Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryApril 22, 2015

During her 5 1/2 years as Tampa police chief, Jane Castor been given mostly positive reviews from the media and the community, although high-profile department misdoings have been reported. Nothing, though, has rocked the department more than the revelations published Sunday by the Tampa Bay Times. Reporters Alexandra Zayas and Kameel Stanley wrote that the […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorApril 22, 2015

Former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker remained silent on the pending Pier debate until Wednesday. Baker, in a column submitted exclusively to SaintPetersblog, overwhelmingly endorsed the St. Pete Design Group’s Destination St. Pete Pier. It’s little wonder Baker opted not to submit his column to the Tampa Bay Times. That newspaper has published two scathing […]

Mitch PerryApril 22, 2015

Three days after the Tampa Bay Times explosive story that blacks in Tampa are being racially profiled and over-policed by law enforcement, Mayor Bob Buckhorn has finally issued a response. The upshot is that he says the Tampa Police Department will implement a new tracking system to monitor “every traffic stop, ticket, and warning issued, […]

Mitch PerryApril 22, 2015

Is this a case of bipartisanship running amok in Washington all of a sudden? Not really, but last night the House of Representatives did come together, this time to pass what is being described as a modest piece of energy legislation called the “Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015.” The Senate passed an earlier version, and […]

Mitch PerryApril 22, 2015

This past weekend, Nashua, N.H., was the center of the political universe. About 20 announced presidential candidates, probable candidates, and long-shot possibilities were offered 30 minutes each by the New Hampshire Republican Party to present themselves and answer questions from 600 Republicans at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit. In addition to reporting […]

Mitch PerryApril 22, 2015

It is Earth Day on Wednesday, the 45th anniversary of the 1970 celebration, and President Barack Obama is marking the occasion by visiting the Sunshine State, down at the Everglades. In his weekly radio address broadcast Saturday, Obama discussed the threat of climate change in South Florida, saying that “rising sea levels are putting a national […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2015

A task force formed to study severe racial disparities in discipline and graduation rates for black and Latino teen boys in Hillsborough County presented its recommendations to the school board Tuesday. The recommendations include revisions to the school handbook’s code of conduct, a student bill of rights, and sustainability, said task force member Manny Rivero, executive […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2015

The Hillsborough County School Board on Tuesday approved a two-year contract for new superintendent Jeff Eakins that will pay him $225,000 annually beginning July 1. It then must be approved by the board on an annual basis beginning in 2018. The audience at the school board meeting erupted in cheers after his contract was unanimously OK’d […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2015

Tampa’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor says she is leaning against giving “fast track” authority to President Obama for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal involving the U.S. and 11 South American and Pacific Rim nations that if enacted would be the largest trade deal since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2015

President Barack Obama is scheduled to host congressional leaders of both parties at the White House Tuesday to cheer on a recently passed bill that makes reforms to Medicare. The bill eliminated Congress’s two-decade-old Medicare payment problems known as the “doc fix,” and has been hailed as a rare form of bipartisanship in Washington. “If this bill had […]

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Tampa Police chief seeks federal review of black bicyclists’ citations, calls news story unfair

Rick Baker endorses Destination St. Pete Pier design

Bob Buckhorn responds to Tampa Bay Times story on TPD targeting black bicyclists

Kathy Castor hails energy-efficiency fix passed by U.S. House

The voice (of a few) New Hampshire voters at GOP confab

Mitch Perry Report for 4.22.15 — President talks climate change in Florida on Earth Day

Hillsborough School Board hears minority task force report

Hillsborough County schools hire new superintendent

Kathy Castor leans toward voting no on Trans-Pacific Partnership

Kathy Castor, Tampa health officials hail “doc fix” Medicare bill