Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiDecember 19, 2016

New Clay County Sheriff-elect Darryl Daniels is still assembling his “dream team” of “subject matter experts.” Worth noting: some of these stalwarts will be coming in from other counties, not unlike the sheriff himself, whose quarter-century of law enforcement experience is from Duval County. As with Daniels’ legal counsel, State Attorney Angela Corey, many of these experts […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 29, 2016

The office of Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that $1.8 million was awarded through the Florida Defense Support Task Force Grant Program to support seven defense projects across 13 counties. Over $500,000 of that is coming to Northeast Florida. And the bulk of it, $501,500, will come to two projects in Clay County via the Florida Defense Support Task […]

Jim RosicaJune 15, 2016

The liquid left over from making methamphetamine can be counted toward its weight for criminal charging purposes, an appellate court has ruled. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal issued its unanimous opinion Wednesday in the case of Ryan Wilder. He was convicted on murder and methamphetamine trafficking charges following a February 2012 drug bust […]

Melissa RossMay 20, 2016

LGBT students in the Clay County Public Schools confronted Superintendent Charlie Van Zant Jr. in the wake of his remarks about the Obama administration’s directive on transgender bathroom access in public education. Van Zant made his feelings known through the use of a robocalling system that went out to some 35,000 households in the district. […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 18, 2016

Charles Van Zant, the Clay County school district’s superintendent, sounded a note of defiance this week in response to the Barack Obama administration linking Title IX funding with permitting transgender students to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. “This directive from the Obama administration does not carry the force of law, and you can […]

Melissa RossMay 18, 2016

Opponents of Clay County School Superintendent Charlie Van Zant Jr. are blasting what they call unethical campaign tactics by the incumbent. Addison Davis of Orange Park, a Republican and educator who works as Duval County Public Schools chief of schools, is one of several candidates challenging Van Zant as he campaigns for a second four-year term. The […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 10, 2016

Clay County’s legislative delegation contains just three people: Sen. Rob Bradley and Reps. Travis Cummings and Charles Van Zant. At a Clay County Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Orange Park Tuesday, the three men celebrated successes across the board, both in terms of their performance during the Session and the county’s emergence as a force in its own right. During […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 4, 2015

On New Year’s Eve, the Times Union reported that, in response to the imminent legalization of gay marriage in the state of Florida, courthouse weddings are a thing of the past in Duval, Clay and Baker Counties in Northeast Florida. The Tia Mitchell piece contained a treasure trove of horrifying details, such as this tidbit […]

Tag: Clay County

New Clay undersheriff is a Duval County transplant

Northeast Florida scores $500K from state defense grants

Meth juice can be counted for charging purposes, court says

LGBT students confront Clay County Superintendent

Equality Florida to mobilize against Clay County school district bathroom policy

Clay County superintendent race gets uglier

Clay County legislators discuss Session, Jax pension tax bill

A.G. Gancarski: Unhappy New Year – 1815? – in Duval, Clay, Baker counties