/b><\/a> | <\/b>Newly released Carrico records raise questions about altered text messages in JEA probe<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Text message records were obtained a few weeks ago through the City Council, but some were heavily redacted.<\/p>\n

The new documents obtained Thursday, which include previously redacted messages, give critical context. <\/p>\n

The one that was called into question was a message between Carrico and his boss at the Boys and Girls Club, Paul Martinez. The original text we received was heavily redacted and didn\u2019t provide any context.<\/p>\n

The originally-released text from Carrico to Martinez said, \u201cGuess it\u2019s time they get a new board member to show them who\u2019s boss\u2026.You ready to play the game?\u201d At the time, it was unclear what \u201cthe game\u201d was.<\/p>\n

Part of the game Carrico is referring to appears to be the Nassau County land deal, according to the text message in the unredacted message obtained on Thursday. <\/p>\n

In a text message dated Jan. 7, it\u2019s not clear who\u2019s writing, but the conversation starts: \u201cHi, any word on the Nassau County property?\u201d \u201cThey are checking with CEO to see if the donation of the land is still in play,\u201d Carrico responds. \u201cGracias,\u201d the original writer responds.<\/p>\n

In the next message, dated Jan. 20, the writer, who appears to be Martinez, says, \u201cGood evening, any word on Nassau for Nassau?\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrico responds, \u201cNo love, first they said no to giving it away because of fear of the board. Now they say not interested in selling either because of further growth in Nassau County. Guess it\u2019s time they get a new board member to show them who\u2019s boss. You ready to play the game?\u201d<\/p>\n

The last part of Carrico\u2019s response matches one from the originally-released documents, and Carrico told News4JAX at the time that he was messaging with Martinez.<\/p>\n

So why is this significant? It\u2019s because the land, owned by JEA, was appraised at more than $1 million. According to a draft agreement that was never signed, JEA considered leasing the land to the nonprofit for $1 a year, but that was never executed. Real estate officials had previously concluded the facility could not essentially give away the land. They did offer the nonprofit the chance to discuss a market-rate lease or purchase of the land.<\/p>\n

Martinez issued a statement to News4JAX and Florida Trib, denying any connection between his potential nomination to JEA\u2019s board and the Nassau County land deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no connection between my potential nomination to the JEA Board and the Nassau County Boys & Girls Club Foundation\u2019s discussions regarding the property. The Nassau County Boys & Girls Club Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) organization with its own independent board of directors. The Foundation\u2019s board had expressed that it was not receiving responses regarding the property and asked me to inquire on its behalf. Other than this inquiry, I had no further conversations with Mr. Carrico regarding the property. Had I been appointed to the JEA Board, I understood that I would have been required to abstain from participating in any discussion or vote involving the property. That is how any potential conflict would have been handled,\u201d Martinez said. <\/p>\n

(News4JAX is going through the documents right now and will update this story)<\/b><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, News4JAX reached out to Carrico for comment about the redacted message and the records overall. <\/p>\n

Carrico confirmed to News4JAX that the \u201cplay the game\u201d message was sent to Martinez, also saying, \u201cI\u2019m a straight shooter, and sometimes that means my language is more blunt than polished. The text reflects what I\u2019ve said publicly for years: JEA needs change. Under the current leadership, Jacksonville ratepayers have been saddled with some of the largest utility rate hikes in JEA\u2019s history, and they\u2019ve every right to be frustrated. Rather than demanding answers and pushing back on behalf of customers, too many members of the board have simply accepted the status quo. I will continue fighting for greater accountability, stronger oversight, and for a board that puts ratepayers first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrico faced backlash after the first batch of text messages seemed to reveal that at least part of his motivation to nominate his boss for a position on JEA\u2019s board happened because he owed him a \u201cbig favor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrico\u00a0introduced a resolution on Feb. 10<\/a>\u00a0to nominate Martinez as a member of the JEA board to replace board member Arthur Adams Jr., who was\u00a0appointed to the board in January 2025<\/a>\u00a0and whose term was close to expiring.<\/p>\n

Martinez is the\u00a0current president and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida<\/a>, where Carrico works as the vice president of strategic initiatives.<\/p>\n

How we got here<\/b><\/p>\n

The original records request triggered a cost estimate from city council for nearly $4,000. We wanted to find out why, since the records we requested had already been compiled in response to a State Attorney\u2019s Office subpoena issued in February.<\/p>\n

After News4JAX and other local newsrooms started asking questions, the cost of providing the records to local reporters was eventually reduced to $220.<\/p>\n

The ongoing JEA saga has many layers, so first, let\u2019s start with some background.<\/p>\n

Back in April,\u00a0JEA itself was issued a subpoena<\/a>\u00a0by the state attorney seeking a broad swath of communication records about the agency\u2019s CEO, Vickie Cavey, as well as discussions involving City Council President Kevin Carrico and a high-powered lobbying firm that employs former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.<\/p>\n

But the records we requested were related to an\u00a0earlier\u00a0subpoena, issued in February,\u00a0directly to Carrico<\/a>\u00a0for calendar entries and various communications.<\/p>\n

After the text messages came to light,\u00a0Martinez withdrew himself from consideration<\/a>\u00a0for the JEA board position.<\/p>\n

But the public trust in the city-owned utility\u2019s board appointment process was damaged, some said, and the SAO opted to investigate.<\/p>\n

The subpoena,\u00a0which Carrico revealed to News4JAX<\/a>, called for the council president to turn over his daily calendar entries from Jan. 1, 2025, to Feb. 24, 2026, as well as emails, text messages, and other communications fitting a variety of categories.<\/p>\n

They include communications between Carrico and any JEA board member related to a board appointment, communications with board members about Cavey, communications with former JEA chief of staff Kurt Wilson, and messages matching terms including \u201cJEA,\u201d \u201cBoard of Directors,\u201d \u201clobbying,\u201d and others.<\/p>\n

The materials were originally due to the state attorney\u2019s office on March 10, but Carrico told us he requested an extension.<\/p>\n

In April, News4JAX made a public records request for the materials Carrico had turned over to prosecutors. In response, city council officials said the estimated cost of our request was $3,976.50.<\/p>\n

Under Florida public records law, if a request requires \u201cextensive\u201d time or resources, an agency can charge the requester based on the amount of time and the hourly pay of the person working on the request.<\/p>\n

The estimate called for 45 hours of work by Carrico and another 25 hours of work by his council assistant, each at a rate of a little more than $40 an hour. On top of that, it was estimated that the request would require an additional 10 hours of legal review, at a cost of $104 an hour.<\/p>\n

When News4JAX asked why it would take 70 hours to pull and review materials that had already been gathered for the state attorney\u2019s office, a city council official told us that no copies were made of the materials given to the state attorney\u2019s office, so they would have to start over to fulfill our request.<\/p>\n

Also, the official said, the documents handed over to prosecutors included non-public records, as well as records that were not reviewed for public record exemptions, thus requiring the legal review.<\/p>\n

We further asked for additional details about the basis for the cost estimate, including:<\/p>\n