Committee defers discussion on Al Ferraro’s appointment waiver

By Michelle Vecerina

Published Aug. 14, 2023, 12:44 p.m. ET | Updated Aug. 14, 2023

Al Ferraro in mayoral candidacy ad, March 9, 2023. (Video/Al Ferraro, Facebook)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FLV) – The neighborhoods committee meeting deferred discussion on Al Ferraro’s lack of requirements for an appointed position Monday as Jacksonville City Council will decide whether to approve a waiver request from the mayor.

Mayor Donna Deegan picked Al Ferraro, a Republican former city council member and mayoral candidate, to serve as the director of neighborhoods, which requires a four-year college degree that Ferraro does not hold.

City council will vote on waiving the requirement for Ferraro to have a bachelor’s degree for his newly appointed position. It was up for discussion during the neighborhoods committee meeting Monday, but the topic was deferred.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Florida’s Voice that Ferraro’s appointment was deferred Monday so that he could “have more time to meet with members of the City Council.”

Ferraro’s education includes a highschool diploma, according to his resume.

He and his wife have owned a landscaping business since 1986, which Deegan’s office reportedly pointed to as a means to waive the requirements of the director of neighborhood’s role. Her office also noted his community leadership roles and his connections to neighborhoods across the city.

The director of the neighborhoods department oversees animal care and protective services, environmental quality division, mosquito control division, municipal code compliance division, housing and community development division, office of consumer affairs, neighborhoods services office, neighborhoods property administration, and the city’s customer service center.

According to Ferraro’s resume, while serving on the city council from 2015-2023, his committee assignments included:

Northeast Florida Regional Council
Community Development, Public Health and Safety Committee
Special AD HOC Committee on Neighborhood Improvement and Community Enhancement
Special Committee on Solid Waste
Rules Committee
The North Florida Transportation Planning Organization
The Zoological Society Board of Directors
The Downtown Development Review Board
Military and Veteran Affairs
Land Use and Zoning Committee
Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee
Jacksonville Waterways Commission

“I have many thoughts on this but remain consistent in how I’ve led on the Council and refrain from publicly commenting until the process is before the committee or the body as a whole,” Councilman Terrance Freeman told Florida’s Voice prior to an Aug. 8 public hearing where more than a dozen Jacksonville community members spoke in support of Ferraro.