Julie Delegal, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Julie DelegalDecember 7, 2014

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, something obscene happened in Jacksonville. The indecency I’m talking about didn’t have anything to do with the photography exhibit at Jacksonville’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). A nude photograph of a relaxed pregnant woman enjoying the sunbeams caught the attention of Jacksonville City Councilman Clay Yarborough, who deemed it pornographic […]

Julie DelegalNovember 23, 2014

Human beings are complex. Some of the most creative, curious, intelligent and sensitive individuals also bear the most risk for spiraling into deadly neuro-behavioral disorders. It’s a cruel trick of nature, a curse of the genes. And so it was with Sensitive Joe. “Sensitive Joe” was the college fraternity nickname given years ago to Myron […]

Julie DelegalNovember 10, 2014

On Nov. 4, Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate from Democrats, and not a single bullet was fired. In a world still filled with civil wars and religiously motivated slaughter, conducting peaceful elections is no small thing. It turns out that the GOP didn’t need any bullets, though. Instead, they used their bankrolled brainchild, […]

Julie DelegalOctober 26, 2014

Ferguson. Sanford. Tallahassee. What do these three cities have in common? It’s not what you might think. It has nothing to do with perceived arch-villains such as Darren Wilson, George Zimmerman, or Jameis Winston. I don’t believe in arch-villains. I do believe, though, in the predictability of human nature. Sometimes, human beings behave badly. And […]

Julie DelegalOctober 23, 2014

It was easy-breezy. In a land where small electric fans cause tornadoes of political outrage, the simple contract negotiations between state Sen. John Thrasher and his new employer, the Florida State University Board of Trustees, were refreshingly smooth. The terms appear to be completely pro forma. Except for one little detail. The devil is in […]

Julie DelegalOctober 5, 2014

Duval County School board member Jason Fischer is a nice young man. But in politics, I’ve learned, it’s the nice young men you have to watch. His most recent actions reveal that he’s a foot soldier in the war to destroy public education. And his bread may be getting buttered by lieutenants in the Jeb-Bush-brand, […]

Julie DelegalSeptember 21, 2014

The most powerful Republican in Florida, State Sen. John Thrasher from St. Augustine, wants to be President of Florida State University. He’s put in his papers and submitted to interviews. His qualifications are impressive. Thrasher brought a medical school to the university, after all, providing new prestige to the Tallahassee institution. But while his proponents […]

Julie DelegalSeptember 14, 2014

Former and would-be Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has defied this columnist’s prediction. Coming out on a policy that has divided Florida for 16 years was definitely against the odds. The Tanned One has chutzpah. The policy is education reform, and, as governor, Crist stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his predecessor, Jeb Bush, for whom education is now […]

Julie DelegalSeptember 3, 2014

Synecdoche means using one part of something to speak for the whole. When it comes to school-privatization rhetoric, voucher proponents have mastered the art of synecdoche. They find an individual — a successful, accomplished voucher student — and tell a glowing story that is meant to represent all private school voucher students, indeed, the entire […]

Julie DelegalAugust 27, 2014

Just when I thought I had reached inner peace about vaccines and autism, the specter of a link has reared its ugly head again — on Twitter, on Facebook, on CNN’s user-generated “iReport” website. It’s hard enough sorting through autism science. But parents like me, whose children are affected by the potentially devastating neuro-developmental condition, […]

Julie Delegal

Julie Delegal: The REAL obscenity: GOP leaders should know it when they see it

Julie Delegal: When biology backfires: evolving through the stigma of mental illness

Julie Delegal: The nation is not tacking right, even though Congress is

Julie Delegal: Police make serious mistakes when they impose their own justice

Julie Delegal: Teacher tenure: As state senator he took it away from public school teachers, but as Florida State president John Thrasher could claim it for himself

Julie Delegal: Board member opposes lawsuit to stop voucher program, denies conflict

Julie Delegal: The curse of the warrior: Why Thrasher can’t catch a break at FSU

Julie Delegal: Charlie Crist and the Voucher Factory

Julie Delegal: The simple cure for voucher-school lawsuits

Julie Delegal: Autism, vaccines, science and doubt