Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryAugust 5, 2015

Two years ago, officials at California State University-Fullerton produced a comprehensive report on police civilian oversight boards. Among their findings was that obstacles to creating a successful agency included politicians who have a “law and order” agenda not conducive to oversight. Plus, if such a board is created, the power that lawmakers have to limit their oversight is through […]

Mitch PerryMay 27, 2015

The consensus amongst political pundits in Florida is that state Republicans won’t be hurt by the budget impasse that led the Legislature to break three days early last month. Those observers, though, acknowledge it could make a difference on the margins, in those few swing legislative districts across the state. One is House District 63, occupied […]

Mitch PerryMay 8, 2015

Ever since Ed Homan was termed-out of his House District 60 seat in North Tampa in 2010, it’s bounced back and forth in terms of political affiliation over the three subsequent elections. Republican Shawn Harrison won in the big Republican years of 2010 and 2014, and Democrat Mark Danish took it in 2012, the same year […]

Mitch PerryApril 29, 2015

Longtime Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan says he’s considering a run for mayor of Tampa in 2019. “I’m encouraged every day to consider running for either mayor of Tampa or a constitutional seat,” Hagan said Tuesday. Having just been re-elected to his District 5 countywide commission seat last year, he admits he’s not in any […]

Mitch PerryApril 23, 2015

Tampa police Chief Jane Castor spoke to Tampa City Council Thursday morning for nearly an hour, discussing the issues concerning the disproportionate number of citations written against black city residents. An investigation by the Tampa Bay Times brought the situation to light in a story published this past weekend. The charges have prompted Castor and […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2015

The uproar over a Tampa Bay Times report over the weekend that the Tampa Police Department has been targeting low-income black bicyclists over the past decade continues to reverberate, with Chief Jane Castor facing the strongest criticism in her nearly five year tenure, just weeks before she steps down after a distinguished 30-year career with the department. […]

Mitch PerryApril 1, 2015

It was over in less than a minute. The much anticipated vote for Tampa City Council chairman was decided quickly Wednesday afternoon, as the newly sworn-in council picked Frank Reddick to be their chairman for the next year. As expected, it was a close vote, with Reddick defeating current chair Charlie Miranda on a 4-3 vote. […]

Mitch PerryMarch 26, 2015

In the immediate aftermath of her stunning loss to Guido Maniscalco in the Tampa District 6 City Council runoff on Tuesday, Jackie Toledo said that the media coverage of her campaign was unfair and had “made a big difference” in the final results. That coverage included the unforced errors on her part that brought her […]

Mitch PerryMarch 24, 2015

Tuesday night’s election finale between Jackie Toledo and Guido Maniscalco took a stunning turn at about 7:20 p.m. After the first results from early and absentee balloting showed Toledo holding on to an 8 percentage point lead over Maniscalco, the ballots cast on Election Day itself showed Maniscalco making a major turnaround. By 8 p.m. […]

Mitch PerryMarch 24, 2015

The city of Tampa’s uneventful election season comes to a halt Tuesday night. By 8 p.m. we should have a winner in the only city council race that remains undecided — the District 6 battle between Guido Maniscalco and Jackie Toledo. I hate the overuse of the term “Seinfeld” to describe something as being about […]

Tag: Guido Maniscalco
Image via AP.

Tampa residents to call for civilian review board to monitor police

Mike Reedy says Shawn Harrison showed no leadership in 2015 Legislative Session

Mike Reedy aims to put HD 63 back in Democratic column

Ken Hagan looks at 2019 run for Tampa mayor

Jane Castor strongly disputes biking-while-black story at Tampa City Council meeting

“Biking while black” in Tampa story not going away

Tampa City Council picks Frank Reddick to be new chairman

Rose Ferlita hopes Jackie Toledo learns from mistakes, runs again

Jackie Toledo says not only did she lose, but Tampa did as well

Mitch Perry Report for 3.24.15 — Tampa’s election season ends tonight