Donna Deegan Bio
Donna Hazouri Deegan (born February 28, 1961) is an American politician and former television news anchor who has served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman elected to lead Jacksonville and the first Democrat to win the city’s mayoral race in three decades. Before entering politics, Deegan spent more than two decades as a lead anchor on Jacksonville’s First Coast News and built a reputation as a breast cancer advocate after surviving three diagnoses of the disease.
Early Life and Background
Donna Elizabeth Hazouri was born on February 28, 1961, in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised on the city’s south side. She has Lebanese ancestry through her father, whose great-great-grandfather immigrated from Lebanon around 1905. Deegan is a cousin of former Jacksonville mayor Tommy Hazouri, who served the city from 1987 to 1991, a family connection that later helped shape her own interest in civic life.
Deegan graduated from Bishop Kenny High School in 1979 and went on to attend Florida State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1984. Her Lebanese heritage, deep Jacksonville roots, and family ties to local public service gave her an early appreciation for community engagement, an interest that would later influence her career in journalism and politics.
Path to US Politics
Deegan’s entry into public life came after decades in broadcast journalism, where she had become one of Northeast Florida’s most recognized journalists. Her decision to run for office was influenced by her coverage of community issues, her cancer advocacy, and concerns she saw firsthand in Jacksonville neighborhoods. In 2019, she declared her candidacy for Florida’s 4th congressional district, challenging Republican incumbent John Rutherford in the 2020 election.
Although she lost that race, receiving 38.9% of the vote, Deegan’s congressional campaign introduced her to voters across the region and sharpened her focus on healthcare, climate change, and gun violence prevention. She slightly underperformed Joe Biden in her own district, losing by more than 22 points. That statewide exposure laid the foundation for her later successful run for mayor of Jacksonville in 2023.
Donna Deegan Career
Early Career (1984-1993)
Deegan began her broadcasting career in 1984 as the morning anchor for WTXL-TV in Tallahassee. In 1985, she became the West Palm Bureau Chief for WTVX in Fort Pierce, and later served as the morning and noon anchor for WPEC in West Palm Beach through August 1988. These early positions gave her experience covering news across Florida before she returned to her hometown.
In 1988, Deegan moved back to Jacksonville and joined WTLV as the weekend anchor. By 1993, she had been promoted to anchor of the 5:30 and 11 p.m. newscasts, marking the start of her rise to prominence on First Coast News. Her steady presence on Jacksonville television made her a familiar and trusted voice throughout the region.
First Coast News Breakthrough (1993-2007)
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Deegan became a fixture in Jacksonville living rooms, anchoring the city’s top-rated evening newscasts and covering major regional stories. Her on-air work earned her several industry honors, including the Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence Award in 2004 and the Enterprising Women’s Leadership Award in 2005. On October 25, 2007, she was honored at the Omni Hotel by Community Connections of Jacksonville.
Deegan was named the 2007 recipient of the Florence N. Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement, one of the most respected recognitions in Northeast Florida’s civic community. That same period, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, with recurrences in 2002 and 2007. She founded The Donna Foundation to provide financial support to local women living with breast cancer and wrote a book, The Good Fight, about her second battle with the disease. In 2006, she and the Mayo Clinic announced the launch of 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, which held its inaugural run on February 17, 2008, raising more than $800,000.
Jacksonville Mayoral Era (2023-Present)
Deegan launched her campaign for mayor of Jacksonville in 2023, focusing her platform on infrastructure improvements, public safety enhancements, economic development, and literacy. In the nonpartisan blanket primary, she received 39% of the vote and advanced to a runoff against Republican Daniel Davis, who had taken 25%. Deegan defeated Davis in the May 16, 2023, runoff with about 52% of the vote and was sworn in on July 1, 2023, becoming the first woman elected mayor of Jacksonville.
At the time of her victory, Jacksonville was the most populous city in the United States with a Republican mayor, a distinction the city had held for years. During her first year in office, Deegan reopened the revamped Friendship Fountain, opened the first link of the Emerald Trail in LaVilla, and launched the River City Reader program in response to a report that Jacksonville third graders had a literacy rate of only 46% on the FAST English Language Test. She also approved a spending plan of more than $25 million directed toward childhood literacy, affordable housing, homelessness, healthcare, and community aid, and revived the Journey Program with a focus on literacy as a tool for reducing crime.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of Deegan’s most talked-about early actions came on December 27, 2023, when she ordered the removal of two Confederate statues from the Tribute to the Women of the Southern Confederacy monument in Springfield Park, formerly Confederate Park. She bypassed the need for City Council approval by funding the removal with a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and anonymous donors, calling it a big day for Jacksonville and an opportunity to move the city forward. She has also pursued pro-choice policies, supported Amendment 3 on marijuana legalization in 2024, and signed a community benefits agreement tied to the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium renovation.
Donna Deegan Career Wins
Deegan’s career achievements span broadcast journalism, cancer advocacy, and elected office. She is best known for breaking barriers as the first woman elected mayor of Jacksonville and for building The Donna Foundation into a major regional breast cancer support organization.
Mayoral and Advocacy Highlights
Deegan’s signature political win came on May 16, 2023, when she defeated Republican Daniel Davis in the mayoral runoff to become the first woman to lead Jacksonville and only the second Democrat to win the office in the past 30 years. She took office on July 1, 2023, and within months had launched a literacy initiative, a park-revitalization project, and a high-profile Confederate monument removal effort.
Outside elected office, Deegan co-organized the inaugural 26.2 with Donna marathon in 2008 with the Mayo Clinic, raising more than $800,000 for breast cancer research and treatment. She has also received multiple lifetime-achievement and leadership honors, including the 2007 Florence N. Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Other Wins and Achievements
Deegan has been widely recognized for her community work, including the Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence Award in 2004 and the Enterprising Women’s Leadership Award in 2005. In October 2024, she traveled to London for the UK government’s International Investment Summit with the goal of bringing jobs back to Jacksonville, an effort that drew bipartisan attention. Although a council member requested an audit, investigations confirmed that the only public expenditure from the trip was a $2,978.18 hotel charge, with all flights and meals paid for personally by Deegan.
Donna Deegan Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Donna Deegan was born Donna Elizabeth Hazouri into a Jacksonville family of Lebanese descent, with her father’s great-great-grandfather immigrating from Lebanon around 1905. She is a cousin of former Jacksonville mayor Tommy Hazouri, who served from 1987 to 1991 and helped pave the way for her own later entry into local politics. The Hazouri family’s longstanding ties to Jacksonville civic life have been a defining influence on Deegan’s sense of community responsibility.
Personal Life
Deegan’s first marriage was to Kevin Clewis in Tallahassee in 1983, and the couple later divorced. She has two children from her second marriage to Action News Jax sports director Dan Hicken, which also ended in divorce. On August 9, 2002, she married First Coast News chief meteorologist Tim Deegan, with whom she founded the 26.2 with Donna marathon and other breast cancer initiatives. She is a member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Jacksonville Beach.