33 Facts About Donna Deegan

Donna Hazouri Deegan was born on February 28,1961 and is an American politician serving as the ninth mayor of Jacksonville, Florida.

Donna Deegan was raised on the south side of Jacksonville and graduated from Bishop Kenny High School in 1979.

Donna Deegan attended Florida State University and graduated in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in communications.

Donna Deegan is the cousin of former Jacksonville mayor Tommy Hazouri, who served from 1987 to 1991.

Donna Deegan started her career in 1984 as the morning anchor for WTXL-TV in Tallahassee.

Donna Deegan then became the morning and noon anchor for WPEC in West Palm Beach, where she remained until August 1988.

Donna Deegan then took the opportunity to return to her native Jacksonville and became the anchor of the weekend broadcasts on WTLV.

Donna Deegan has received many awards during her career, including the Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence Award in 2004 and the Enterprising Women's Leadership Award in 2005.

Donna Deegan is the 2007 recipient of the Florence N Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Donna Deegan was first diagnosed in 1999, with recurrences in 2002 and 2007.

Donna Deegan is the founder of The Donna Foundation, which provides the necessary funds to care for local women living with breast cancer.

On September 19,2007, Donna Deegan stated that a CT scan showed a small "suspicious" lesion in her lower left lung.

On June 22,2006, the Mayo Clinic and The Donna Deegan Foundation announced the inaugural run of the 26.2 with Donna Deegan: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, benefiting Mayo Clinic and women living with breast cancer.

Donna Deegan had been questioning whether she could run the whole marathon, but she and husband Tim finished in the middle.

Donna Deegan declared her campaign for Florida's 4th congressional district in 2019.

Donna Deegan ran as the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent John Rutherford in the 2020 elections.

Donna Deegan slightly underperformed Joe Biden in her own district, losing by more than 22 points, compared to Biden's 21-point loss.

Donna Deegan called the ad racially insensitive and responded that she did not plan to launch any attack ads against Davis.

Donna Deegan bypassed needing City Council approval by funding the removal without city funds.

Donna Deegan's campaign had a focus on infrastructure updating, public safety enhancements, and economical issues.

In 2023, Donna Deegan approved a spending plan amounting to over $25 million.

Donna Deegan has stated support for the issue of marijuana legalization.

At the start of her time in office Donna Deegan revived the Journey Program to help cut down crime rates.

The Journey Program under the Donna Deegan administration is planned to focus on literacy rates in order to slow the crime rates.

When Florida legislation was passed for abortions to be within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy Donna Deegan showed her dissatisfaction with the issue.

Donna Deegan has mentioned that this law is dangerous for women.

Donna Deegan was an early voter in the election, placing her support behind Harris.

In October 2024, Donna Deegan took a trip to Europe, first visiting London for the UK government's International Investment Summit with the intention of bringing jobs to Jacksonville.

Council member Terrance Freeman, a Republican asked for an audit of Donna Deegan's trip spending, suspecting she used taxpayer money for her vacation.

Council member Kevin Carrico said that Donna Deegan's office was not putting in enough effort into the negotiations for resurrecting the Laura Street Trio of historic buildings.

Donna Deegan is a member of St Paul's Catholic Church in Jacksonville Beach.

Donna Deegan has two children from her second marriage to Action News Jax sports director, Dan Hicken.

Donna Deegan later married First Coast News chief meteorologist Tim Deegan on August 9,2002.