Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

James CallJanuary 28, 2015

Attorney General Pam Bondi Wednesday suggested some palace intrigue was involved in the Bailey affair. Bondi, speaking at the annual AP pre-session briefing, said the Cabinet knew there was going to be changes made in Cabinet agencies but the former prosecutor suspects not the governor but his staff was behind the unceremonious dumping of the […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 21, 2015

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has all the answers…if you know the right questions. Yet there remain few if any answers (that make sense) to questions from a persistent press corps doggedly digging deeper into “Baileygate” and the latest misdeeds and dysfunction of his scandalized administration. Intrepid reporters are still treated to the same evasive tactics […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 21, 2015

As more calls for an independent investigation regarding the sacking of former FDLE chief Gerald Bailey grow, Rick Scott tried to stay on message today during an appearance in Tampa. After making an announcement regarding new funding for STEM education at Chromalloy, a global technology company located in Tampa’s Sabal Park just east from the […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 20, 2015

Barely a month after Reubin Askew became governor in 1971, inmates at Florida’s largest prison began a series of sit-down and hunger strikes. Their keepers used excessive force – birdshot, bullets and beatings – to restore control. Askew took immediate ownership of the situation. He sent two aides to Raiford to investigate and overruled the […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 20, 2015

Barely a month after Reubin Askew became governor in 1971, inmates at Florida’s largest prison began a series of sit-down and hunger strikes. Their keepers used excessive force – birdshot, bullets and beatings – to restore control. Askew took immediate ownership of the situation. He sent two aides to Raiford to investigate and overruled the […]

Dan GelberJanuary 20, 2015

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Baileygate took a foul turn Sunday from bad political optics to something much more ominous. And the Florida Cabinet and Legislature need to respond accordingly. Longtime cop and FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey was fired by Gov. Rick Scott staffers last month. Initially it was reported that during his reelection campaign, Scott political campaign staffers had […]

Dan GelberJanuary 19, 2015

Baileygate took a foul turn Sunday from bad political optics to something much more ominous. And the Florida Cabinet and Legislature need to respond accordingly. Longtime cop and FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey was fired by Gov. Rick Scott staffers last month. Initially it was reported that during his reelection campaign, Scott political campaign staffers had […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 19, 2015

Our worst worries about Florida Gov. Rick Scott were well-founded. The bombshell of BS he unintentionally dropped in a press conference early last week has exploded in his face, revealing just what a bloody mess his governorship really is. By repeatedly pressuring highly esteemed, veteran Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey to […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 15, 2015

A new scandal exploded across Tallahassee on Tuesday afternoon after Gov. Rick Scott admitted that Gerald Bailey did not voluntarily resign as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but was forced out against his will. Under Florida law, the governor cannot fire the head of FDLE without the support of at least one other member […]

Phil AmmannJanuary 15, 2015

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is reportedly on the chopping block as the Rick Scott administration continues to attempt to put its new team on the field as it enters a second term. McCarty’s alleged transgression? Actually having the audacity to protect Florida’s insurance-buying public by not rubberstamping every self-serving scheme insurance lobbyists try to […]

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

AG Pam Bondi: Rick Scott didn't know about ouster of top cop

Daniel Tilson: Rick Scott doubles down on bad government agenda

In Tampa, Rick Scott feels the heat as the Gerald Bailey controversy grows

Martin Dyckman: Aloof Scott lets prison crisis fester, worsen

Martin Dyckman: Aloof Scott lets prison crisis fester, worsen

Dan Gelber: Baileygate takes an ominous turn

Dan Gelber: Baileygate takes an ominous turn

Daniel Tilson: Independent counsel needs to probe Scott administration

Peter Schorsch: What’s the Scott administration going to do about Bailey’s firing?

Does the Scott administration really have Kevin McCarty on the chopping block?