Ed Austin

T. Edward "Ed" Austin Jr. (July 15, 1926 – April 23, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1991 to 1995. He also served as the first Public Defender for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit from 1963 to 1968, and served as State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit from 1969 to 1972 and again from 1974 to 1991. Austin was a Democrat for most of his career, but switched parties to become a Republican during his term as mayor, becoming the first Republican to serve in that position since the Reconstruction era.

Early life Austin was born in Shenandoah, Virginia. In 1944 he enrolled at Duke University, where he played college football as a tight end and ran track for the Duke Blue Devils. He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree while at Duke, and was subsequently employed as a teacher. He later joined the United States Army, where he served in the 101st Airborne Division as a paratrooper.

Austin was hospitalized with a back injury; in the hospital he met his future wife, Patricia Lynch, an Army social worker. He worked in several legal positions, including a stint as Duval County's assistant solicitor. In 1963, he was appointed by Governor Farris Bryant as the first Public Defender for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit, which consists of Duval, Nassau, and Clay Counties. In 1969, he was elected State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Jacksonville Mayor Hans Tanzler appointed Austin to serve as the city's General Counsel in 1972, but he returned to the State Attorney position in 1974 and was re-elected four times.

In 1991 Austin resigned his position as State Attorney to run against incumbent mayor Tommy Hazouri, and won the election narrowly and became Jacksonville's 4th mayor since consolidation. His most lasting contribution as mayor is his River City Renaissance program, which funded urban renewal and revamped the city's historic downtown neighborhoods. Among the buildings constructed or renovated by the program are the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, the Sulzbacher Center, the stadium now known as EverBank Field, and the Jacksonville Zoo. Austin oversaw the city's purchase and refurbishing of the St. James Building, which would eventually become Jacksonville's new city hall. He was mayor at the time Jacksonville was awarded its National Football League franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

During his term as mayor he switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican; according to his chief of staff John Delaney, he told his staff before leaving on a trip to China that he had become so disenchanted with the Democrats that he did not want to die as one if his plane crashed. and a $150,000 endowed scholarship was established at the University of North Florida during 2008 in his honor. His grandson Austin Slater played college baseball at Stanford University and plays for the Tampa Bay Rays as of 2026.

Austin was recovering from heart surgery several weeks prior, but had not experienced complications. He died in his sleep on April 23, 2011. At his funeral on April 28, the casket was carried by an honor guard members from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. John Howard, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida delivered a eulogy, former Mayors John Peyton, Jake Godbold, Tommy Hazouri and John Delaney attended the service.