“I am not patient, and I want to move fast.”
People told Donna Deegan that she asked for the impossible when she directed negotiation timelines for the Jaguars stadium deal.
But, Deegan’s goal — whether when talking with the franchise or dealing with procurement and permitting — has been to push government officials to work more efficiently.
“‘What I’m asking you to do is break from the routine and to do things in a different way,’” she recalled telling negotiators. “We got everybody in a room, and we made them stay there until they got it done.”
Deegan is “not built for” just sitting in her office. As a self-described impatient, extroverted-introvert, Deegan has pushed her priorities for a year — and is at times frustrated by the time required to lift projects from the ground. The upcoming year’s budget will be a “lean” one, but it will also be one of the first opportunities to see how she will continue toward accomplishing her remaining goals.
Deegan reflected on her first year’s philosophies in an hour-long interview with the Times-Union shortly after the anniversary of her swearing-in. Her first time in elected office, the job is pretty much what she expected, she said from her yellow, art-filled office on the fourth floor of City Hall.