Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryApril 26, 2015

By any measure, Tampa has flourished since its citizens elected Bob Buckhorn as mayor in 2011. Saddled with budget deficits in his first couple of years in office, he put the city’s economy back on solid footing post-recession. There’s been a plethora of new parks and swimming pools built throughout the city, and an expanded Riverwalk has […]

Mitch PerryApril 23, 2015

Tampa police Chief Jane Castor spoke to Tampa City Council Thursday morning for nearly an hour, discussing the issues concerning the disproportionate number of citations written against black city residents. An investigation by the Tampa Bay Times brought the situation to light in a story published this past weekend. The charges have prompted Castor and […]

Mitch PerryApril 22, 2015

Three days after the Tampa Bay Times explosive story that blacks in Tampa are being racially profiled and over-policed by law enforcement, Mayor Bob Buckhorn has finally issued a response. The upshot is that he says the Tampa Police Department will implement a new tracking system to monitor “every traffic stop, ticket, and warning issued, […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2015

The uproar over a Tampa Bay Times report over the weekend that the Tampa Police Department has been targeting low-income black bicyclists over the past decade continues to reverberate, with Chief Jane Castor facing the strongest criticism in her nearly five year tenure, just weeks before she steps down after a distinguished 30-year career with the department. […]

Mitch PerryApril 20, 2015

Happy 420 Day. There have been some interesting stories being produced by our friends over at the Tampa Bay Times over the past week. The paper returned to their coverage of Doug Hughes yesterday. Hughes is the Ruskin postal worker who hoped to raise awareness about the influence of big money in politics by violating […]

Mitch PerryApril 16, 2015

They’ve already declared their support for a Cuban consulate to be housed in Tampa, and now they want any major agreement between the Cuban and U.S. governments to be signed here as well. By a 5-0 vote, the Tampa City Council on Thursday passed “The Tampa Accord,” a resolution proposed by Councilwoman Yolie Capin that […]

Mitch PerryApril 16, 2015

For those of you out there less enamored by Florida’s reputation as the “Gunshine State,” there was some positive news out of Tallahassee Wednesday night. That proposal that would give school superintendents the ability to designate a school district employee or volunteer to carry a concealed weapon on a school campus was scheduled on the […]

Mitch PerryApril 15, 2015

The “Fight for 15” movement for fast-food and retailer workers advocating for higher wages and better treatment has been ongoing for more than two years. On this Tax Day it culminated in a protests in more than 200 cities across the country, including events at city hall in St. Petersburg and in Tampa’s Copeland Park. Although the movement […]

Mitch PerryApril 8, 2015

Greetings from the Motel 6 off the Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee, where things are getting increasingly hot in the Capitol. Literally. Wednesday’s temperatures are supposed to hover near 90 degrees, that’s not a record, but temps here — like in the Tampa Bay area —are consistently running about 7 or 8 degrees warmer than usual […]

Mitch PerryApril 7, 2015

Although he didn’t call Patrick Murphy his “soulmate” today, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn otherwise gave as full throated endorsement as any politician can when he announced his full-fledged support for South Florida Representative Patrick Murphy in next year’s race for Senate. “I think he is where I am ideologically – which is in the center […]

Tag: Bob Buckhorn

Bob Buckhorn faces first major test as Tampa mayor

Jane Castor strongly disputes biking-while-black story at Tampa City Council meeting

Bob Buckhorn responds to Tampa Bay Times story on TPD targeting black bicyclists

“Biking while black” in Tampa story not going away

Mitch Perry Report for 4.20.15 – Tampa’s Bicycle Blitzkrieg

Tampa City Council votes for any major agreement between U.S. & Cuba to be signed in Tampa

Mitch Perry Report for 4.16.15 — The $2 billion elephant in the Capitol

Bob Buckhorn among speakers at Fight for 15 protest in Tampa

Mitch Perry Report for 4.8.15 — Medicaid expansion. Again

Bob Buckhorn embraces Patrick Murphy’s ideology as he gives his endorsement in Tampa