Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiApril 30, 2015

While we had a reasonably comprehensive look into the mechanics of Bill Bishop endorsing Alvin Brown on Thursday, new information has come to light, via Nate Monroe of the Florida Times-Union, that puts that endorsement in a different context: namely, competing claims from Bishop and Lenny Curry about the lead up to the endorsement. Curry said that Bishop, by endorsing Brown, reneged […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 30, 2015

With recent in-house polling suggesting that Lenny Curry has a slight lead over incumbent Mayor Alvin Brown, the Curry camp sent out an email promoting its latest television ad, a spot that started airing Thursday. The email also advances the campaign’s “closing argument,” which is suffused with a “positive vision” for Jacksonville, contrasting his argument with Brown’s […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 30, 2015

Full disclosure: I have known Chris Hand for a quarter century We met during the local competition of the Citizen Bee, a history and social studies competition held by the Close Up Foundation. We advanced to State, then to Nationals. Then our paths diverged until a few years ago, when he became Alvin Brown‘s chief of staff […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 30, 2015

On March 31, Bill Bishop, who finished third in Jacksonville’s First Election, held a press conference on the steps of City Hall, where he said he was not endorsing Alvin Brown or Lenny Curry for Mayor. A couple of weeks later, an email went out from the Bill Bishop for Mayor campaign account. The campaign staffers endorsed Brown’s […]

Melissa RossApril 30, 2015

With just 20 days left until the city’s runoff election, Bill Bishop’s unexpected endorsement of Mayor Alvin Brown has landed as another late-in-the-game twist in the city’s tight mayor’s race. After tallying up 17% of the vote in the March First Election for mayor, Bishop vowed to run again in four years- but repeatedly said he was […]

Melissa RossApril 30, 2015

As the Jacksonville candidates for both mayor and sheriff campaign hard on how to boost public safety, the city’s influential faith leaders are also speaking out about a disturbing spike in crime rates and gang activity. They’re not all on the same page regarding recent calls to impose a 9 p.m. curfew in Jacksonville’s high-crime […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 30, 2015

With Early Voting just days away in Jacksonville, two citywide Democratic candidates are running ads that take on the problem of street crime. Their messaging seems independent from that of Mayor Alvin Brown. Starting on Thursday morning and running through Tuesday, At Large City Council candidate Tommy Hazouri is running an ad, Ready to Work, Day and […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 29, 2015

On Wednesday afternoon, the First Coast Manufacturers Association endorsed Lenny Curry at Raintree Graphics, an FCMA business on the Southside. Most endorsement events generally involve a podium, a few prepared remarks, and a photo op. This one was a little bit different. Most endorsements are decided in boardrooms, and media has no access to the process. […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 29, 2015

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Over the course of this campaign, I’ve had my share of conversations with Lenny Curry. A recurrent motif, when it comes to him describing the campaign process, is that it’s gradual, rooted in the personal appeal, the one-on-one conversation, the handshake. That’s how Curry has lifted himself from no name recognition and polling worse than almost […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 29, 2015

Violent crime has spiked in Jacksonville. Sheriff John Rutherford announced a reinstatement of the Operation Ceasefire plan late Tuesday to combat the menace, even as camps of black preachers have issued their own recommendations in recent days. Where does the Mayor stand on this issue? At the Legends Center on Soutel Drive on Jacksonville’s Northside on […]

Tag: Alvin Brown
Aerial photo courtesy Jesse Biter.

Bill Bishop’s endorsement and the “lost decade” claim

Email insights: Lenny Curry’s “closing argument” advances “positive vision”

Chris Hand, Alvin Brown’s chief of staff, “ready to move on”

Bill Bishop reverses course, endorses Alvin Brown for re-election

Bill Bishop endorsement: “I really do think it’s a game-changer”

Jax pastor: We don’t want to become the next Baltimore or Ferguson

Jax Democrats take crime messaging to airwaves

Lenny Curry talks politics with, is endorsed by First Coast Manufacturers Association

Lenny Curry stumps to Southside businessmen

Alvin Brown oratorically channels Obama, wants DOJ help with crime