Conflicts of interest
Jacksonville City Council votes 12-5 to seek a state ethics opinion after General Counsel Michael Fackler hired his father-in-law's law firm for the city's gun-registry case
Confidence: Corroborated · 2 sourcesCity of Jacksonville · Sep 22, 2026
Subject of this story
Michael Fackler, General Counsel, City of Jacksonville
Also named
Oversight
Jacksonville City Council
Advocate
Mike Gay, Member, Jacksonville City Council
What happened
Jacksonville General Counsel Michael Fackler hired the Bedell law firm, where his father-in-law Hank Coxe is a partner, to represent the city in a criminal gun-registry case. After council member Mike Gay raised the conflict, the City Council voted 12-5 on August 12-13, 2025 to direct outside counsel to prepare a legal memorandum on whether the hiring violated state ethics statutes for local-government attorneys, for submission to the Florida Commission on Ethics. Fackler said he had gone beyond what he believed necessary by also retaining a second outside attorney, Lawsikia Hodges, to avoid any appearance of bias.
By the numbers (1)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Figures
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The Jacksonville City Council passed a resolution 12-5 seeking a state ethics opinion after General Counsel Michael Fackler hired his father-in-law's law firm.
1 source
- Jacksonville Today
The resolution passed 12-5.
Sources (2)
Jacksonville TodayFackler: 'I've gone beyond what I think is actually necessary and retained and spent extra funds to avoid the appearance of bias or impropriety and hired Ms. Hodges.' The resolution passed 12-5.
Florida PoliticsJacksonville City Council seeks ethics opinion after General Counsel hires in-law's firm.
Response
Michael Fackler
Statement given
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.