Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorJuly 9, 2015

If you want to see how unsophisticated and implacable Republicans can be on race, you should have been at the Hillsborough County Charter Review Board (stacked with Republican functionaries) meeting on Tuesday. Besides the inevitable (and highly entertaining) fireworks the meeting was bound to ignite, it was the absence of even a genuine conversation and […]

Guest AuthorJuly 9, 2015

When I taught high school, several students believed the Confederate flag to be a symbol of Southern pride. They wore it on t-shirts, belt buckles, or flew it from the back of their pickup trucks. These were someone else’s children, so what they wore or waved was not necessarily my concern. I did encourage them, […]

Mitch PerryJuly 9, 2015

Although Kathy Castor will see the contours of her district redrawn in the wake of the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday, no one in state politics suspects it will affect Democratic Party leanings substantially. “Florida voters adopted Fair Districts amendments to our Florida Constitution and, today, the Florida Supreme Court reaffirmed that districts need to […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 9, 2015

Incumbent Republican HD 18 state Rep. Travis Cummings has, as of the end of June, approached $85,000 in fundraising, though the vast majority of that came between January and March from PACs as well as agricultural and pharmaceutical companies. Individual contributors are few and far between. Mark Frisch, the owner of the Jacksonville Armada, was one of […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 9, 2015

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It’s still early for Jay Fant. He definitely won’t have Paul Renner to contend with in 2016. In fact, he’ll have the Renner endorsement, and that of pretty much any other Republican of note. But his fundraising is thus far incremental. In June, state Representative Fant raised just $500, via a contribution from the Florida Acupuncture Association. […]

Associated PressJuly 9, 2015

About a half-dozen people protested a north Florida county’s decision to fly the Confederate flag in front of a government building. People gathered Wednesday in front of the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala to show disapproval of Marion County’s decision to fly the banner. The county had taken it down weeks earlier after nine black […]

Melissa RossJuly 9, 2015

Saying “Security is the creed of the tyrant,” former Duval County Circuit Judge John Merrett joined the chorus of callers into WJCT’s First Coast Connect Thursday to chime in on the current flap over PINAC activists suing for the right to take photos and record video outside the Duval County Courthouse. “It’s nobody’s business to stop […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 9, 2015

June was another month of underwhelming fundraising for former Jacksonville City Councilman Don Redman. He raised $1,020, bringing his not-so-grand total to $3,930. No big-name contributors donated and many contributions were less than $100. We await his opponent, fellow former Councilman Richard Clark, to report June numbers. He raised a little more than $48,000 through May Clark […]

Phil AmmannJuly 9, 2015

Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane raised $96,590 in the first month of his Lee County Commission campaign, the most ever raised by a non-incumbent county commissioner candidate. Mmore than 150 donors contributed between June 3 and 30, according to a campaign statement. Ruane seeks the District 1 seat held by John Manning, who filed for re-election […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 9, 2015

The draft version of the Jacksonville Economic Development subcommittee report, presented in a Thursday morning meeting at the University of North Florida, features the subtitle “Ideas for Today and Tomorrow.” Former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, architect of the last great push toward progress in the form of the Better Jacksonville Plan, chairs the group so recommendations […]

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Modern residential buildings with palm tree against the dark blue sky and sun beams. Miami, Sunny Islas Beach , Florida, United States

Chris Timmons: Hillsborough County and race: Historical fact — America ain't never been colorblind

Catherine Durkin Robinson: There are Southerners worth knowing about, who bring pride to our region

Kathy Castor sanguine after court ruling, to report raising nearly $800,000

Travis Cummings nears $85K raised for HD18 re-election bid

June was quiet for Jay Fant re-election fundraising

Group protests Marion County’s Confederate flag display

Former Judge John Merrett rips Duval Courthouse video ban

Don Redman struggles with fundraising in HD 12

First-month total hits $96k for Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane in Lee County District 1 race

Economic Development committee presents 2nd Better Jacksonville Plan