Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2016

Jacksonville City Council Vice President candidates Matt Schellenberg and Aaron Bowman continue to solicit support in Monday meetings with Council members. Schellenberg, who has one signed on supporter as at this writing, seeks to court three supporters on Monday. He has an 11:00 meeting with Anna Brosche, who told us last week that she wasn’t planning to commit […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 21, 2016

On Thursday, Jacksonville City Council members Lori Boyer and Aaron Bowman convened to discuss a piece of cure legislation, intended to resolve Council’s budget night decision to move $330,799 from stormwater to safety officer salaries. Before that meeting, I talked with Fire Chief Kurtis Wilson about the need for safety officers, something that has gotten obscured in the procedural drama […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2016

Jacksonville’s Land Use and Zoning committee unanimously approved a bill setting guidelines for cultivation and dispensing facilities for low-THC cannabis on Wednesday. Not before a brief hiccup. Councilman Aaron Bowman commented, “We did this because we thought we’d be one of the approved sites [for cultivation], but we weren’t.” Since Jacksonville isn’t going to be an approved […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2016

In a packed conference room, Jax City Council members, media, and activists convened to discuss the Committee of the Whole process Tuesday. Council President Greg Anderson, by necessity, reiterated much of what he’s said already on the subject, saying that the process would encompass the current bills, in addition to anything that may be coming from […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2016

The story in the Jax City Council VP race on Tuesday afternoon: Aaron Bowman and John Crescimbeni each got backing from the other party in dueling 3:00 p.m. meetings. Bowman met with Tommy Hazouri, and the co-sponsors of the HRO expansion bill had what amounted to a mutual admiration society. Bowman told Hazouri that he was the first […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2016

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On Tuesday morning, Doyle Carter joined John Crescimbeni, Aaron Bowman, and Matt Schellenberg in the Jacksonville City Council vice president race. The public notice meeting he called to this effect had plenty of room for whomever, though. No one showed except the councilman, his assistant, a staffer from the mayor’s office, and this reporter. During the half hour meeting, Carter […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2016

On Tuesday, Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee debated giving Council members three terms. The Matt Schellenberg bill, which was controversial last year when it was introduced, is still occasioning hesitation and pushback from key quarters. Council VP Lori Boyer urged caution, as the citizens need to be sold on the bill, and figuring out the appropriate ballot […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 18, 2016

Wu-Tang Clan’s immortal question “Can it all be so simple?” does not apply to the race to be the next Jacksonville City Council vice president. By the end of Tuesday, four candidates will have emerged. What looked to be at first glance a binary contest for City Council vice president-elect now appears headed toward a […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 18, 2016

In life, the Gospel Teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. ineluctably informed his political perspective and stances. Nearly half a century since his passing, Dr. King is a canonical figure in American politics. This is true also in Jacksonville, where the annual MLK parade is one of the biggest events for politicos to show out […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 12, 2016

““Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.” — John Adams “If we’d had a referendum in 1965, I’d still be on the back of the bus.” — Denise Hunt A light legislative agenda on Jacksonville’s City Council was offset by dozens of […]

Tag: Aaron Bowman

Jax Council leadership race continues Monday

Jax Safety Officer salary cure legislation moves closer to reality

Jax Land Use panel OKs low-THC cannabis bill

Jax HRO Committee of the Whole discussed

Jax Council VP race sees two endorsers cross party lines

In empty room, Doyle Carter launches Jax Council VP campaign

Finance debates giving Jax Council three terms, Safety Officer money, One Spark planning

Jax Council VP race to Balkanize on Tuesday

At Jax MLK parade, the personal is political, and The Dream lives on

HRO expansion talk roils Jax City Council