Mitch Perry, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryFebruary 3, 2015

It wasn’t that long ago when Time magazine was proclaiming Rand Paul the most interesting politician in America. Rand was by far the mainstream media’s favorite idea of a Republican: a man speaking out about the poor and disenfranchised; who spoke in Berkeley and at Howard University; a saner version of his old man, Libertarian […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 3, 2015

Showing once again that she’s determined to make a mark on the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board, member Kathleen Shanahan expressed frustration today that she wasn’t aware of any financial requests that the transit agency had made of its local legislative delegation, a month before the 2015 legislative session in Tallahassee. “I feel like we’re going […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 3, 2015

Showing once again that she’s determined to make a mark on the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board, member Kathleen Shanahan expressed frustration today that she wasn’t aware of any financial requests that the transit agency had made of its local legislative delegation, a month before the 2015 legislative session in Tallahassee. “I feel like we’re going […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2015

By a wide margin, Floridians do not approve of Marco Rubio running for president next year, and think it best that he should concentrate his efforts on running for reelection to his Senate seat in 2016, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released on Monday. And that sentiment includes most Republicans. Just 15 percent of those responding […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2015

On his last day on the job as the executive directors of both the Hillsborough County MPO and the Planning Commission last week, Ray Chiaramonte learned that he would be immediately transitioning to a new gig – after being selected to become the next executive director of TBARTA, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. The still very vibrant […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2015

Hillsborough County Commission Chair Sandy Murman says she definitely will file for re-election for her District 1 seat for 2016 later this year, but hasn’t completely discarded the idea of running for a countywide seat. “I love my district and I’m happy to serve,” the Davis Islands Republican said when asked about her plans for […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2015

Happy Monday! (Well, maybe not if you’re a Seahawks fan). As we lean into the work week, what do we have here on the front page of today’s Tampa Bay Times? A story by the Miami Herald’s Julie Brown and Mary Ellen Klas that features another deposed government agency head in Tallahassee — in this case, former Department of […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 30, 2015

In recent years, Florida House District 63 has become that rarity in state politics, a full-fledged swing district in Hillsborough County. Republican Shawn Harrison defeated Democratic incumbent Mark Danish there last November, a reversal of the 2010 contest when Danish bested the then-GOP incumbent. Harrison originally won the seat in 2010 over Democrat Russ Paterson. Now […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 30, 2015

Next week the Florida Cabinet meets in Tampa for the first time since they unanimously approved Rick Swearingen as the replacement for Gerald Bailey to lead the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement. Bailey announced his resignation in December, but told members of the media after Swearingen’s appointment in early January that in fact he had […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 30, 2015

Presidential elections only come around once every four years, and the Oscars don’t pull in the numbers nearly like they used to, so the Super Bowl has become truly the premiere American event over the past few decades. And that event is much longer than the 3 1/2 hours that the game is actually played on […]

Mitch Perry
Paula Stark is hosting Buenaventura Lakes' 'first-ever' event to honor veterans.

Mitch Perry Report for 2.3.15 – Rand off the rails?

Some HART board members fret they’ll miss out on state funding

Some HART board members fret they'll miss out on state funding

Florida GOP voters going big time for Jeb, not so much for Marco in presidential poll

Ray Chiaramonte is high on CSX and the Tampa streetcar as he takes over at TBARTA

Sandy Murman plans to keep Hillsborough seat in 2016

Mitch Perry Report for 2.2.15 – Another former state agency head blasts Rick Scott

Democrat Mike Reedy enters HD 63 race

Jack Latvala blasts Cabinet members in Gerald Bailey affair

Mitch Perry Report for 1.30.15 -So when does the Super Bowl come back to Tampa?