Local

Guest AuthorJanuary 4, 2016

Here’s a New Year’s resolution every public official should make: Don’t ever conduct a job candidate search and promise to keep applicants’ names confidential. The board members of the South Broward Hospital District have learned in the past few weeks that trying to circumvent Florida’s open government laws to keep applicants’ names secret is just […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 4, 2016

There are now three candidates vying to become the next chairman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee, and none of them are Mark Hanisee. Ione Townsend (pictured), Mike Newett, and Alvin Wolfe have all declared their intentions to lead the party when the Hillsborough DEC membership convenes to vote to succeed Elizabeth Belcher on Jan. […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

In a memo, Jacksonville City Council’s Special Committee on Public Service Grants’ final recommendations were rendered. The Tuesday memo, from Committee Chairwoman Anna Brosche to Council President Greg Anderson, codifies recommendations arrived at through a series of meetings this fall. The recommendations are intended to address major problems with the public service grants project, including issues […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

Jacksonville Inspector General Thomas Cline has been pilloried by members of Jacksonville’s City Council for amorphous reportage of results in recent months. His year-end report seeks to change that impression. Cline offers “investigation highlights,” which include two reports of his division recommending 11 corrective actions. Specifically noted: the office’s efforts in the Access to Capital program. “The […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

In November, FloridaPolitics.com reported on the people behind Illuminate Jax seeking buy in from the Lenny Curry administration to move forth with plans to light up the Jacksonville skyline. In January, they will get the meeting they sought in November. Margie Seaman of Illuminate Jax will get a long-awaited meeting with city officials in January, including […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

In Jacksonville politics in 2015, the game changed … perhaps for good. Big money went into campaigns: over $10 million, including soft money, in the mayoral race. Close to $2 million in the sheriff’s race. And even some City Council candidates who raised close to a quarter of a million dollars did so in vain. […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

The theory of recurrence is something not unique to Jacksonville politics. In this list of five people who likely will be in the headlines, there are some familiar names. Alvin Brown: The one-term Jacksonville mayor took some time off after his narrow defeat in the May election. He surfaced on very rare occasions, through media […]

Mitch PerryDecember 30, 2015

It’s been a long contentious year in Tampa Bay, from Pinellas County’s “Failure Factories” and Beth Leytham in Tampa City Hall to the evolving political landscape that has drawn Charlie Crist for another bid for elected office. Good or bad, 2015 offered a little something for everyone (to cheer or argue about). Now that the […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

There’s no doubt 2015 was an amazing year in Jacksonville politics. A new mayor, 11 new members of City Council, and intrigue in Corrine Brown’s redistricting saga were among a few top-level highlights. While we have a reasonable sense of what happened in Jacksonville politics in 2015, the next question is what happens in 2016. Hence, a […]

Mitch PerryDecember 30, 2015

As first said by Greek philosopher Heraclitus, in the universe change is the only constant. Nowhere was that more applicable than in Tampa Bay during the past 12 months. From the much-ballyhooed dismissal of MaryEllen Elia as Hillsborough County School Board District superintendent to redistricting and the rising (and falling) fortunes for hizzoner Bob Buckhorn, many of the leading […]

Local
Jerry Goodman, a doctor from Sarasota

Fiasco at hospital district a lesson in benefits of open government

3 candidates vie to lead Hillsborough County Democrats in 2016

Jax Special Committee on Public Service Grants makes final recommendations

Jax Inspector General report trumpets successes with OPP, Access to Capital

Illuminate Jax moving forward?

A.G. Gancarski’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Jacksonville politics

A.G. Gancarski’s 5 people to watch in Jacksonville politics in 2016

Mitch Perry’s 5 people to watch in Tampa Bay politics in 2016

A.G. Gancarski’s 12 predictions in 2016 for Jacksonville politics

Mitch Perry’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Hillsborough politics