The Florida-Times Union by David Bauerlein
January 9, 2020
A group of residents angered by how JEA embarked on recently canceled negotiations to potentially sell the utility is forming a new nonprofit organization called OurJax.com that seeks to build a grassroots alliance that would guard against any future attempts to sell JEA.
“There are a million people in four counties who depend on JEA every day,” said Mike Hightower, a former JEA board member and utility executive who will be one of three directors of OurJax.com.
The organization would add a new wrinkle to Jacksonville’s nonprofit landscape by providing financial assistance to efforts to obtain public records. OurJax.com could team up with another non-profit organization already involved in the field of public records to carry out that work.
“We don’t know what we don’t know, and the only way you’re going to find out is through transparency, and the way you do that is to have copies of documents,” Hightower said.
The formation of the group is another sign that even though the JEA board ended sales talks on Dec. 24, the aftershocks of the sales process are continuing.
