JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The first woman mayor of Jacksonville. So who is Donna Deegan's biggest inspiration?
You may not know an important chapter of Deegan's life.
"So back when I was 18 years old, I gave my dad a kidney," she explained. "He struggled with kidney disease from the time that he was in his late 30s. And I had the honor of being able to do that for him when I was 18. And I just happened to be the perfect match. And it allowed us to have him for many more years. He still died when I was 28 years old. We had him for about 10 more years, but I think about him all the time. And I miss him every single day."
For Deegan, her father was a significant inspiration.
She says her dad had a gift of singing. But she did not.
"I never got his gift. He tried to give me music lessons when I was young. But then when he found out that I liked Pat Benatar better than I liked opera, it was all over, right?" Deegan pauses for a lighter moment.
But her memory of her father's voice, his professional opera training, and his passion for life is a serious part of her inner being.
"I went to every opera in the world you can possibly imagine to hear him sing. He was actually a runner up at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. And, and had the most beautiful tenor voice in the entire world. I wish I had a professional recording of him when I hear him on these old cassette tapes that I actually have," Deegan recalls.
Deegan shared some of her dad's opera recordings with us from a CD she treasure.
And as for his inspiration?
"He inspired me in so many ways, not only with his beautiful voice, but he always believed and told me every day that I can do and be anything but to make sure that I was always true to myself. And he said, 'You should always be exactly who you are. Because people are gonna like you or they're not, but at least they'll know that what they see is what they get.' And the truth is, that's how I've proceeded even so far on this journey. I feel like, as long as people know that what they see is what they get, they may agree with you or not agree with you, but they at least know you're being genuine with them," Deegan explains.
In her interview with First Coast News anchor Jeannie Blaylock, Deegan also addressed topics from stadium upgrades to bad road to a new veterans center to confederate monuments, etc.
You can watch the complete interview on First Coast News social media platforms and on First Coast News+ streaming now on Roku and FireTV.