Deegan admin fires back against concerns raised about badge access granted to man with criminal past

Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration fired back Tuesday against concerns raised by city council members about a man employed by the city’s lobbying firm who has badge access to city hall, despite also having a criminal record.

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Stephen Dare, a man working with the city’s lobbying firm has had badge access to city hall since he began work on Mayor Donna Deegan’s transition team in May of last year according to administration officials.

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Dare’s criminal history has become a point of concern for council members.

“We’re trying to understand what type of people we have within city hall,” said Council President Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) during a meeting of the council finance committee Monday.

During that hearing Director of Employee Services Diane Moser argued Dare likely would have passed a city background check, since his most concerning conviction happened more than three decades ago.

“That’s correct. He would pass,” said Moser.

“That’s hard for me to believe,” Salem replied.

RELATED: Jacksonville Councilmember drafting bill to require background checks for badge access to City Hall

Council members continued raise questions about how Dare, who was paid by the city for his work on the transition team and then by Mayor Deegan’s political action committee, came to work at the lobbying firm selected to represent the city by the administration.

“It sounds like its grant writing, a lot of its public policy is done by Mr. Dare. So, it makes me think did we just employ this sole source company as a passthrough?” said Councilmember Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large).

But administration officials claimed they had no involvement in helping Dare secure his current employment.

“The Deegan Administration or the mayor in no way asked them to hire Mr. Stephen Dare,” said Deegan’s Chief of Staff Darnell Smith.

RELATED: Committee to question mayor’s office about access to city hall granted to man with criminal history

Smith told Action News Jax Dare has been an asset to the administration’s work and has helped the city’s lobbying firm secure federal grants, which are expected to bring in as much as $139 million this year.

“This young man has not done anything to harm anyone and therefore, we have no concerns about the safety and security of anyone in this building, much less city, as it pertains to Stephen Dare,” said Smith.

Council members, who have argued their concerns go beyond Dare, have also floated the idea of requiring people to pass background checks before receiving badge access.

Mayor Deegan indicated Monday, she doesn’t believe such a policy is needed.

“I don’t know that that’s necessary, but I’ll watch the process go forward. As I’ve said before, I think a lot of this is nothing more than political theater,” said Deegan.

Councilmember Rory Diamond (R-District 13), who is drafting the background check legislation, called the mayor’s stance “unbelievable”.

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“It must be nice to have taxpayer funded security and a locked city office closed to the public,” Diamond told Action News Jax in a statement.

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