Vickie Cavey

Introduction

Vickie Cavey resigned as CEO and managing director of JEA, Jacksonville’s city-owned utility, on September 1, 2026, after months of scrutiny over allegations she had behaved inappropriately toward staff — accusations she denied repeatedly, including under oath. The resignation, submitted while Cavey was on a medical leave of absence undertaken in July, capped a controversy that began in February 2026, when a city councilman accused her of racism and of creating a toxic work culture. The fallout consumed city politics, spawning a special council committee, dueling employee surveys, an outside workplace review and a 6-1 board confidence vote. No criminal charges were ever filed; this was a workplace-conduct and leadership controversy, not a criminal one.

Background Information

Cavey was a JEA lifer. She joined the utility in 1984 as a mechanical engineer and rose through several administrative roles over a tenure of more than 40 years, ultimately leading an organization of more than 2,300 employees. She had retired once before the board asked her back in March 2024 as a liaison to then-CEO Jay Stowe’s administration; when Stowe departed that April, she became interim CEO — her first such position — and was approved permanently in September 2024. In February 2025 the board unanimously extended her contract with a 25% pay raise to $700,000 a year; board member John Baker II said that although the increase “jumps off the page,” her performance and leadership justified it.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The chain of events began with a different scandal. In early February 2026, text messages showed City Council President Kevin Carrico had nominated his boss, Paul Martinez, to JEA’s board partly as a “big favor”; Martinez withdrew on February 18. A day later, Carrico alleged that JEA employees had contacted him with claims including racism and a toxic corporate culture tied to Cavey. That same night, JEA staff learned that Chief of Staff Kurt Wilson had been let go.

At a February 20 news conference, Mayor Donna Deegan defended Cavey, calling the situation a “vile smear campaign” that escalated after JEA ended its lobbying contract with Ballard Partners — a firm tied to former Mayor Lenny Curry — on January 31. Cavey denied any pressure campaign (“I would not call it a pressure campaign,” she said) and declared that “Racism has no place anywhere.” Curry and his former chief of staff Jordan Elsbury denied any involvement.

The confrontation peaked at a tense JEA board meeting on February 24, where Vice Chair Rick Morales III admitted he had privately asked Cavey to resign over complaints from “multiple senior leaders” about micromanagement, low morale and a toxic environment. “I did approach Vickie and asked her to resign, and she said yes,” Morales said — recounting a call two days later saying she had eliminated the chief of staff position and would not resign. Wilson said during public comment that he had “watched firsthand how she systematically created a fear-based culture.” Cavey called the claims “unsubstantiated,” saying, “My leadership style is rigorous, and it is fair, consistent and grounded in respect,” and that real problems “would not suddenly appear overnight in a political news cycle.” The board voted 6-1 to confirm its confidence in her, with only Morales opposed.

The City Council’s special committee then ordered a third-party survey of JEA employees by SelectionLink, while JEA coordinated a separate review with the employment law firm Jackson Lewis. Wilson testified in March that employees were “scared for their job” and that Cavey intimidated senior leaders and sought retribution against those who pushed back. In June, Cavey defended herself before the committee under oath, disputing Wilson’s account and denying she had ever agreed to resign. Her medical leave began July 29.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The two investigations, reviewed by the board in mid-August, cut both ways. In the Jackson Lewis review, Cavey received predominantly favorable ratings in each of seven aspects of her leadership, though her weakest results concerned retaliation and psychological safety; investigators concluded she had a “direct and high-control communication and management style” and that her “pattern of reactive, disruptive, and dismissive behavior has caused some employees to be reluctant to speak up or share information freely.” The SelectionLink survey put her “well above” typical government entities, yet comments were polarized, with some portraying her as vindictive and abusive; her worst scores were on feared retaliation for speaking about her actions.

Board members largely concluded that while Cavey had room to improve, there was no cause for termination; had she returned, they would have encouraged executive leadership classes. The scandal rippled beyond the utility: State Attorney Melissa Nelson issued subpoenas over Carrico’s texts, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier subpoenaed JEA records related to Ballard Partners. When her resignation was announced, Deegan said the city “owes Vickie a debt of gratitude for her many decades of exemplary service.”

Current Status

Cavey is out of JEA. Her resignation, announced September 1, 2026, becomes effective September 25, and the utility said it “is grateful for her leadership, dedication, and the many contributions she has made throughout her remarkable career with the organization.” Jody Brooks, in the role since Cavey’s leave began, continues as interim CEO and managing director until the board meets to determine next steps in the leadership transition. Council President Nick Howland said she would be “deeply missed,” and Council member Matt Carlucci called her career “exemplary.”

Impact on Their Career/Life

A career of more than four decades at a single utility ended not with the board’s confidence vote or the investigations’ mixed verdicts, but with a resignation submitted from a medical leave of absence. Cavey held the top job for roughly two and a half years before allegations from politicians and former subordinates, which she denied under oath, made the position untenable. Her legacy is contested: survey respondents described subordinates left in tears, while others wrote that JEA had “a leader who truly cares about JEA and the Community we serve.” Committee member Ju’Coby Pittman told her during testimony, “I’m very disappointed in some of your answers.” She returns to retirement with the mayor’s public gratitude, no criminal charges, and a record her investigators described as favorable overall — but a final chapter written under scrutiny she always insisted was political.