Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 9, 2019

Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp wants to use $10 million of the county’s sales tax contingency fund as a fiscal guarantee for the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority so that agency may purchase eight electric buses before the end of the year. The board directed county staff to work with HART to craft an interlocal […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 9, 2019

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority Board of Directors heard from internationally acclaimed transit planner Jarrett Walker as members begin to look forward to an agency with vastly more buying power than it has ever had before. Agency leaders met with Walker privately after the public meeting to talk about potentially hiring him as a consultant, […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 4, 2019

Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority both filed defenses to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the one-percent transportation tax voters approved in November. Both entities argue, among other defenses, that Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White does not have legal standing to file the suit. White is seeking to overturn the voter-approved county […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 4, 2019

In the fight to maintain Hillsborough County’s recently enacted one-percent transportation sales tax, the All For Transportation campaign won its first legal battle. A Hillsborough County Circuit judge ruled Friday the group could defend the tax in a lawsuit seeking to overturn it. Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White sued the county, the three cities within […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 20, 2018

Attorneys seeking to overturn the voter-approved transportation tax in Hillsborough County are asking the judge to expedite the case, according to court filings. The motion calls for an expedited case management conference to settle the lawsuit brought forth by Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White. Its basis for a speedy judgment in the plaintiff’s favor is […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 20, 2018

The All For Transportation campaign filed a motion Wednesday to have a team of its own lawyers intervene in the defense of its transportation referendum increasing sales tax by 1 percent, which voters approved last month. That motion provides some insight into how defending entities might argue their case. The primary argument is simple: “Counties […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 19, 2018

The All For Transportation campaign parent company, Keep Hillsborough Moving, filed a motion in Hillsborough County Circuit Court Wednesday to intervene in the defense of the voter-approved transportation referendum Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White is challenging. The group is offering up its own team of lawyers to defend the referendum against challenges that it is […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 18, 2018

A lawsuit that sought to overturn the 1 percent sales tax voters approved last month for transportation and transit improvements in Hillsborough County has been reassigned to a new judge following concerns the initially assigned judge could not provide a fair trial for defendants. Judge Laurel Lee, the wife of Florida Senator Tom Lee, recused herself […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 17, 2018

Judge Laurel Lee, wife of Florida State Sen. Tom Lee, has been asked to recuse herself in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the Hillsborough transportation sales tax voters approved last month. Sen. Lee has been a vocal critic of the sales tax, giving his wife an apparent conflict of interest in the case. A defendant […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 17, 2018

Monday is the deadline for defendants in the All For Transportation sales tax lawsuit to request that the presiding judge take herself off the case. The question remains: Does Hillsborough Circuit Judge Laurel Lee have too big a conflict of interest to oversee the case in an impartial and unbiased manner? The 1 percent transportation and transit sales […]

Tag: Stacy White
Image via Palatka Main Street.

Hillsborough County’s choice: Spend $10 million on new buses or not?

Hillsborough agency considers bringing on transit guru as consultant

HART, Hillsborough County say Stacy White has no right to challenge transportation tax

Judge rules All For Transportation can defend itself against Stacy White lawsuit

Overturning Hillsborough transportation tax rests on argument denied by Florida Supreme Court

All For Transportation court filing hints at possible transportation tax defense

All For Transportation wants to use their own legal team to defend transportation tax

Tom Lee’s wife recuses herself from transportation tax lawsuit amid questions about conflicts

Judge Laurel Lee, wife of Sen. Tom Lee, asked to recuse herself from transportation tax lawsuit

Tom Lee’s wife still has All For Transportation lawsuit amid more ties to his opposition