Tommy Hazouri

Tommy Hazouri (born October 11, 1944) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He currently serves as an At-Large member of the Jacksonville City Council. Previously, he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1974 to 1986, as Mayor of Jacksonville from 1987 to 1991, and represented School District 7 in the Duval County School Board from 2004 to 2012.^[1]

Early life

Hazouri was born and raised in Jacksonville. He is of Lebanese descent. He attended Andrew Jackson High School and graduated from Jacksonville University in 1966. Hazouri is married to Carol Hazouri, who has been a school teacher at Crown Point Elementary School in Mandarin for over 35 years. They have one son, Tommy Jr., who is a school teacher as well.^[1]

Career

Hazouri was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1974, representing District 20. While in the Florida legislature, Hazouri chaired the House Committee on Education, K-12. He also was a member of the House Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on Education Funding. He was appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles to the Florida Ethics Commission and led the Sheriff's Task Force on Mental Health. He served until 1986.^[1]

Hazouri ran for Mayor of Jacksonville in 1987. He defeated fellow former State Representative John Lewis in a bitter Democratic primary election, and then easily beat Republican Henry Cook to win the general election.^[2] During his term as mayor of Jacksonville he spearheaded a campaign to rid Jacksonville's roads and bridges of toll booths, and implemented various environmental regulations aimed at getting rid of the city's odor problem. During his tenure as Mayor of Jacksonville, Hazouri welcomed the city's first contingent of visiting Canadian media personalities in September 1987, including Vic Phillips of Global Television Network and Chantale Roy of the French language TVA Network, both of whom broadcast live from Jacksonville. Hazouri was defeated for reelection in 1991 by Ed Austin.

Hazouri ran for Mayor of Jacksonville again in 1995 and 2003, but lost in the primary elections both times, the races ultimately being won by John Delaney and John Peyton, respectively. In 2004 he was elected to the Duval County School Board, and was reelected in 2008. He served as board Vice-Chairman for 2008 and as Chairman in 2009.^[1] In addition to his work on the school board, he is president of Hazouri and Associates, a private consulting firm.

In 2015, ran for the At-Large Group 3 seat on the Jacksonville City Council. He defeated Republican Geoff Youngblood and took office on 1, 2015.^[3]

References