Vice President Kevin Carico announces run for Jacksonville City Council president; colleagues pledge support

Vice President Kevin Carico announced he is running for president of the Jacksonville City Council and asked colleagues to sign pledges of support at a leadership meeting, saying, "I am running for council president."

The announcement, made by Carico at the start of the meeting, drew multiple statements of public backing from current and former council members and a pledge-signing drive; no formal vote was held at the session. The floor discussion included praise for Carico's work chairing the LUZ committee and one council member raising concerns about language in an immigration bill Carico has filed.

Dr. Salem, a past council president, praised Carico's committee leadership and interaction with the public and colleagues, saying, "I think the LUZ committee is probably by far the toughest committee to manage because…