Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiDecember 28, 2016

Subpoenas with a side of sauce. That’s one way to sum up the year. In Jacksonville politics, 2016 started with subpoenas being delivered to Rep. Corrine Brown and her clique at a barbecue place on the Northside. And it ended with a raid on Councilwoman Katrina Brown’s familial barbecue sauce plant on the Westside. Katrina […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 11, 2016

A Republican lawyer with an interest in Second Amendment rights. A GOP UPS HR manager who, when president of the Jacksonville City Council, led a quixotic effort to remove a nude photograph from the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art. And who fought against the appointment of a university professor to the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. […]

Peter SchorschNovember 10, 2016

Tuesday’s slate of general elections in Florida certainly provided a list of winners and losers, and I’m not just talking about the candidates. Here is my list of the real winners and losers coming out of Election Day. Winners Rick Scott — The Naples Republican was an early backer of the president-elect, comparing Trump’s rise to his own 2010 gubernatorial […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2016

“Families for Safety and Prosperity,” the state political committee organized to sell the Jacksonville referendum allowing slots at the bestbet location near Regency Mall, had a very good week between Oct. 8 and 14. A million-dollar week, to be exact. The pro-slots committee raised $1 million with two $500,000 checks from Jacksonville Greyhound Racing on Oct. 11 and […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

Some things don’t change in Jacksonville. Just as was the case before August’s County Referendum 1, an overwhelmingly approved vote that allows the city to extend a current half-cent sales tax to address the unfunded pension liability, there is a November County Referendum 1 also. The first mailer selling the slots vote looks just like the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2016

The northeast Florida primaries have been in the books for almost 24 hours at this writing. A review of the winners — and the losers — goes beyond the election returns to look at what happened to create these outcomes that will, in historical retrospect, seem inevitable. Winners Lenny Curry — The chattering classes told him he couldn’t get […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 24, 2016

What if someone called a press conference and Jacksonville City Council “public comment” broke out? That was the scene Wednesday as a half-dozen opponents of County Referendum 1 — the so-called “pension tax” vote, which would extend a current half-cent sales tax past its current sunset date in 2030 and devote it to the $2.85 billion […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 22, 2016

Who’s the real Hans Tanzler? A political committee contends than Tanzler is no conservative. The evidence? Insider deals. Political contributions to Democrats and Charlie Crist. A high-priced lawyer play acting as a cowboy. These are the charges the latest salvo from “Conservatives United,” a committee backing John Rutherford in the race for the GOP nomination in Florida’s 4th […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 1, 2016

Incumbent State Attorney Angela Corey may be 26 points down in a recent poll, but she’s still fundraising like she’s ahead. Corey largely closed the hard money gap with challenger Melissa Nelson in the most recent reporting period, though Corey’s PAC is still far behind Nelson’s in terms of resources. The $24,750 in contributions raised during the […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 26, 2016

In the latest bizarre story from the 4th Circuit State Attorney race, Wes White is calling for a grand jury investigation of the Melissa Nelson campaign, based on a meeting where he says that Nelson’s camp was trying to intimidate him from running. State Attorney Angela Corey, meanwhile, is asking for this to be moved to a different […]

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Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

Subpoenas with a side of sauce: The 10 biggest #JaxPol stories of 2016

Election turnover brings real change to Duval Delegation

A rundown of the real winners and losers from Florida’s general election

$1M week of fundraising for Jacksonville slots committee

Pro-slots political committee gears up in Jacksonville

A rundown of the winners and losers from northeast Florida’s primary elections

Jax pension tax opposition limps to campaign finish

‘Conservatives United’ says Hans Tanzler is a ‘liberal insider’

Angela Corey shows fundraising strength, but Melissa Nelson still ahead

Wes White calls for grand jury investigation of Melissa Nelson campaign