Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorJanuary 13, 2016

After Jim King became Florida Senate President in late 2002, he did something that today might seem radical on both sides of the aisle: He elevated members of the other party. Just a few weeks earlier, Florida Republicans had reached a new zenith in their political ascendancy. For the first time in modern history, not […]

Phil AmmannJanuary 12, 2016

After Jim King became Florida Senate President in late 2002, he did something that today might seem radical on both sides of the aisle: he elevated members of the other party. Just a few weeks earlier, Florida Republicans had reached a new zenith in their political ascendancy. For the first time in modern history, not […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

In Jacksonville politics in 2015, the game changed … perhaps for good. Big money went into campaigns: over $10 million, including soft money, in the mayoral race. Close to $2 million in the sheriff’s race. And even some City Council candidates who raised close to a quarter of a million dollars did so in vain. […]

Melissa RossDecember 7, 2015

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown is pursuing a federal lawsuit, Brown v. Detzner, in the wake of the Florida Supreme Court’s approval of a redrawn congressional map for the state. Brown, along with the Congressional Black Caucus, argue that the change means “substantial retrogression” for African-American communities, along with significant dilution of the black vote in […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 4, 2015

In terms of Jacksonville politics, few have a résumé to match that of former Chief of Staff Chris Hand, who worked in the Alvin Brown administration for its entire four years, and before that was press secretary for then-Sen. Bob Graham and campaign manager for Alex Sink when she won as state CFO in 2006. Hand is working […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 13, 2015

The 2015 elections led to a lot of changes in Jacksonville’s city government. Alvin Brown and his appointees were, except for certain high-performers, out. Lenny Curry, and his appointees, in. Among those imports to the mayor’s suite: a number of City Council members from the previous class (Policy Director Robin Lumb; Blight Director Denise Lee; […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 29, 2015

One of the major projects of the Alvin Brown administration was comprehensive pension reform, a path that took the relationship between the Jacksonville Mayor’s Office and City Council through many twists and turns. The findings of the Police and Fire Pension Fund audit were described by Councilman Bill Gulliford as “reprehensible … with a vast and staggering sum of […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 5, 2015

As the Lenny Curry administration wrestles with how to bring the JEA Board in line, a “highly confidential” report from the MAEVA Group (which was brought up during Monday’s Finance Committee meeting) regarding the Jacksonville publicly owned utility underscores some key issues with the utility. The report from August argues that JEA could operate more efficiently, contributing money saved toward […]

Melissa RossAugust 24, 2015

Presiding over a new City Council of fresh faces, bullish on job growth and downtown development, and pushing infrastructure improvements in rapidly fraying corners of the city, Jacksonville City Council President Greg Anderson says it’s a new era at City Hall, as his goals align with new mayor Lenny Curry. “I think the communication level has […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 24, 2015

One of the many hot-button issues during the Jacksonville mayoral campaign between Lenny Curry and Alvin Brown was whether or not Mayor Brown would take a pension from the Florida Retirement System. As Nate Monroe of the Florida Times-Union reported in March, Mayor Brown’s office had said that he had “enrolled in the plan without realizing that taxpayers” […]

Tag: Chris Hand
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Chris Hand: Jim King’s legacy still holding court

Chris Hand: Jim King’s legacy still holding court

A.G. Gancarski’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Jacksonville politics

Corrine Brown’s federal lawsuit “has very little chance of succeeding”

Chris Hand: “I have seen Corrine Brown work miracles in Congress”

Confirmed: Clay Yarborough enters HD 12 fray

Chris Hand addresses Jax PFPF governance reforms in light of audit

What a “highly confidential” JEA report says about Jacksonville’s future

Jax Council Prez Greg Anderson: “We can’t damage our river”

Alvin Brown fulfills promise, reimburses FRS pension