Mike Hightower abruptly steps down from JEA board

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Mike Hightower

Timothy Gibbons

Managing Editor- Jacksonville Business Journal

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JEA Board Chairman Mike Hightower has resigned from the JEA Board effective as of 3 p.m. today, according to a letter he sent Mayor Alvin Brown today.

Hightower, who has served on the board almost 16 years, did not give a reason for stepping down now, almost three months before his term expires. He did not immediately return a call from a reporter.

The resignation comes after Hightower and a team from JEA were in New York for annual meetings with credit rating agencies. Those meetings went well, he said in the latter: "I can assure you that JEA still is perceived as an outstanding and well-managed organization."

Hightower recently retired as vice president of government and legislative relations at Florida Blue, where the 69-year-old had worked for 34 years.

"I will still be very much engaged in this community," Hightower, 69, told the Business Journal at the time, saying he planned on continuing his work with JEA and Jax Chamber, whose political committee he leads.