Democrat Tommy Hazouri has won the race for Jacksonville’s At-Large Group 3 Council seat, beating Republican Greg Rachal by 58.05% to 41.95% with all precincts reporting.
Hazouri, a Jacksonville native, served as a state representative in the 1970s, mayor in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then on the Duval County School Board before becoming a councilman in 2015. As mayor, he pushed through a sales-tax referendum to remove bridge tolls and spearheaded an effort to create environmental rules to clean up the city’s air.
See Also: May 14 Election Returns
During his recent term as a councilman, Hazouri successfully sponsored legislation adding protections for LGBT people to the city's human rights ordinances. He has also worked on bills aimed at fighting human trafficking.
Reflecting on current issues, Hazouri said on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross last month that he supports and signed an environmental resiliency pledge because “we have to be prepared” for sea-level rise.
Republican Greg Rachal serves on the Taxation, Revenue and Expenditure Commission for the city of Jacksonville and has served as district commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America.
Related
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
