Matthew F. “Matt” Carlucci (born April 9, 1956) is an American business owner^[1] and elected official serving on the Jacksonville City Council in Jacksonville, Florida. A Republican, Carlucci is widely known for his strong support of ethics in government and as a staunch advocate for higher levels of citizen engagement and open government.^[2]

Government and Politics[edit]

Since 2019, Carlucci has been serving a fourth non-consecutive term on the Jacksonville City Council^[3]. Carlucci was first elected to public office in 1987^[4], after running as a Democrat, and occupied the At-Large Group Four seat until 1994. In 1995, Carlucci switched parties to better align with his moderate conservative views^[5], and in 1999, Carlucci ran for the District Five Council seat, covering an urban area stretching from the south bank of the St. Johns River, south to Old St. Augustine Road, east to Cesery Boulevard, and north to Atlantic Boulevard^[6]. Carlucci won the 1999 election with nearly 70 percent of the vote^[7]. He served in the District Five seat until 2003 and served as Council President from 2001 to 2002. His 2019 election to At-Large Group Four was, again, won with more than 70 percent of the vote^[8], and his current seat is up for election in May 2023. In December 2021, Carlucci announced his intention to run for re-election to Group Four.^[9]

Key Issues[edit]

Legislative efforts by Carlucci have focused on historic landmarks, public parks, government ethics, and environmental resiliency. Old St. Andrews Church (c. 1887), the Laura Street Trio (c. 1902), the historic Fire Training Tower in Riverside, and the City of South Jacksonville’s original City Hall all received protection and restoration as a result of his preservation agenda. Carlucci led efforts to address resiliency in 2021, and later that year, authored legislation to recapture opportunities for riverfront park development on publicly-owned land in downtown Jacksonville. His support of parks funding was key to the development of the Emerald Trail, riverfront pocket parks in historic San Marco, the John Lowe boat ramp at Goodby’s Creek, Mayport’s David Pack Park and Angelina Denise Park, and the preservation of Julington Durban Creek Peninsula, Pumpkin Hill Preserve, and other natural landscapes and resources.

November 1993, marked the end of a four-year effort to bring a National Football League (NFL) team to Jacksonville^[10], and Carlucci was among Council members who voted in favor of making the Jacksonville Jaguars the 30th franchise of the NFL.

An early supporter of the Better Jacksonville Plan (BJP), Carlucci worked^[11] to see the $2.25 billion package^[12] of improvement projects and new construction succeed. It was often referred to as “the blueprint” for Jacksonville's future, and on Sept. 5, 2000^[13], it was approved by Jacksonville voters.

In 2018, Carlucci was the first Council member to publicly speak against the proposed sale and privatization^[14] of the JEA, the largest municipally-owned utility company in Florida. In November 2019, Carlucci publicly urged the JEA Board to call for the resignation of CEO Aaron Zahn, and a month later, called for a grand jury probe^[15] into what was later revealed as a backdoor attempt to sell the utility. Carlucci sent a statement to the media^[16] challenging the JEA board to stop its negotiations with bidders. The state investigation of JEA's CEO and Board of Directors was followed by federal audits, and later, several indictments. Carlucci’s efforts included supporting "JEA Fact Finding Workshops" to more fully involve the public in retaining ownership of the City asset. This advocacy earned him a reputation as the people’s watchdog.^[17]

On June 9, 2020, Carlucci stood with other Council members, civic leaders, and citizens in front of City Hall, in solidarity with Mayor Lenny Curry who publicly committed to the removal of Confederate Monuments^[18] from public property in Jacksonville. Beginning in early October 2021, Carlucci took steps toward legislating the removal of any remaining Confederate monuments on public property, first through his support of bill 2021-0752^[19] and later by authoring bill 2022-0232^[20]. In a May 22, 2022, open letter^[21], Carlucci went into detail about his reasons for confronting the city’s “shared history” and his efforts to locally “address a troubling legacy of racism within American society.” Hundreds of emails, calls, and letters were sent to Carlucci in response, including several threats. Council meetings experienced a high volume of citizens speaking both for and against removal. Carlucci, who openly referred to himself as a white, Southern Republican and a “history buff,” regularly supported historic preservation efforts; however, in his open letter, he stated: “I cannot allow that appreciation to blind me from seeing the proliferation of Confederate memorials installed during the Jim Crow era. These were nothing more than messages of oppression written in marble and bronze.”^[21]

June 14, 2022, Carlucci’s legislation was denied passage in a 13:6 vote^[22] with no debate on the Council floor with Carlucci being the only Republican in support of the bill. Later that evening, Councilmember Brenda Priestly Jackson of District 10 stated from the Council floor: “As an African-American female on this Council, to see a vote of 6 to 13 to maintain Confederate monuments in our city—when the mayor made a commitment to remove them—disturbs me greatly.”^[23] The two remaining Confederate monuments are located in Springfield Park formerly known as Confederate Park^[24] and in James Weldon Johnson Park^[25] directly across from City Hall.  

