Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorApril 28, 2014

Florida legislators demanding more “accountability” as a condition for expanding the state’s premier school-choice program could learn a very valuable lesson from the example set by the late, great Mary McLeod Bethune. When Bethune opened her Daytona School for Negro Girls in 1904, she knew success would depend on satisfying two different constituencies — parents […]

Peter SchorschApril 9, 2014

With lawmakers dressed in sweaters to stave off the cold and holiday displays set in the Capitol Rotunda, Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli gaveled in a rare December special session of the Florida Legislature. Almost immediately after Democrat Charlie Crist unseated Republican Rick Scott last month in the most expensive gubernatorial […]

Guest AuthorMarch 27, 2014

I’m beginning to think that Adam Putnam is just about the only grown-up in Tallahassee. Which is ironic because Putnam, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture, isn’t even 40 yet. But he’s served in the Florida and U.S. Houses of Representatives and as agriculture commissioner has demonstrated that — future ambitions aside — he’s at least looking […]

Bob SparksMarch 19, 2014

As most of Tallahassee and those enrolled in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) throughout the state know, the Legislature is again taking up what is called public pension overhaul. Both House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz seek to change a system that is not broken. In fact, more than 86 percent […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 23, 2014

The curtain is about to go up on the 2014 session of the Florida Legislature and perhaps the top story is not what our leaders will accomplish, but what they will ignore. Since the enactment of term limits, legislators know when they are leaving from the day they are elected. The election night tally begins […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 19, 2014

Our elected officials get a plethora of input from phone calls, e-mails and desperate testimony in town halls and committee meetings. But, most likely, the decisions they make are done in those quiet, introspective moments when they process all that they have read and heard. But sometimes, they reach out for guidance from higher authorities. […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 30, 2013

Given the tragicomedy characterizing Florida political theater in recent years, it feels right reaching for a Shakespeare quote when looking back at 2013 and ahead to 2014: “What’s past is prologue.” The state’s prevailing powers-that-be (richest individual and corporate residents acting through “supportive” elected officials) continued widening the income and economic opportunity gap between them […]

Peter SchorschOctober 8, 2013

When lobbyists Ron Book and Guy Spearman filed suit in 2006 to block enforcement of a law requiring lobbyists to report how much they are paid, it probably never occurred to them that the compensation reports they sought to keep private would one day be used as marketing tools. Book, Spearman, and other members of […]

Tag: Don Gaetz

William Mattox: Private schools must pass the ‘Mary McLeod Bethune’ test

Peter Schorsch: Here’s what a December special session might look like

Cary McMullen: Kudos to Putnam for trying to get money to fix schools

Bob Sparks: Is overhauling FRS a greater risk than doing nothing?

John Grant: ‘Bulldozer politics’ is good for politicians, bad for citizens

Gary Stein: Some pols are praying for guidance on medical marijuana

Daniel Tilson: Decoding Florida GOP’s 2013 words and deeds

Peter Schorsch: Rescind law that requires lobbyists to report how much they’re paid