Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJuly 17, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council has set its 2015/2016 finance budget hearing meeting dates for Lenny Curry’s first budget. Fans of municipal budget hearings can look forward to seven daylong meetings over the course of 15 days. The meetings will take place Aug. 13 and 14. Then, a break until Aug. 20 and 21. Finally, the cycle […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 22, 2015

The seventh stop in Florida Gov. Rick Scott‘s “victory lap” across the state was in one of his political strongholds: Jacksonville. The Monday appearance, at the Mudville Grille in Arlington, was an appropriate venue. Known for its hamburgers, it is a great place to serve up red meat for the Republican faithful. The crowd was […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 19, 2015

A lot of the discussion regarding the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Deal that was approved by the Pension Board by a 4-1 margin on Friday revolved, justifiably, around the yeoman’s work that Mayor Alvin Brown, his Chief of Staff Chris Hand, and the rest of the team did toward getting the basic framework in place. However, the man […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 19, 2015

When it comes to the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension, nothing is easy. Not even a 4-1 vote by the Police and Fire Pension Board to approve 2015-304, the agreement passed by Jacksonville’s City Council by a 14-4 margin at last week’s meeting. A lot of passions were stirred; passions about making sure the first […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 16, 2015

One of the things that Transition Executive Director Sam Mousa has complained about during the Lenny Curry mayoral transition is the use of the Banking Fund. Based on the tail end of Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee meeting, it seems like he has some allies. By unanimous consent, the committee approved a move to get a bill […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 16, 2015

In Jacksonville City Council’s Rules Committee on Monday, John Crescimbeni’s resolution [2015-350] against seismic testing off of Jacksonville’s coast was voted down by a 4-3 margin, just two weeks after it passed in this same body. The deciding vote last time, Stephen Joost, was for it before he was against it. No votes were Robin Lumb, Joost, […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 10, 2015

The big news that came out of Jacksonville’s City Council meeting on Tuesday night is the passage of 2015-304: the Police and Fire Pension Deal, by a 14-4 margin. Those against it (Lori Boyer, John Crescimbeni, Bill Bishop, and Matt Schellenberg) made their arguments. But the fact was that Councilman Bill Gulliford and his impassioned […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 9, 2015

Ordinance 2015-304, the latest Police and Fire Pension Deal, will be the main event of Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. However, other matters of import await the penultimate meeting of this particular group of council members. Expect a second reading on Resolution 2015-384, which involves Council urging the U.S. Department of Housing […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 9, 2015

With the Police and Fire Pension Fund deal subject to a vote in Tuesday evening’s Jacksonville City Council meeting, PFPF Chairman John Keane introduced revisions to its terms during a Tuesday morning meeting with Councilman Bill Gulliford, point man for the latest round of negotiations. Also attending were council members Lori Boyer and Greg Anderson, […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 5, 2015

A major impediment to Jacksonville city government reaching resolution to the ongoing Police and Fire Pension Fund crisis was pushed aside Friday afternoon. The “motion for Preliminary and Final Injunctive Relief came before the Court for hearing on June 5, 2015. Having heard argument of counsel and being otherwise fully advised, the Court finds that Plaintiffs’ motion should […]

Tag: Bill Gulliford

Jax City Council Finance Committee sets budget hearing dates

Rick Scott, Duval Republicans celebrate tax cuts, Session wins

Lenny Curry on Jax Pension Deal: “A Tremendous Step”

Emotions run high as Jax Police and Fire Pension Board OKs deal

Jax Banking Fund subject of skepticism

Stephen Joost flips on seismic testing; notes from Jax Council 6/15 Rules Committee meeting

Bill Gulliford wins: Jacksonville passes police and fire pension deal 14-4

Pension, HUD, hens, and river taxis on agenda for Jax City Council meeting

Jax police and fire pension amendments discussed ahead of Tuesday evening meeting

Jacksonville pension deal injunction denied, clears it for city council decision