Committees and Commissions[edit]

Carlucci’s current Standing Committee assignments include the Transportation, Energy, and Utilities (TEU) Committee^[26] and Finance^[27] Committee, of which he was a three-time chairman.^[28] Previous assignments included the Jacksonville Waterways Commission (JWC),^[29] Resiliency Special Committee^[30], Social Justice and Community Investment Special Committee^[31], Personnel Committee^[32], Rules Committee^[33], Duval County Tourist Development Council (TDC)^[34], the Special Committee on Solid Waste^[35], and the Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health, and the Safety Committee (NCSPHS),^[36] of which he served as a past vice chair. Carlucci also served as a past Council liaison to the Public Service Grant (PSG) Council.^[37]

Ordinance 2019-331,^[38] adopted by the Council in March 2019, amended Chapter 652 of the City’s Floodplain Management Ordinance with new infrastructure rules that apply to all of Duval County. In November 2019, then-City Council President Scott Wilson named Carlucci chair of the Council’s Special Committee on Resilience charged with addressing the city’s ability to recover from severe weather and flooding.^[39] As inaugural chair of the Committee, Carlucci began a 15-month-long process that included hearing from subject area experts, civic leaders, environmentally-focused organizations, and the public. The Committee unanimously approved its final report in February 2021,^[40] which led to the installation of Jacksonville’s first Chief Resiliency Officer, Anne Coglianese.^[41]

In 1992, Carlucci authored and successfully championed legislation that led to the creation of the Jacksonville Ethics Commission.^[42] Governor Rick Scott then appointed Carlucci to the Florida Commission on Ethics^[43] in 2012. He served five consecutive years, including one year as Commission Chair (2016-2017).^[44] More than two decades before Carlucci’s appointment to the Commission, the St. Petersburg Times reported what was a heated debate over the separation of Commission oversight from state government.^[45] According to the 1976 “Sunshine Amendment” ballot initiative^[46] sponsored by then-Governor Reubin Askew, Florida adopted a requirement to maintain an independent commission on ethics. In the following years, lawmakers made a few attempts to lessen the independence of the Commission and diminish its ability to make unbiased decisions. The formation of the Jacksonville Ethics Commission in 1992^[47] was greatly influenced by the political history surrounding the state Commission. Carlucci and other framers of Jacksonville’s Ethics Commission worked to avoid pitfalls similar to those endured by the state commission.

October 2012 media coverage referred to Carlucci as “the commission's legislative liaison” and stated that it was his job to “shepherd the plan through the Legislature.”^[48] The “plan” is a reference to the proposed reforms put forth by Carlucci and fellow Commission members, which included enhanced enforcement for collection of automatic fines, allowing referrals from adjacent agencies concerning wrongdoing that warranted an ethics review, greater measures to protect whistleblowers from lawsuits, and modifying the voting conflict law.^[47] The Commission’s efforts culminated in the broadest reforms in Florida ethics laws over the last three decades through the adoption of Senate bill SPB 7006 and 7008, starting in 2013.^[49]

In 2017, disagreement resurfaced over the independence of the Commission^[50] and whether any one branch of state government maintained greater oversight of Commission operations or actions.^[51] A letter sent by then-Commission Chairman Carlucci on April 7, 2017, implored Senate President Negron and Speaker of the House Corcoran to oppose the Legislature’s attempt to place constraints on the Commission’s operational authority. In the letter, Carlucci stated, in part, that “the Commission should be granted full authority to make personnel and operational decisions,” and that the Commission’s autonomy “best serves the Commission, the Legislature, and especially the public.”^[52]

Senate and Mayoral Campaigns[edit]

After Carlucci’s second term on Jacksonville City Council, in November 1994, Carlucci resigned his city position and ran for the Florida Senate, District 6, a multi-county district once held by his father, Joseph A. "Joe" Carlucci.^[53] Though the run was unsuccessful, it allowed Carlucci the opportunity to serve as president of the Jacksonville Historical Society,^[54] coach his sons in a local Little League, and invest more time into community advocacy and the family insurance business.

At the end of his third non-consecutive term on Council in 2003, he declined to seek re-election and ran for Mayor of Jacksonville.^[55][56] The 2003 mayoral race was close and hard-fought with Carlucci ranking third at 20 percent of the vote behind John Peyton (24%) and Nat Glover (28%). The election resulted in a runoff between Glover and Peyton, during which Carlucci endorsed Glover, a longtime friend.^[57][58] This was then considered a controversial move to endorse across racial and party lines. In an open letter to Jacksonville citizens decades letter, Carlucci describes his endorsement experience. In the May 22, 2022, open letter, he stated: “I stood with my friend Nat Glover in the very park where he was thrown into Ax Handle Saturday just walking home from work. I was endorsing him for mayor. The irony and significance of that moment, and his courage, left a life-changing impression on me. Later, political bullying, hateful responses, and vandalism rained down just like the racial slurs that dripped across my place of business. Nonetheless, I believed our city had the opportunity to take a step toward a better future.”^[21][58] Glover lost to Peyton by a margin of only 11 percent.

