Jax

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 26, 2017

Friday is judgment day for former State Rep. Charles Van Zant and his wife, Katherine Van Zant. The two will be the stars of the show at Friday morning’s meeting of the state ethics commission. Former Rep. Charles Van Zant and his wife Katherine each face separate hearings covering the same material. The ethics complaints against the […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2017

As with the morning collective bargaining session with the city’s fire union, the city of Jacksonville’s afternoon session with the police union saw a sweetened offer for police and corrections. But with the sweet comes the sour. The Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police held firm to the #YesToFRS position for new hires … and opened […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2017

A bill that passed the House 107-0 Thursday would provide shelter for Florida principals who had a questionable foreign court issue a cash judgement against them. HB 623, filed by Northeast Florida Republican Cord Byrd and co-sponsored by Rep. Frank White, offers additional circumstances in which an out-of-country foreign judgment need not be recognized. White, a candidate for Attorney General, […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2017

On Monday, a political ally of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry filed a bill that would close the Florida Retirement System’s defined benefit plan to new cities. This is particularly relevant to Jacksonville’s police and fire unions, both of which want to see new hires put in the FRS defined benefit plan as a condition of collective bargaining. […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2017

The eternal question in Jacksonville, at least since 2012: will the Human Rights Ordinance be expanded to protect people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression? That question was not resolved Tuesday evening, in a packed council chambers where the main attraction on an otherwise unremarkable agenda was a public hearing […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 24, 2017

Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri made his position clear Tuesday relative to legislation closing the Florida Retirement System’s defined benefit plan to new cities. The legislation, said Hazouri, is “dead on arrival.” [Worth noting: there is a House and Senate version of this bill. Rep. Jason Fischer filed House Bill 353, while Jeff Brandes filed Senate Bill 428. Each bill […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 24, 2017

Groundhog Day is over a week away, but those who attend Tuesday night’s Jacksonville City Council meeting will feel inevitable deja vu. Some will think it’s 2016. Others will think it’s 2012. That’s because the fervent arguments they’ll hear tonight on Jacksonville’s perpetual hot-button issue — expanding the Human Rights Ordinance to LGBT people, via […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

Earlier on Monday, FloridaPolitics.com reported on bills filed in both chambers of the Florida Legislature that would foreclose the defined benefit plan of the Florida Retirement System to new municipalities. This bill is especially topical in Northeast Florida because a major sticking point in collective bargaining between the city of Jacksonville and its police and fire […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

On Monday, 4th Judicial Circuit Mark Hulsey resigned from the bench ahead of an impeachment investigation by the Florida House. “He resigned under the threat of the investigation,” House Speaker Richard Corcoran told the Tampa Bay Times‘ Steve Bousquet. FloridaPolitics.com obtained a copy of Hulsey’s resignation letter, which noted that he effectively had served no use since re-elected last year beyond […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson rode into office wearing a white dress, surfing on a wave of hagiography, balanced on a board constructed on a sturdy narrative of collective anathema toward Angela Corey. For many of those who voted for her, the job was accomplished when Corey was defeated in August by a blowout […]

Jax
Image via AP.

Leslie Dougher hammers Charles Van Zant ahead of Friday ethics meeting

Jacksonville, police union haggle over body cameras, pensions

Cord Byrd bill nixing questionable foreign court money judgments clears House

Jacksonville offers seven year agreement to firefighters in collective bargaining

‘Democracy in action,’ as Jacksonville human rights ordinance hearing draws overflow crowd

Tommy Hazouri: FRS reform legislation is ‘dead on arrival’

Opposing sides gear up for Jacksonville HRO public hearing on Tuesday night

Jacksonville mayor ‘not surprised’ by FRS reform legislation

Scandal-plagued Jacksonville judge Mark Hulsey ‘abruptly resigns’ from bench

‘Tough but fair’ approach guides Melissa Nelson’s reform path