Kevin Carico sworn in as Jacksonville City Council president; launches youth empowerment committee and names committee chairs

Kevin Carico was sworn in as president of the Jacksonville City Council and used his installation speech to announce a special committee on youth empowerment, name chairs for the council's standing committees and outline priorities including downtown development and public safety.

Carico said the youth committee will be "empowered" with a budget and a list of action items and named former council president Terrence Freeman to lead it. He described the committee's focus as park programming, reaching children not currently served by city programs, closing the digital divide, workforce development and stronger partnership with Duval County Schools.

"Nothing will have a bigger impact in our city's future than investing in our youth," Carico said during his remarks.

Why it matters: the committee and the chair appointments set the council's near-term agenda and staffing priorities for 2025–26. Giving the youth committee a budget and explicit action items signals the president's intent to move beyond study or advisory status toward funded initiatives. The appointments also shift operational leadership on finance, land use, neighborhoods and other standing committees.

Detai…