In 2021, Carlucci announced a second run for mayor to succeed termed-out Mayor Lenny Curry.^[59] As a moderate Republican candidate running on a centrist voting record and "good-government platform" had previously garnered wide bipartisan appeal.^[60] However, in December 2021, Carlucci withdrew from the 2023 contest, remarking on his ability to lead legislatively,^[61] as well as unmet fundraising goals.^[60] The announcement was described as a “shakeup” by local media,^[60] leaving three other Republican hopefuls to compete in what was fast becoming the most expensive mayoral race in Jacksonville history.^[62] Carlucci pivoted to run for re-election to the At-Large Group Four seat^[63] thereby effectively "clearing the field" of any opposition previously seeking the seat.^[64]

Awards and Recognitions[edit]

Matt was awarded the Claude J. Yates Award for Outstanding City Council Member in 1993^[54] on the 25th anniversary of Jacksonville’s consolidated government, an award twice won by his father, Joe Carlucci, in 1968 and 1969. The late Joe Carlucci was personally nominated by David McNamara, a member of the Consolidated Council, as the recipient of the award in 1969. The Carlucci father and son essentially book-ended the coveted award’s recipient history. He was recognized in 1992-93 by the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce for excellence in government and was a recipient of the Charles D. Webb Award for Outstanding Legislative Service.^[65] His alma mater, the University of North Florida, recognized Carlucci as the Alumnus of the Year in 1987.^[66] During his tenure as Council President,^[67] Carlucci was awarded the Jacksonville Historical Society’s 2002 Preservation Milestone Award for saving Jacksonville’s most extraordinary corner, the Laura Street Trio. FOLIO Magazine recognized Carlucci as the Person of the Year in 2019, for his role in “fighting the power” to stop the sale and privatization of the JEA.^[68]

Business Career[edit]

As the founder and owner of Matthew F. Carlucci Insurance Agency, Inc., Carlucci’s business endeavors include 40+ years as a State Farm agent, the company with which his father, Joe Carlucci, also founded an agency in Jacksonville.^[69][70] After his father’s death, Carlucci relocated his original office from the Mandarin community to historic San Marco. Carlucci is a former board member of the Jacksonville Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (JAIFA) and a 2001 recipient of its annual Community Service Award.^[71] And in commemoration of State Farm’s 100th anniversary,^[72] Carlucci authored a 2022 Council resolution to mark the occasion.^[73]

Early Life, Mentors, and Family[edit]

A Jacksonville native, Carlucci is the son of Joseph and Louise Carlucci^[74] and was raised with his brother in a one-story bungalow built in 1939 less than a mile from the St. Johns River. Carlucci attended South Jacksonville Presbyterian Day School, Hendricks Avenue Elementary School, the Bolles School, and the University of North Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1978. That same year, Carlucci married Karen Lee Signoretti, daughter of Peter John and Emmaline “Emmie” Signoretti.

Throughout his time in public office, Carlucci holds with fierce advocacy for ethics in government, carrying on the tradition of his father, a member of the first City Council post-Consolidation, serving At-Large from 1968 to 1978. His father went on to serve Senate District Eight as a member of the Florida Senate from 1978 until his untimely death in 1986. During his seven-year tenure,^[75] the former Senator's major contributions related to reforms of Florida's criminal justice system,^[75] firearms,^[76][77] child abuse laws,^[78] and open government, and his efforts closely aligned with those of Reubin Askew, a progressive Democrat and a two-term governor of Florida who promoted racial equality and ethics regulatory overhauls in the 1970s.

Carlucci credits three men for helping to shape his leadership habits and his early awareness of racial injustice: Alton Yates, Warren Jones, and Nathaniel “Nat” Glover, Jr.^[21] In 1987, Carlucci began a friendship with retired LTC Alton Yates,^[79] who shared about his experience on Ax Handle Saturday,^[80] his service to four mayoral administrations, and the struggles of Black business owners in Jacksonville. Carlucci also befriended, worked alongside, and became strong allies with then-City Councilman Warren Jones, and worked to address stark discrepancies in City services affecting Jacksonville’s urban core in the late 1980s.

A long-time resident of the historic San Marco neighborhood,^[81] Carlucci and his wife Karen have helped raise two generations of Carlucci's in Jacksonville. His service to the community aside from elected office includes support of the Jacksonville Historical Society, the Jacksonville Police Council, Communities in Schools, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Theatre Jacksonville, the San Marco Preservation Society,^[82] and Aspire Church San Marco.^[83]

References[edit]