Jax

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 […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

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FloridaPolitics.com caught up with State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson this week at the St. Johns Legislative Delegation meeting. For Stevenson, a former county commissioner, it was a return to familiar ground. St. Johns County, the Republican said, “is becoming a more complete community,” which she believes is also “good for the region.” “We have over 200,000 people. […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2017

There were rumblings last week that some civil rights leaders in Jacksonville were unhappy with the yearly Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. This week, there is written confirmation. A letter in the mailbox of Mayor Lenny Curry from Jacksonville NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin let it be known that while the NAACP, the SCLC, and the Urban League […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2017

With the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday morning, it was predictable that Northeast Florida pols would post thoughts on the event. Some thoughts were sanguine, such as those from Mayor Lenny Curry and former State Rep. Lake Ray. “It’s a beautiful day,” Curry Tweeted Friday morning. Ray had more to say. “The peaceful transition of power […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 20, 2017

The world has changed; Northeast Florida is no exception. Barely 10 months after last year’s GOP presidential primary, where virtually every important Republican in Northeast Florida tested the limits of their political capital in doomed support for Marco Rubio over Donald Trump, it is as if #NeverTrump never existed in Florida’s First Coast. Truth be […]

Jax

‘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

In Florida House, Cyndi Stevenson negotiates St. Johns County’s growing pains

Jacksonville civil rights groups plan to take control of MLK Breakfast

Northeast Florida reacts to ‘beautiful day’ of Donald Trump inauguration

Jacksonville Bold for 1.20.17 — Inauguration Day