Jax

A.G. GancarskiAugust 20, 2018

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry made another late-game endorsement in a statewide race Monday, backing Rep. Baxter Troutman for Agriculture Commissioner. This endorsement indicates the value of relationships. Curry’s chief of staff Brian Hughes had been running the Troutman campaign before Hughes took a city job. Now, the operation is run by another Jacksonville op, Carlo Fassi. The timing of the endorsement’s […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 20, 2018

The Democratic race in House District 14 between incumbent Rep. Kim Daniels and Duval County School Board chair Paula Wright continues to get more interesting as the primary approaches. Wright, whose campaign account fundraising has been lackluster ($25,085 raised through Aug. 10; just over $12,000 on hand) is enjoying a television ad buy from the New Direction Now […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 17, 2018

State Rep. Tracie Davis and former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown both ran, and lost, as Democrats on the Duval ballot in 2015. Davis lost her elections supervisor race in March; Brown lost the mayorship in May. That link, however, was not enough for Davis to endorse Brown for Congress. On Friday, she broke with her fellow […]

Staff ReportsAugust 17, 2018

Wishful thinking predicates much of election season. Aspirational ads for Democrats; appeals targeting nonexistent issues (hello, “sanctuary cities”) for Republicans. Ultimately, these moves — whether pulled by a winning or losing campaign — are strategic. How a Republican is to eliminate sanctuary cities or how a Democrat is by force of will to create Medicare […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 16, 2018

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis visited an afterschool program in Jacksonville Thursday, and even before the formal endorsement, Curry made it clear he aligned with DeSantis. At one point during the tour, he used the phrase “brothers from a different mother.” Curry, during a subsequent media availability, removed all suspense and endorsed […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 16, 2018

A federal court in Jacksonville sided Wednesday with the city of Jacksonville over a challenge filed by former Police and Fire Pension Fund head John Keane because of cuts in his pension benefits. Keane saw his benefits boosted to $234,000 a year by the board instituting the Senior Staff Voluntary Retirement Fund. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 16, 2018

Unlike the majority of Florida counties, Duval County has yet to figure out a way forward regarding regulation of short-term rentals. Zoning doesn’t accommodate them currently, and as a result, Jacksonville is missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue. A Jacksonville City Council committee looks to change that with findings due by […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 15, 2018

The Democratic primary campaign in Florida’s 5th Congressional District continues between incumbent U.S. Rep. Al Lawson and challenger Alvin Brown. With a recent poll showing Brown 22 points down, and endorsements from everyone from over three dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus to the Florida Times-Union going Lawson’s way, Brown opted on Wednesday to re-up a debate […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 15, 2018

The annual review of the city of Jacksonville’s proposed budget by the City Council’s Finance Committee sees its first in a series of all-day sessions begin Aug. 16. As compared with the $1.19 billion general fund budget in FY 16-17, and the $1.27 billion budget last year, the general fund budget is up this year to $1.31 […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2018

The cases of suspended Jacksonville City Council members Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown were back in federal court Tuesday afternoon for a status hearing ahead of what is now a February trial, though the defendants were no-shows. The two Browns, who are unrelated, are accused of a 38-count conspiracy to defraud, say federal prosecutors. The pair is accused of extracting hundreds […]

Jax
Milton aftermath. Photo by Phil Ammann.

Lenny Curry backs Baxter Troutman for Ag Commissioner

Grab the popcorn: Kim Daniels, Paula Wright race heats up

Tracie Davis says Al Lawson is ‘the right man’ in CD5

Jacksonville Bold for 8.17.18 — Sizzle, and steak

‘Brothers from a different mother’: Lenny Curry endorses Ron DeSantis

Fed court sides with Jacksonville in pension challenge

Jacksonville City Council panel to investigate short-term rentals issue

Debate on: Al Lawson and Alvin Brown agree to ‘electronic town hall’ on Jacksonville radio

Jacksonville City Council panel begins budget deep dive Thursday

February trial set for Jacksonville Councilmembers Katrina, Reggie Brown