Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jac VerSteegMay 25, 2015

The Obama administration needs to learn to take advice from Keanu Reeves. In the movie “Speed,” Reeves’s character Jack Travern and Harry Temple, played by Jeff Daniels, are SWAT team members discussing a hypothetical hostage situation. Says Temple: “All right, pop quiz. Airport. Gunman with one hostage. He’s using her for cover. He’s almost to […]

Associated PressMay 25, 2015

Jacksonville had the biggest population gain of any Florida city last year and now is the nation’s 12th most populous city. New figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Jacksonville’s population grew to more than 853,000 residents last year, an increase of 9,300 residents. By pure numbers, Jacksonville is Florida’s most populous […]

Guest AuthorMay 25, 2015

On Memorial Day, be sure to thank a Florida veteran. It shouldn’t be too difficult to track one down, as Florida is home to more than 1.6 million veterans. That’s one in every 12 adults. It’s no surprise that the state has the third-largest veteran population in the nation, because Florida policymakers have worked hard […]

Guest AuthorMay 25, 2015

My husband and I take our kids to Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg every Memorial Day. We’ve been attending the event for 14 years and can remember the days when hardly anyone showed up. Back in 2000 and 2001, we could always find a parking space, a seat in front, and plenty of […]

Phil AmmannMay 24, 2015

A round-up of Sunday editorials from Florida’s leading newspapers: Tampa Bay Times — Honoring those who died to protect us Like many federal holidays, Memorial Day has become a day that more often is associated with fellowship, food and fun than its founders’ original intent. But we should never fail to remember the sacrifices of […]

Mitch PerryMay 22, 2015

Members of two important Tampa Bay area agencies got huge news this week. Among the more than three dozen bills that Gov. Rick Scott signed into law on Thursday included a child welfare bill that lifts a cloud from over the Hillsborough County Children’s Board and the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board. They faced a local referendum next […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 22, 2015

Like anyone who makes enough predictions, I get some wrong. I was way off in my calculus on At Large Group 5 Jacksonville City Council candidate Sam Newby. I didn’t think he’d make the runoff. He he got through the first election, beating the better funded and more heavily endorsed Republican Michelle Tappouni by a few points […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 22, 2015

Jacksonville City Councilman Robin Lumb has been chairman of the Republican Party of Duval County since December. When he came in, he stood down for re-election in At Large Group 5, choosing instead to focus on getting Republican candidates elected in March and May. Lumb brought a unique skill set to that endeavor: vast experience […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 22, 2015

The crowd of 200 men, most of them African-Americans, were assembled at “A Call for 1,000 Men” at Open Arms Christian Fellowship Church expecting to hear Duval School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti speak. He wasn’t in attendance,though. Instead, they heard from outgoing Mayor Alvin Brown. Now liberated from the constraints imposed by the campaign, he delivered one of […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 21, 2015

Reported late on Thursday by multiple outlets, the Lenny Curry transition leadership team gives some insight into what his administration might look like. It is stocked with familiar names and steady hands who have history in Jacksonville and who have been supporters of the Mayor Elect. “In the days and weeks ahead, I will be working with […]

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Image via the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Sometimes in politics you have to shoot the hostage

Of Florida’s cities, Jacksonville had biggest gain

Dominic Calabro: Florida has worked hard to make this a veterans-friendly state

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Memorial Day is a chance to teach your kids

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

Rick Scott signs bill that could help Hillsborough County with transit tax

How Sam Newby shocked the world

Robin Lumb, architect of Duval GOP majority, talks strategy

Alvin Brown: “If this is an emergency, where’s the 911 response?”

A look at Lenny Curry’s transition leadership team