Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiNovember 30, 2016

The ethics office in Jacksonville’s city hall is still going strong, and director Carla Miller is getting international attention this week. Miller will be headed to Panama City — the one on the isthmus, not the one due west on the panhandle — this week to moderate a panel at the United Nations’ 17th International Anti-Corruption conference […]

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 15, 2016

The critics wanted the mayor to debate them on the pension tax referendum. And on Monday afternoon they got their wish. The agenda at the Jacksonville Rotary Club included two opponents of Jacksonville’s County Referendum 1, which would (if passed Aug. 30) allow for the extension of the current half-cent infrastructure tax past 2030 (when […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 28, 2016

Michel Foucault, in a long essay in Discipline and Punish about the “panopticon” concept first outlined by 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, noted that one of the benefits of the panopticon are that “there are no disorders, no theft, no coalitions, none of those distractions that slow down the rate of work, make it less perfect or […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 23, 2015

The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County have arrived at a “semi-settlement” of their “Text-ghazi” lawsuit against the Jacksonville City Council members involved in forbidden texting during budget deliberations Sept. 21. Scott Wilson, Tommy Hazouri, Joyce Morgan, and Aaron Bowman agreed to terms. “Four of the nine city council members who were being sued over texting about […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 2, 2015

On Monday, Jacksonville Councilman Bill Gulliford convened a fractious public notice meeting related to the Police and Fire Pension Fund involving the Board of Trustees, the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, and (by phone) PFPF trustee Bill Scheu, as part of a “cast of thousands” in attendance. Larry Schmitt, chair of the pension fund, noted irregularities, such as the […]

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 8, 2015

It’s the end of an era in Jacksonville, according to the Daily Record. “Comcast has notified producers of 60 local programs that effective June 20, the public access portion of the Public, Education and Government” channel will be no more. This is a shame, yet not surprising. There was, to be sure, a certain amount of […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 4, 2015

The Florida Times-Union reports that there may be renewed trouble on the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund front, in the form of a new legal challenge from the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County. The group has asked for an injunction against the pension deal that cleared the Rules Committee on Monday and the Finance Committee on […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 2, 2015

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Jacksonville At Large City Council Group 1 candidate Anna Brosche has been collecting endorsements for the past few weeks, and another one just came in from watchdog group the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County. “I am grateful for the support of the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County. I believe my 20 years of accounting, auditing, and business […]

Tag: Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County
A nice warm evening in Tallahassee on a very busy street while taking this shot.

Jacksonville ethics officer headed to Panama for anti-corruption panel

Jax pension tax opposition limps to campaign finish

Lenny Curry confronts pension tax critics at Rotary meeting

Jax City Council to look into “communications tracking software”

“Semi-settlement” reached on Jacksonville council’s “Text-ghazi”

Jax PFPF forensic audit pilloried in public notice meeting

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

Public access cable to end in Jacksonville

7-year itch: Is latest Jax Pension deal in trouble?

Anna Brosche scores Concerned Taxpayers endorsement