Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

James CallMarch 8, 2015

This week politics at the state Capitol will be about money and a search for clarity. Legislators will get a better view of the hill they need to climb in building a state budget for the year beginning July 1. The Revenue Estimating Conference meets Tuesday and will count up how much tax money the […]

Ryan RayMarch 8, 2015

Pete Antonacci, former general counsel to Gov. Rick Scott, is back in the lobbying game just weeks after leaving the EOG. In a press release, GrayRobinson announced that Antonacci would be rejoining the firm where he worked from 2000 until 2012, when he was appointed to an opening as State Attorney in Palm Beach County. Then, when that office was filled […]

Associated PressMarch 4, 2015

Disagreement is surfacing between Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other members of the Florida Cabinet over how to proceed in the aftermath of Scott’s controversial firing of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Chief Gerald Bailey. Aides to Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said in a Cabinet […]

James CallFebruary 26, 2015

Friday we got another chapter in an on-going series about the ouster of Gerald Bailey. The Tampa Bay Times secured a draft of an opinion piece Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had prepared last month about the abrupt dismissal of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement director. A spokesperson explained the commentary wasn’t submitted to state […]

Jac VerSteegFebruary 25, 2015

Miami Herald political editor Sergio Bustos provided the most fascinating tidbit at Tuesday’s Media Panel sponsored by TaxWatch and held at Gunster law firm in Fort Lauderdale. The topic was gambling in Florida. Will the state reach a new compact with the Seminoles? Will the interests pushing for Las Vegas-style resort casinos finally get clearance […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 25, 2015

It is widely acknowledged that the fox should not guard the henhouse. It follows that he shouldn’t hire those who do. That’s a potential problem in the Florida Senate’s comprehensive and well-meant prison bill. (SB 7020) Among other things, it creates a Florida Corrections Commission to monitor what goes on in a prison system becoming […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 24, 2015

It is widely acknowledged that the fox should not guard the henhouse. It follows that he shouldn’t hire those who do. That’s a potential problem in the Florida Senate’s comprehensive and well-meant prison bill. (SB 7020) Among other things, it creates a Florida Corrections Commission to monitor what goes on in a prison system becoming […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 20, 2015

Try as it might to Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet, the controversy over the handling of former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey isn’t going away. This morning the conservative editorial page of the Tampa Tribune weighed in, writing that, “Gov. Rick Scott is sorely mistaken if he thinks a steady stream of press releases […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 19, 2015

So we’ve got this Sunshine Law in Florida. It’s supposed to be all about “open” government decision-making and freedom of information, including unrestricted access to public records. As many of us now know more than ever before, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet have made a farce of the law. And they’ve had plenty […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 13, 2015

Rick Swearingen, newly appointed commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is taking a stand against a recent article criticizing his trips he took as part of Gov. Rick Scott‘s security detail. “State’s new FDLE Commissioner has Earned Governor’s Favor,” which ran Feb. 9, has Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald reporter Mary Ellen Klas claiming Swearingen took several “inappropriate trips” at […]

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Capitol Preview: Money, press skits and the search for clarity

Former Rick Scott general counsel Pete Antonacci returns to lobbying

Disagreement surfaces over follow-up to Gerald Bailey firing

The day that was in Florida politics – Feb. 26

Jac VerSteeg: Why casinos might be out of luck in Florida

Martin Dyckman: Prisons need monitoring, but so does Rick Scott

Martin Dyckman: Prisons need monitoring, but so does Gov. Rick Scott

First Amendment Foundation wants special prosecutor to investigate Rick Scott, Baileygate

Daniel Tilson: Ain’t no sunshine: Make our legislators clean the mud off Florida government ‘transparency’

New FDLE chief blasts Herald article on “inappropriate” trips as Rick Scott security detail