Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiDecember 11, 2018

All good things come to an end: and so it is for the 2018 calendar for the Jacksonville City Council, which met Tuesday for the final time this year. Just a few of the highlights, beyond the X-Mas sweaters depicted in the graphic…. _ Health care options for public safety: New changes to collective bargaining […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 16, 2018

$12.5 million for Jacksonville’s Talleyrand Connector, an ambitious reconfiguration of Hart Bridge offramps that would route traffic on surface streets by the stadium and toward the port, escaped Gov. Rick Scott‘s veto pen Friday. The money is 1/4 of the $50 million Jacksonville anticipates needing for the total project. Jacksonville is pursuing $25 million in infrastructure […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 12, 2018

Lenny Curry is fond of tweeting: “Plan all the way to the end.” But at the end of 2016, when the Jacksonville mayor first pitched removal of the Hart Bridge offramps, some were confused as to what that plan was. Curry brought a poster board into the Duval delegation meeting, and said he wanted $50 […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 2, 2017

Next week, Florida Senate Democrats look likely to choose Jacksonville Sen. Audrey Gibson as their next caucus leader. Given the amount of narrative in recent months about Jacksonville not having its voice in leadership, this has to be seen as a positive. After Wednesday’s meeting of the Duval County Legislative Delegation, we asked Gibson if […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 1, 2017

Jacksonville’s mayor, City Council president, and City Council vice president are part of a 141-person delegation from the city to Toronto on Wednesday. Their absence raised questions in Jacksonville City Hall about why the Duval County legislative delegation would meet without them, and even the day before the Wednesday meeting, there apparently was encouragement from […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 1, 2017

Jacksonville wants to revamp the offramps to the Hart Bridge downtown, routing regular traffic onto Bay Street and freight traffic on surface streets. October saw the City Council approve $1.5 million for a design criteria study — a prerequisite to getting a federal grant that would help the city accomplish an infrastructure process that will […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 24, 2017

Among Jacksonville City Council agenda items this week: moving forward on a lawsuit against Big Pharma for opioids and a study of the future of the Hart Bridge’s off ramps. (Not on the agenda, but worth watching: whether a move to censure two Councilmembers happens or not.) ____ Opioid action: Resolution (2017-674) would allow the city’s general […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 17, 2017

Last November, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry made an audacious ask of the Duval County Legislative Delegation: $50M to remove and replace the Hart Bridge offramps. “The ramps were originally designed to bypass the industrialized waterfront,” Curry said in 2016, a purpose outmoded in the half-century since the original construction. Curry’s ask: “To knock the [current] ramp […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 5, 2017

It’s show and prove time for the Duval County Legislative Delegation. The whispers inside the St. James Building (Jacksonville’s city hall) are full of doubt and disbelief. Some are saying they lack experience – and they do. Five of the six House members are rookies. That’s going to make it difficult to score appropriations victories. […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 30, 2016

Despite major turnover in the Duval County legislative delegation, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry‘s priorities are largely unchanged. Money for public safety. Money for infrastructure, such as the city’s ongoing septic tank removal project. And one big ask: Curry wants $50 million in state money for Hart Expressway ramp modifications, noting the current setup has outmoded designs and creates […]

Tag: Hart Bridge
Image via AP.

Last call: Jacksonville City Council closes 2018

Talleyrand Connector money comes to Jacksonville from Tallahassee, survives veto process

Talleyrand Connector money illustrates Lenny Curry’s long game

Audrey Gibson discusses vision for Senate Dems, North Florida priorities

Disconnect between Duval delegation, Jacksonville leadership raises questions

Marco Rubio backs Jacksonville Hart Bridge project

Opioid lawsuit, Hart Bridge study await Jacksonville City Council Tuesday

Hart Bridge ‘design criteria project’ cleared for Jax Council vote

2017 Legislative Session preview: Tempered expectations for Duval Legislative Delegation

Jacksonville wants $50M to remove, replace Hart Bridge ramps at sports complex