Tommy Hazouri's legacy will be honored by renaming Mandarin Park for him

The city of Jacksonville will rename Mandarin Park after the late Tommy Hazouri, who represented the entire city as a mayor and City Council member but was best known in Mandarin where he made his home and political base for decades.

The park at 14870 Mandarin Road will be known as the Thomas L. "Tommy" Hazouri Sr. Park in recognition of his accomplishments and service to the city, according to legislation passed unanimously Tuesday by City Council.

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City Council member Michael Boylan, who represents Mandarin, said the park that overlooks Julington Creek gets a tremendous amount of use.

"It's a remarkable park in the Mandarin area, and a more suitable name I could not possibly imagine," Boylan said.

Hazouri, who died in September 2021, served in the state House of Representatives from 1974 to 1986, as Jacksonville mayor from 1987 to 1991, on the Duval County School Board from 2004 to 2012, and as Jacksonville City Council member from 2015 until his death.

City Council member Nick Howland, who won a special election in February to fill the remainder of Hazouri's term, said renaming the park is the right tribute.

"While Tommy and I were on opposite sides of the political aisle, I deeply respected and admired Tommy for his three decades of servant leadership to the city and it's very fitting that we name this park after him," Howland said.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Park will be named Tommy Hazouri Park