Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryMay 22, 2015

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you all, which by the way, is the earliest we can ever have such a holiday, with this Monday only being May 25. Incidentally, Labor Day will take place as late as it can this year (Sept. 7), which will actually be a factor in delaying the NFL season by […]

Mitch PerryMay 21, 2015

Donald Trump has flirted with running a serious presidential campaign four times in the past 18 years -in 1988, when he was arguably at the zenith of his popularity as his Art of the Deal memoir topped the New York Times best-seller list, as well as 2000, 2004 and four years ago. So even though he says […]

Mitch PerryMay 21, 2015

She didn’t even make the initial list of finalists, but now Janet Dougherty will soon become only the third executive director of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission (EPC). The 53-year-old Hillsborough County native comes with 25 years of experience in local and state environmental policy and business management, and she wasn’t even on the short […]

Mitch PerryMay 21, 2015

Although he’s been on the job for nearly two weeks, Eric Ward didn’t officially become the new Tampa police chief until Thursday morning, when the city council unanimously confirmed his appointment. It came while dozens of his fellow TPD officers crammed into the council’s intimate chambers to part of the occasion. Ward, 48, grew up […]

Mitch PerryMay 21, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott signed a drone privacy law last week that bans drone surveillance of private citizens without their consent. A Washington, D.C.-based media lawyer, though, thinks the Sunshine State has gone too far in attempting to regulate the emerging new technology. Chuck Tobin is a partner in Holland & Knight’s Washington, D.C., office. He […]

Mitch PerryMay 21, 2015

It may not have actually been the definition of a filibuster, but Rand Paul worked his tail off Wednesday night on the Senate floor, calling attention to the dangers of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. He spoke for 10-and-a-half hours, beginning at 1:18 p.m. and lasting nearly until midnight, calling it a day at 11:49 […]

Mitch PerryMay 20, 2015

It’s not often Marco Rubio gets chastised by Barbara Boxer about being anti-business, but when it comes to the volatile issue of Cuba, traditional ideologies seem to collapse. The exchange between the Florida Republican and California Democrat took place Wednesday morning during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Cuba, where U.S. diplomats are to […]

Mitch PerryMay 20, 2015

Tampa public relations firm Tucker/Hall was paid more than $400,000 by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) in 2013 and 2014 to create a public education campaign for the Greenlight Pinellas transit referendum. It was soundly defeated at the polls in November. One of the leading players for Tucker/Hall at the time was Tony Collins, the agency’s […]

Mitch PerryMay 20, 2015

As state lawmakers prepare to complete their unfinished business in a Special Session next month, among the Legislature’s most important members said Wednesday he’s not exactly sure what to expect. The 120-member Legislature returns to Tallahassee in 12 days to hammer out a budget agreement. “We really don’t know how this is going to play […]

Mitch PerryMay 20, 2015

Although every member of the Hillsborough County Commission weighed in this morning regarding their concern about the issue of wage theft in the county, the Republican members prescription of how to alleviate the problem drew the wrath of the measure’s proponent, Democrat Kevin Beckner. Beckner said that his colleagues worries about growing the size of government outweighed […]

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Mitch Perry Report for 5.22.15 — On Donald Trump, James Harden & what local taxpayers should pay for

In Sarasota, Donald Trump says the world is abusing the United States

Hillsborough County Commission picks Janet Dougherty as next EPC chief

Eric Ward confirmed by Tampa City Council as new police chief

Media attorney thinks Florida’s new drone law unconstitutional

Mitch Perry Report for 5.21.15 — A comeback for Rand Paul?

Barbara Boxer takes Marco Rubio to task about where Americans stay in Cuba

PSTA using consultant Tony Collins, an original architect of Greenlight Pinellas plan

Tom Lee on Tallahassee budget impasse: “We don’t know how this is going to play out”

Hillsborough County Commission meeting gets hot discussing wage ordinance issue