Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaJanuary 10, 2016

They don’t get as much attention as policy debates that gum up and even fracture legislative sessions (think Medicaid expansion), but a slew of proposed legal-related changes will be before legislators this year – some new, some old standbys. For instance, the Legislature will try to overhaul Florida’s alimony law for at least the third time in recent […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 6, 2016

A spokesman for state Sen. Gwen Margolis says she will run for re-election no matter what. The 81-year-old Miami Democrat now represents District 35, the coastal part of northeast Miami-Dade County. Under a new Senate map approved by Circuit Judge George Reynolds, Margolis lives in what will be District 37. But that would put her […]

Ryan RayDecember 8, 2015

A Democratic state lawmaker has filed a bill designed to nudge Floridians toward greater participation in the state’s organ donor program. Miami Sen. Gwen Margolis filed SB 1066 Tuesday, a bill relating to “Anatomical Gifts,” a sincere kind of gift if there ever was one. Specifically, the bill leads drivers seeking to renew their licenses toward the option of […]

Jim RosicaNovember 18, 2015

In the ongoing saga over state Senate redistricting, everything old is new again. The state Senate on Wednesday disclosed its proposed fix for its gerrymandered districts, a mash-up of two previous maps: One was passed by the Senate, another was drawn but not voted on in the recent Special Session. Because lawmakers couldn’t agree, it’s now […]

Ryan RayNovember 2, 2015

A gaggle of Republican House members gathered outside the Capitol Monday morning to register their opposition to a bill they call the “home tax” – and to smash it in effigy. “Any time you are taking money from homeowners, it’s a tax hike,” Rep. Dennis Baxley said. “We always have to be vigilant because increased costs […]

Jim RosicaOctober 26, 2015

State Sens. Gwen Margolis and Miguel Diaz de la Portilla have filed their own versions of state Senate district maps, according to the chamber’s redistricting website. Margolis, a Miami Democrat, and Diaz de la Portilla, a Coral Gables Republican, submitted maps on Monday afternoon. Margolis filed one; Diaz de la Portilla turned in four. For details […]

Jim RosicaOctober 21, 2015

A South Florida lawmaker wants the official symbol of New Year’s Eve celebrations in the state to be “The Big Orange.” State Sen. Gwen Margolis, a Miami-Dade Democrat, filed her bill (SB 606) on Wednesday. As the legislation explains, the Big Orange – a 35-foot-wide, 2,000-pound, “LED-lighted icon” – was created 30 years ago “to ignite the […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 30, 2015

State Sen. Gwen Margolis will try again to get the sale, possession and use of powdered alcohol, or “palcohol,” banned in Florida. Margolis, a Miami-Dade Democrat, filed her bill (SB 392) on Wednesday for the 2016 Legislative Session, which begins in January. A similar bill she sponsored last session passed the Senate on a 35-2 vote […]

Ryan RaySeptember 25, 2015

Democratic state Senate candidate Andrew Korge came out swinging against Republican Rep. Janet Adkins on Thursday. Korge, son of major Democratic bundler Chris Korge, called Adkins’ private comments published in POLITICO Florida discussing how to defeat U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown by manipulating her district to include more black prison inmates “disgusting” in a statement Thursday evening. “Representative Adkins should be ashamed […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 8, 2015

In a flurry of political activity, several no-party-affiliated candidates filed in South Florida House and Senate seats during the long holiday weekend. Each candidate is associated with a group pushing to reform the Department of Children and Families and the state’s family court system. Mercedes Cristian, the founder of Fundación Lideres de Paz, an organization that […]

Tag: Gwen Margolis
Image via Palatka Main Street.

2016 Legislative Food Fights: Legal, judicial reforms again on lawmakers’ to-do list

Gwen Margolis to run for new Senate District 38

Miami senator seeking increased organ donations

Senate submits proposed redistricting map

Lawmakers vow to “smash the home tax”

More Senate district maps filed Monday

Look out Times Square Ball, here comes the Big Orange

South Fla. lawmaker refiles ‘palcohol’ bill

Andrew Korge slams Janet Adkins’ comments on black prisoners in CD 5

Several NPA candidates file in South Florida races over Labor Day weekend