Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Lloyd DunkelbergerJanuary 8, 2019

Floridians can expect a quick start to the Ron DeSantis administration, with the new governor ready to make key appointments to the state Supreme Court, announce a major environmental initiative and try to improve the medical-marijuana system. “Within the next week, I think you guys are going to have a lot to write about,” DeSantis […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 7, 2019

How was it possible for Amendment 4, the amendment restoring the voting rights of former felons, to get 64.55 percent of the vote in Florida? All statewide partisan races were close. Clearly, this vote was not partisan. I think the reason is one basic human instinct. Redemption. Americans believe in second chances. They believe in […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 7, 2019

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On Tuesday, I will raise my right hand on the steps of Florida’s Historic Capitol to take the oath of office in much the same tradition that 45 governors have before me. With my wife, Casey, and our two young children, Madison and Mason, watching, it will be a pointed reminder that to whom much […]

Lloyd DunkelbergerJanuary 6, 2019

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Ron DeSantis will be Florida’s youngest governor in more than a century when he takes office on Tuesday. DeSantis, a former congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, turned 40 about two weeks after he won the Aug. 28 Republican primary. He will be the youngest governor on Inauguration Day since Park Trammell took the oath of […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 5, 2019

Removing party affiliation from several Hillsborough County elected positions might still be in play after a Florida Supreme Court decision upends what was once thought to be a done deal. Late in June, Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 5-2 to hold a referendum asking voters whether candidates for constitutional offices like Sheriff and Property appraiser should […]

Scott PowersJanuary 4, 2019

On Friday, Florida’s Supreme Court upheld an Orange County charter amendment to make the county’s constitutional officers nonpartisan, a decision that could open partisan and nonpartisan debates in other counties. By a 4-3 vote, the court quashed a lower-court ruling that had kept Orange County’s elections partisan for the constitutional offices of sheriff, tax collector, […]

Staff ReportsDecember 27, 2018

Grab your iPhones Xs, Pixels and Galaxy Notes: The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday debuted its first ever “smartphone-friendly” website. “We were one of the first courts in the world to use the web starting in 1994,” Chief Justice Charles Canady said in a statement. “Our new site continues a long heritage of transparency and openness […]

Phil AmmannDecember 13, 2018

Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis’ looming appointments of three Florida Supreme Court justices brings into stark relief the urgent need to institute a fair, nonpartisan and merit-based selection process for judicial nominations in our state. The process for nominating state judges has become increasingly politicized in recent years, threatening the independence and impartiality of our courts. This […]

Ryan NicolDecember 11, 2018

State Sen. Perry Thurston has filed a new bill (SB 138) which would alter the makeup of judicial nominating commissions (JNC) starting in 2019. The bill would reduce the Governor’s control over the commissions, reverting the nominating process to the one that existed before 2002. Currently, the Governor is allowed to make five appointments to […]

Ryan NicolNovember 30, 2018

In light of news the Florida Supreme Court will be without a black justice for the first time in 36 years, Democrats in the state Senate are pushing to reform the state’s judicial nominating panels. “The latest nominations submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) to the incoming governor underscore how politicized the process has […]

Tag: Florida Supreme Court

Ron DeSantis to move quickly on court, environment

Jon Mills: Redemption

Ron DeSantis: I’m committed to pursuing a bold agenda for Florida

Ron DeSantis brings ‘generational shift’ to Capitol

Florida Supreme Court could put Hillsborough nonpartisan races back in play

Supreme Court upholds Orange County’s nonpartisan elections law

Florida Supreme Court launches smartphone-friendly website

Trelvis Randolph: Justice in jeopardy – the reshaping of Florida’s Supreme Court

Perry Thurston files bill to reform Judicial Nominating Commission

Senate Democrats push to overhaul judicial nominating process