JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville City Councilman is pushing to honor former Jacksonville Mayor and current City Councilmember Tommy Hazouri, who is currently in hospice care after complications from a lung transplant last year.
Councilman Matt Carlucci sent a letter to his fellow council members with a draft of an ordinance that would rename the City Council Chambers in Hazouri's honor, in recognition of his "unparalleled service and love of Jacksonville."
With Hazouri's ill health, Carlucci is urging the council to "put third-reading protocol aside and pin a rose on Tommy's lapel by passing this as an in-and-out emergency Tuesday night ... while our friend is still with us to enjoy the honor."
In the letter, Carlucci says he has consulted with family members about the naming opportunity, and that they welcome the gesture. The tribute would benefit a "bold and courageous Jacksonville statesman who has made lasting differences for the good of Jacksonville," the letter says.
Hazouri was hospitalized last month at Mayo Clinic with lung transplant complications. He had received the new lung last July. He returned to his duties as Council President in September 2020.
Scroll down to read the full ordinance draft Carlucci attached along with the letter.
Hazouri's career includes serving as a state representative from 1974 to 1986, mayor from 1987 to 1991, Duval County School Board member from 2004 to 2012 and City Councilman since 2015.