Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Dan GelberJune 21, 2015

Jeb Bush earned the moniker of Florida’s “Education Governor” because he made education his primary policy focus while in office and the area he most focused on since. And Jeb Bush was a very busy education governor. He force-fed unprecedented testing into public schools, did all he could to neuter the teaching unions, and apologetically […]

Jac VerSteegJune 21, 2015

I have to believe Jeb Bush when he says he wouldn’t let his priest – or even the pope – dictate his economic policy. In fact, if you take Jeb’s recent statements about religion seriously, an obvious conclusion is that Jeb doesn’t take his religion seriously. “I hope I’m not going to get castigated for […]

Guest AuthorJune 21, 2015

In our republic, the past six months has been enough to make all of us wonder whether there’s anything we can do to unify and lift us up as one nation. Almost every day another story illustrates how divided we are. For those old enough to remember, 9/11 brought Americans together much like World War […]

Guest AuthorJune 21, 2015

The horrible news about another mad person shooting innocent people, this time in the supposed sanctity of a church, shakes one to the core and forces us to think through our own daily travels and interactions. Sit in church next Sunday and look at the hundreds assembled. Has it ever entered your mind that one […]

Phil AmmannJune 21, 2015

A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — Urgency needed on discipline changes for Hillsborough schools The Hillsborough County School District has a serious problem with school discipline and disparity in punishments between white and minority students. But after identifying the issue and committing to address it two years ago, […]

Mitch PerryJune 19, 2015

Although he was criticized earlier on Friday for seeming to downplay the racial aspect of 21-year-old Dylann Roof’s murdering nine people in a historic black church in Charleston on Wednesday night, Jeb Bush had no problem acknowledging that fact while addressing approximately 500 people at the Hillsborough County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner in Tampa on Friday night. […]

Melissa RossJune 19, 2015

New Jacksonville mayor-elect Lenny Curry won’t be sworn into office until July 1, but some of his very newest constituents enjoyed a swearing-in ceremony of their own on a sweltering June morning at the city’s downtown main library. Jacksonville’s World Refugee Day celebration began with a Naturalization Ceremony at the library, followed by a children’s […]

Mitch PerryJune 19, 2015

Democratic presidential nominee Martin O’Malley knows he needs to start getting attention in his slow-rolling campaign to challenge Hillary Clinton, so he went bold Friday in reaching out to a sweet spot of the Democratic primary party electorate in a response to Wednesday’s attack in a Charleston, S.C. church that left nine dead. In an […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 19, 2015

A lot of the discussion regarding the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Deal that was approved by the Pension Board by a 4-1 margin on Friday revolved, justifiably, around the yeoman’s work that Mayor Alvin Brown, his Chief of Staff Chris Hand, and the rest of the team did toward getting the basic framework in place. However, the man […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 19, 2015

When it comes to the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension, nothing is easy. Not even a 4-1 vote by the Police and Fire Pension Board to approve 2015-304, the agreement passed by Jacksonville’s City Council by a 14-4 margin at last week’s meeting. A lot of passions were stirred; passions about making sure the first […]

Uncategorized
Buccaneers QB Teddy Bridgewater. Image via AP.

Dan Gelber: Beware of Jeb's education "revolution"

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Jeb Bush’s view of religion knocks off some commandments

Jeff Kottkamp and Rich Ramos: What we should do to come together as a nation

Ed Moore: Sometimes connection between 2 points can be a bright one

A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers

In Tampa, Jeb Bush says post-Charleston: “We need to bring love back into our society”

New citizens join Jacksonville community at World Refugee Day celebration

Martin O’Malley “pissed” by massacre, calls for national assault weapons ban

Lenny Curry on Jax Pension Deal: “A Tremendous Step”

Emotions run high as Jax Police and Fire Pension Board OKs deal