Gov. DeSantis orders flags at half-staff in honor of Jacksonville 'champion' Tommy Hazouri

The flags will fly at half-staff Thursday at the State Capitol, Jacksonville City Hall and the Duval County Courthouse in honor of Tommy Hazouri.

Gov. Ron DeSantis issued the order Thursday in a memo that highlighted Hazouri's political career as a state House member from 1974 to 1986.

He wrote Hazouri "will be remembered as a mentor, friend, and a champion for Jacksonville." 

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The flags will fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Thursday, the same day a funeral service is planned for Hazouri at 10 a.m. at Mandarin Presbyterian Church.

Hazouri, who died Saturday, is most known in Jacksonville for his time as mayor from 1987 to 1991, as a Duval County School Board member from 2004 to 2012, and as a City Council member from 2015 until his death at his Mandarin home from lung transplant complications.

The launching pad for his political career was a successful run for the state Legislature.

He served as chairman of the Education K-12, Personnel & Collective Bargaining, and Retirement, Personnel & Collective Bargaining committees, the memo said. Former Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed Hazouri to the Florida Ethics Commission and he served as chairman of the Sheriff’s Mental Health and Crisis Episodes Task Force.