Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJanuary 15, 2018

The Tampa Bay area will have three Senate seats and 14 House seats on the 2018 ballot; while most of the Pinellas and Hillsborough delegations will be the same when the 2019 Legislative Session rolls around, a few races are starting to heat up. First, the sure things. Tampa Republican Sen. Dana Young is still […]

Phil AmmannJanuary 12, 2018

Here we are now. Entertain us. EverBank Field was lit Sunday, as the Jacksonville Jaguars laid a smackdown on the Buffalo Bills, in a 10-3 defensive struggle that was best watched live and in the stands. Jacksonville hadn’t hosted a playoff game this century; the crowd was hyped. And mostly Jaguar fans. The media derided […]

Ana CeballosJanuary 11, 2018

Florida senators could soon be required to complete one-hour mandatory sexual harassment training every year as part of a new policy change advanced Thursday that came amid calls for overhauling the chamber’s handling of sexual harassment complaints. Intensifying bipartisan talk to improve the Senate’s sexual harassment policy began last year after two former senators, Jeff […]

Ana CeballosJanuary 9, 2018

Before talking about his legislative priorities on Opening Day of Session, Senate President Joe Negron addressed the elephant in the room: sexual harassment. “I would like to begin today by addressing a very important issue that addressed not only the Florida Senate, but also our counterparts in Congress, the entertainment industry, employers large and small […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 9, 2018

[Updated 9:30 a.m. with statement from Flores and Braynon.] Apparently exposing new depths of Florida political espionage, an anonymous internet website appeared Tuesday morning claiming to show secretly-taped videos and secretly-shot photographs supporting allegations of a rendezvous between Republican state Sen. Anitere Flores and Democratic state Sen. Oscar Braynon II. The pair of Miami-Dade lawmakers issued a […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 7, 2018

Tampa Bay is more than a body of water — so much more. To start, an admission: I really missed writing about Tampa Bay, particularly its politics. With all that is going on in the region surrounding my beloved St. Petersburg, it was tough to resist being drawn back into the fray. And in the […]

Ana CeballosJanuary 3, 2018

Longtime GrayRobinson attorney George Meros, who’s been involved with high-profile state government-related lawsuits in recent years, is next heading to Holland & Knight. The firm announced the move Wednesday in a press release. Meros was most recently involved as outside counsel for the Senate in the high-profile case of embattled Sen. Jack Latvala, who eventually resigned […]

Ana CeballosDecember 29, 2017

Sexual harassment and quid quo pro allegations raised by several women against Sen. Jack Latvala have put an end to his career in the Florida Senate and his Twitter presence. Shortly after two separate Senate investigations concluded that he sexually harassed women in his orbit and that he may have traded support for legislation for […]

Scott PowersDecember 28, 2017

A new poll from Gravis Marketing finds that if Orlando lawyer John Morgan gets into the Florida Governor’s race as an independent candidate, he could spoil the chances of Democrats, and might present the strongest independent challenge in memory. The poll finds that, in head-to-head matchups, leading Republican candidate Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam runs […]

Mitch PerryDecember 27, 2017

While most of the country considered 2017 an electoral “off-year,” that wasn’t the case in the Tampa Bay region, thanks to the St. Petersburg municipal elections. Here’s this reporter’s list of the top ten political news stories of the year: 10. — Bob Buckhorn decides not to run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. For years, the […]

Tag: Jack Latvala
Rodney Guttman, image via University of West Florida.

Here’s where Tampa Bay legislative races stand heading into the 2018 Legislative Session

Jacksonville Bold for 1.12.18 — Smells like teal spirit

Sexual harassment training mandate for senators heads to Senate floor

Joe Negron opens 2018 Session by addressing sexual harassment

After anonymous site outs them as couple, Sens. Oscar Braynon, Anitere Flores admit to affair

Not Just A Body Of Water — 1.7.18

Personnel note: George Meros joins Holland & Knight

Jack Latvala deletes Twitter account after sexual misconduct scandal

Poll finds an independent John Morgan as spoiler, even contender, in Governor’s race

Mitch Perry’s review of top Tampa Bay stories of 2017