Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersApril 18, 2017

Lawmakers looking to cut budget and staffing levels of Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala note that she has so many unfilled staff positions that the cuts should not affect performance, yet a statewide look shows her operation is pretty typical of state attorneys offices. Almost all of Florida’s state attorneys – as well as Florida’s public defenders, […]

Mitch PerryMarch 17, 2017

After Rick Scott removed Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala from the case of accused cop killer Markeith Loyd after she announced she would not pursue the death penalty in his or any other case during her tenure. Later, Dover House Republican Ross Spano called on Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren to condemn Ayala’s actions. Warren refused, saying that he would seek out the death penalty only […]

Staff ReportsFebruary 2, 2017

Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren selected prosecutor Christopher Moody to serve as the new Chief Assistant State Attorney. As Chief Assistant, Moody will supervise the 135 Assistant State Attorneys who prosecute cases on behalf of the Office. In addition, he will be responsible for executing the State Attorney’s policy initiatives, overseeing the daily operations […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 5, 2017

We’ve heard from several Florida Democrats (such as Kathy Castor and Charlie Crist) that, when appropriate, they look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump once he takes office later this month. The question for them and other Democrats concerned about their own poll numbers as well as what’s good for the country is where and when they decide to go along with Trump […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 4, 2017

Over the weekend, the Times’ Rick Danielson and Sue Carlton shared a byline online where they essentially discussed the Bob Buckhorn Experience in Tampa, close to six years after he was elected mayor. Although the initial thrust of the story was how the Mayor wasn’t above looking a little silly on occasions to sell a particular program or […]

Mitch PerryDecember 14, 2016

Over the summer, a hacker who went by the nom de guerre of Guccifer 2.0 began distributing internal documents from the Democratic National Committee to a variety of reporters and bloggers here in Florida. I was one of those recipients. I bring that up this morning because of the story in Wednesday’s NY Times , which revisits […]

Mitch PerryDecember 7, 2016

“Image is everything” that great philosopher, Andre Agassi, once said in a series of television ads for Canon in the early 1990’s. Though a bit of an exaggeration, there’s no question that the image of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee has taken a significant body blow following its reorganization meeting on Monday night. To recap: Party Chair Ione Townsend concluded that the party’s by-laws […]

Mitch PerryNovember 10, 2016

As Donald Trump publicly laid low and dealt with officials about how the transition of his administration will begin, I couldn’t help but recall that often-referred-to famous final scene from the 1972 Michael Ritchie film, “The Candidate” starring Robert Redford. Bill McKay, the novice (played by Redford) who has just won an improbable victory for the U.S. Senate, turns dazedly […]

Mitch PerryNovember 9, 2016

Where do you begin? One of the biggest political upsets in U.S. history, to start with, in Donald J. Trump beating Hillary Clinton to become the 45th President of the United States of America. Lots of analysis there, including about the Democratic nominee, who for the second time in eight years, thought she had the […]

Mitch PerryOctober 14, 2016

The real news is out there — you just have to search for it. While the increasingly dysfunctional presidential election grips/horrifies the nation, there are things happening in the world that U.S. citizens should be aware of — such as our involvement in Yemen. On Thursday, the U.S. military launched cruise missile strikes to knock out three […]

Tag: Andrew Warren

Not just Aramis Ayala: Almost all state attorneys have lots of job openings for prosecutors, support staff

Julianne Holt expresses concerns about Rick Scott’s move on Aramis Ayala

Personnel note: Christopher Moody named Hillsborough County Chief Assistant State Attorney

Mitch Perry Report for 1.5.17 – Poll says voters want Dems like Bill Nelson to fight Donald Trump when necessary

Mitch Perry Report for 1.4.17 — Waitin’ on the man

Mitch Perry Report for 12.14.16 – Fun with Guccifer 2.0

Mitch Perry Report for 12.7.16 – The Hillsborough County DEC melts down

Mitch Perry Report for 11.10.16 — The ‘What do we now?’ moment for the president-elect

Mitch Perry Report for 11.9.16 — GOP dominance

Mitch Perry Report for 10.14.16 — Mission creep in Yemen?