A nomination from Jacksonville’s first female Democrat mayor, emotional speeches from members of the public, and a dramatic sermon from a devoted city councilman couldn’t convince members of City Council’s Rules Committee to install Elizabeth Andersen to the Jacksonville Public Library Board of Trustees.
Perhaps it was the verbal cat fight between Andersen and a local mother that did her in.
The meeting of the Rules Committee May 19 was local political theater at its finest. It was the Second Act of three, possibly more, if we are lucky.
The meeting was held at 2 in the afternoon on a workday, so only those in the know had the opportunity to enjoy the taxpayer-funded s*** show.
I’ll fill you in, but we must begin with the First Act.
Act I: Council Chamber inside City Hall May 5
The Rules Committee meeting began with public comments on Resolution 2025-0250. The Resolution was put forth to confirm Mayor Donna Deegan’s appointment of Andersen to the library board. Andersen is currently the CEO of a pointless non-religious organization pretending to be an “interfaith” nonprofit called OneJax. Before that, Andersen became the local politician parents love to hate while serving as School Board chair during COVID. However, it was her dirty re-election campaign that led to the end of her reign over DCPS. Unfortunately for Team Andersen, we haven’t forgotten.
A handful of people spoke against Andersen’s nomination, most notably Melody Bolduc, who serves on the Duval County School Board from District 7. No one spoke in support of Andersen nor did anyone “attack” Andersen personally, only criticizing her professionally. One speaker brought up the “token” name-calling saga between Andersen and Tia Bess, a local mother of an autistic student. He asked for an apology, setting the stage for the Second Act.
The committee deferred the vote until the next meeting, giving Team Andersen time to organize a rebuttal.
ACT II: Council Chamber inside City Hall May 19
Two weeks later, eight people voiced their support of Andersen during the public comment period before the Rules Committee. One supporter even presented some type of “document of support” with 400 signatures.
The deferral also gave Tia Bess time to prepare for the real-life political soap opera about to unfold.
It should be noted; Andersen is sitting just a few feet behind the speaker podium during all of this.
Bess walked confidently to the mic and owned the room.
“I’m a black woman. Look at me. I don’t appreciate going into my child’s educational environment and being called a ‘token’ as Mrs. Elizabeth Andersen did,” said Bess while motioning behind her towards Andersen. She ain’t lyin’. Andersen was caught on camera saying it. I seent it. So did a lot of others before the full video was scrubbed. See clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ya-tTydpc
Towards the end of her comments, Bess turned around towards the audience passionately saying that referring to “anyone who looks like me” as a ‘token’ is “not okay.” Then she turned towards Andersen and continued, “Mrs. Andersen I hope we can talk one day.”
Yesssssss Queen!!!
Bess grabbed her notes, shot a quick scowl towards Andersen, and strutted confidently up the center aisle like a gosh dern rock star. It was an amazing moment for all of us, scorned by Andersen’s professional ideological wrath.
I personally didn’t think it could get any more entertaining than that exchange but, thankfully, I was wrong.
Now, Andersen gets her moment before the committee to explain why she is the “best” and “brightest” pick for a voluntary library position. She used notes to sell herself to the committee, highlighting several unremarkable administrative accomplishments without mentioning a single thing she accomplished on behalf of students or how she helped improve student academic achievement. Then, she made it personal.
“Now before I turn it back over to you all, I do want to take just a moment to acknowledge the efforts that have been made over the past couple of weeks to derail this appointment with false and divisive claims about my character and my beliefs. I want to be clear that I have no political agenda or ambition. What I do have is a lifelong commitment to public service, education and building a more connected and civil community,” Andersen said. She finished by telling us, without saying it, we hurt her feelings. “It is my job every day to wake up and think about how we can confront division not by deepening it but by listening learning and leading with integrity regardless of what someone says about me,” she said.
See what she did there? Andersen is really saying people who disagree with her politics, third world liberation theology, and past professional public record are “deepening” division while she elevates herself above us by “leading with integrity.”
Next, committee members get a chance to bestow their wisdom upon the chamber and ask the mayor’s nominee questions. Baby-faced Jimmy Peluso swooned over Andersen and the grey-haired Carlucci, not to be confused with Joe, Matt Carlucci, referred to her as a true “statesman.”
Councilmen Michael Boylan asked Andersen if she regretted what happened with Bess and offered her the floor to explain.
Get your popcorn ready.
Andersen thanked the councilmen and then immediately looked down to read her meaningless carefully prepared response. “I think it is important to first and foremost by saying that tokenism is unequivocally wrong and the exploitation of marginalized people for political gain is wrong. And I don’t know how to call that out without using the word token. And I think any occasion where there is an opportunity to stand up and call out a practice that is not O.K., we should,” Andersen said.
“So, you don’t regret your comment?” Boylan asked.
