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

Mitch PerryJuly 3, 2017

Two weeks ago, state Rep. Janet Cruz was part of a group of Democrats angry at Florida Democratic Party Chair Stephen Bittel for racially-tinged remarks made backstage at the Party’s biggest annual fundraising event. Now, the House Minority Leader from Tampa says those bitter feelings are mostly forgotten as the party looks to seize on anti-Donald Trump […]

Mitch PerryJune 30, 2017

Florida House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz visited the Town & Country Senior Center in Northwestern Hillsborough County on Friday to celebrate passage of a health care bill she sponsored in the House that will soon become law. Governor Rick Scott recently signed the Senate version of her bill (SB 800). It prohibits health insurers from denying patients […]

Mitch PerryJune 29, 2017

With Florida’s mosquito season well underway, public health officials and lawmakers are hoping the federal government will come through with more money to combat the Zika virus before current funding expires later this year. “Zika is a serious threat to Florida,” Sarasota Congressman Vern Buchanan said Thursday. “Our country’s top disease fighters need the funding […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2017

Among the five bills Gov. Rick Scott vetoed Tuesday was one that would have weakened Florida’s Agency for State Technology. Scott’s veto earned some praise from Jeremy Ring, the former Yahoo executive and state senator who is running for Chief Financial Officer in 2018. “For ten years, I worked to ensure that IT infrastructure was fortified and all sensitive data […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2017

A top editor at the Tampa Bay Times fired back Wednesday after Pinellas legislators slammed the paper for calling them “Disciples of Darkness” because of transparency-related and public records measures passed this year. “I understand why they are not happy,” Tim Nickens, the Times editor of editorials, wrote in an email. “They have no respect for open government, and […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2017

He wasn’t on the dais, but Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s policies and public comments were front-and-center when a panel of Pinellas lawmakers spoke Wednesday in Clearwater about the recently concluded legislative session. Dubbed “the most interesting man in Tallahassee” in a recent Miami Herald profile, the 52-year-old Land O’Lakes Republican came into leadership last […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2017

When death penalty trials finally resume in Florida—including retrials of overturned old cases—the system will be pure “chaos,” a retired Florida Supreme Court justice said Tuesday. Gerald Kogan, who served on the court 1987-98, was one of several speakers who participated in a phone briefing organized by the nonpartisan Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. […]

Mitch PerryJune 27, 2017

Among the many positions in the federal government that have gone unfilled during the first five months of the Donald Trump administration is someone to lead the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With hurricane season only about to get more intense in the coming months, Charlie Crist is calling on the White House to fill […]

Mitch PerryJune 27, 2017

Annette Taddeo is locking down more endorsements in advance of the Democratic primary scheduled next month in the special election in Senate District 40. Two major unions in Florida — the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — announced Tuesday they’re backing her candidacy. “We […]

Mitch PerryJune 27, 2017

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When David Jolly defeated Alex Sink in the special election for Florida’s 13th Congressional District, his criticism of Obamacare was front and center of his campaign. But the politics of health care have changed over the past four years, Jolly told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday night – and they certainly have for him. After […]

Mitch Perry
Dozens of vehicles were torched in a fire at a Jacksonville International Airport fire in a garage May 16. Image via Jacksonivlle Aviation Authority.

Janet Cruz reflects on racially-tinged incident at Florida Democrats gala

Janet Cruz visits Hillsborough senior center to celebrate signing of medical synchronization bill

Vern Buchanan sounds alarm for Florida to get its share of Zika funding

Jeremy Ring praises Rick Scott for vetoing bill gutting Florida’s state tech agency

Pinellas GOP lawmakers ‘have no respect for open government,’ Times editor says

Richard Corcoran’s agenda and style get bashed (and sometimes praised) by panel of Pinellas lawmakers

Florida death penalty is in ‘chaos,’ former justice says

A month into hurricane season, Charlie Crist says Donald Trump needs to fill NOAA post now

Annette Taddeo nabs two key union endorsements in SD 40 special election

Since leaving Congress, David Jolly has discovered a different view of the Affordable Care Act