Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

James CallMarch 6, 2015

This is funny. Chris Pack obviously doesn’t know me nor much about rookie Congresswoman Gwen Graham. Then again, I should have realized back when people threw beer cans at me during my stand-up comedy phase in college that I do humor like Andy Kaufman — a few get my jokes, but most are bewildered. So, […]

James CallMarch 6, 2015

This is funny. Chris Pack obviously doesn’t know me nor much about rookie Congresswoman Gwen Graham. Then again, I should have realized back when people threw beer cans at me during my stand-up comedy phase in college that I do humor like Andy Kaufman — a few get my jokes, but most are bewildered. So, […]

James CallMarch 6, 2015

At the end of the first week of the 2015 Legislative Session, the Capitol City’s newspaper printed an editorial cartoon that compared lobbyists to great white sharks. The cartoon asks which species pose a greater threat to Floridians; paid advocates or Jaws. Psychologists tell us we see what we know and what we know influences […]

Peter SchorschMarch 6, 2015

A cry could be heard in the voice of Father Pat O’Neil as he spoke of the love Ken Plante generated in his work in his community and throughout the state of Florida. O’Neil, the director of the Miami Diocese’s Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, celebrated a Mass in Tallahassee Friday for his friend, […]

Ryan RayMarch 6, 2015

Just four days ahead of city elections in Sarasota, Democratic City Commission District 3 candidate Matthew Wooddall has been dropped by Keen Campaigning, the consulting firm directing his campaign amid revelations that Wooddall misled Keen and others about his employment history. “I’ve worked on more than 100 races up and down the ballot all over Florida and I’ve […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorMarch 6, 2015

A conservative “action tank” with ties to House Speaker John Boehner is throwing its weight behind Sarasota-area U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan. According to Sunshine State News, the American Action Network (AAN) announced Buchanan is one of 16 members of Congress it will support via an advertising campaign. Buchanan is the only Florida congressman to make the group’s […]

Mitch PerryMarch 6, 2015

After the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of law enforcement agencies last year, there was a nationwide clamor for police officers to begin wearing body cameras as a way to provide transparency and accountability for both the police and the citizenry. President Obama announced $263 million in funding for law enforcement […]

Mitch PerryMarch 6, 2015

Spurred on by organized labor, a campaign to drive up the wages for fast-food workers spread locally and across the country last year. That campaign is now encompassing other low-income industries. Last week a group of adjunct professors held a protest on the USF campus in Tampa calling for higher wages, and now the movement is spreading to […]

Mitch PerryMarch 6, 2015

U.S. Rep. David Jolly made the case once again Friday morning for Ryan Pate, a Pinellas County constituent in a big legal mess overseas right now. Pate is the helicopter mechanic from Belleair Bluffs recently thrown in jail in the United Arab Emirates after he severely criticized his UAE-based employer on Facebook while in the […]

Christine Jordan SextonMarch 6, 2015

Senate President Andy Gardiner, who began the session by saying the state needed to have a “discussion” about Medicaid expansion, explained in a memo to senators why he was pushing ahead with a bill that would extend coverage to 800,000 Floridians. The Thursday memo was accompanied with a detailed breakdown of the lengthy bill that […]

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Tim Weisheyer was appointed to the Florida State University Board of Trustees. Image via FloridaRealtors.com.

NRCC obsession with Gwen Graham and "brass in her pocket"

NRCC obsession with Gwen Graham and “brass in her pocket”

The week that was in Florida politics

Ken Plante eulogized for love of his work, dedication to personal principles

Campaign team drops Sarasota candidate Matthew Wooddall days before elections

Sarasota Congressman Vern Buchanan to get ad push from group with ties to John Boehner

ACLU, other groups withdraw support of police body camera bill

Health care workers heat up Fight for $15 campaign in Tampa

David Jolly takes Ryan Pate case to Fox News

Senate President Andy Gardiner memos members: "We have the obligation to make coverage affordable …"