“I do not regret calling out what I believe is an unhealthy and unfair practice. If anyone was hurt by that, or their feelings were hurt, then certainly, I regret that. It is never my intention to hurt someone. But I do, hope, that… it is my intention, in all of the work that I do, it would be my intention in every role that I get to have in this city, that we work toward inclusive spaces where lots of voices are at the table, so that we can really ensure that we are hearing the majority and that we are innovative and creative in our approaches and I hope that um, activist and advocacy groups make that a priority as well,” Andersen responded.
So, no she doesn’t.
Sensing trouble, Councilmen Rahman Johnson joined in for some self-indulging damage control.
Johnson shamelessly said, “Mrs. Andersen I hate to put you on the spot. But I’m gonna ask you to do something for me. We all heard Mrs. Bess. And you could hear the exacerbation in her voice, when she came up here. Clearly, she was offended. Would you apologize to her now?”
Oh, here we go…
“I am so sorry that Mrs. Bess was offended. That was never my intention,” Andersen unconvincingly stated.
Ohhh, girl. That was not good.
Johnson flamboyantly and arrogantly proclaimed while waving his arms around, “Mrs. Bess, I know you are here. I, I hope there is the apology publicly, through the chair to the crowd, that for years it seems like you never got publicly. It just happened through, from the dais through the Jacksonville City Council. (someone began clapping and quickly stopped when no one else joined.) So, I want that to, that’s number one. Um, thank you for doing that and indulging me for that moment. And thank you chair.”
Johnson then praised Andersen for being someone “who did not bend to performative outrage.”
“Elizabeth’s nomination is not controversial because of Elizabeth’s qualifications. It is controversial because she did something that all of us have had the audacity to do and that’s to lead in the face of inconvenience. So, as I speak, I thank you for being a leader during an inconvenient time,” Johnson said.
Johnson basically thanked Andersen for her willingness to stick it out and publicly humiliate herself for the advancement of Third world race-based ideology throughout Jacksonville. The councilmen added he has “statistical analysis” and “case law” to prove anything negative said about Andersen is “hyperbole” and “just not true. The passionate councilmen also serves on the library’s board, so trust him, she’s cool.
The committee saved the best for last.
Councilmen Terrance Freeman used his time to offer Andersen, who is a licensed mental health counselor, a lesson on how to correctly offer a sincere apology since hers was a disaster.
Freeman said, “As a former educator, and I often times tell my kids this as well, an apology because someone is offended and not because of the action that you did, are two different things. And so, I was not going to go down that route until I did hear that. And that was, that is, extremely troubling to me. Extremely troubling to me. So, I would hope that at a later point whatever offensive action took place, if you are very sincere in the fact that you offended them, you go back and justify that with that individual. I think that’s what would make that scenario right. With that Mr. Chair I am ready to take a vote.”
Freeman voted no, along with four others. Three voted yes: Boylan, Johnson, and Carlucci.
Next, the Resolution will go before City Council with a recommendation from the Rules Committee to deny Andersen’s appointment.
ACT III: Social media angry mayoral reaction video
Instead of withdrawing her nomination, Deegan doubled down by releasing a sore loser reaction video. The mayor angrily lectured us on civility while revealing a clear misunderstanding of how our system of checks and balances works. The mayor nominated someone for a position and the nomination failed. That’s the way it works.
In the video Deegan claimed, “civil discourse” in Jacksonville is now at a “dangerous” level, and people who made easily verifiable public comments regarding her nominee’s professional record “resorted to lies and name calling,” and tried to “literally destroy a person’s reputation,” because of “partisan political agendas.” It is evident the mayor did not listen to what was actually said during the public comment period. None of what the mayor claimed occurred.
Then the mayor warned Team Opposition, ya’ll better check yo self, before you wreck yo self. “I would just hope that all of us, could perhaps, check ourselves, just a little bit, in terms of what comes out of our mouths,” Deegan said.
That is extremely rich coming from a politician who just told us not getting her way is “unfair” and “dangerous.” Also, it is probably a good idea to hold off on the civility lecture when the “wonderful person” she nominated is only in this mess because she got caught on camera calling a black woman a “token.” So, let’s not throw stones whilst sharing a glass house with your nominee.
The mayor finished by explaining her citizens are allowed to argue only to “make a point” but we are not allowed to “degrade another human being,” Deegan said.
While this whole public charade is extremely entertaining…it isn’t about filling a seat on a library board or checking out free books. It is so much deeper than that. The public library’s Board of Trustees oversees the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation and has control over the library system’s finances.
Deegan is giving us a verbal lashing because she knows what’s really at stake: power, money, and discretion.
It’s levels to it, both you and I know. Be humble. Sit down.
ACT IV: To be announced.
For more drama surrounding Andersen, check out these articles:
https://eyeonjacksonville.com/the-important-work-of-being-different-together/
https://eyeonjacksonville.com/lefty-appointed-to-library-board-by-mayor-runs-into-opposition/
https://eyeonjacksonville.com/diversity-is-our-strength-not-reading/
