Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiMarch 22, 2018

During a Wednesday public notice meeting regarding the pros and cons of selling JEA, John Crescimbeni, who chairs a special committee on the “potential sale” of JEA, advised a Council colleague who thought the local utility’s electrical component could fetch $5 billion on the open market to “stay tuned to our special committee.” That special committee met […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 21, 2018

Lost in all the drama and metadiscourse regarding Jacksonville’s potential sale of local utility JEA: whether the sale is good for the city or not. A meeting at 1 p.m. at Jacksonville City Hall between City Council members moved to resolve that question. Councilman Matt Schellenberg (the Council liaison to JEA, who is as open to […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 19, 2018

Committees run Monday and Tuesday for the Jacksonville City Council; high-profile measures ranging from cannabis regulation changes to a JEA sale straw ballot have already been deferred in Monday committees. JEA Referendum: Ordinance 2018-141 would set a public straw vote referendum on the November 2018 ballot regarding selling more than 10 percent of JEA. The […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 19, 2018

A representative of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department noted in a Monday meeting of a City Council panel that ‘fentanyl-laced cocaine’ is an emergent overdose trend. Jacksonville currently has a pilot program treating overdose victims. The program tests for 17 different adulterants, spanning a wide pharmacological range. Previous concerns have been fentanyl-based heroin, suggesting […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 16, 2018

Physical violence will be expressly prohibited on city property in Jacksonville if a resolution filed by Councilman Garrett Dennis this week to the City Council passes. Resolution 2018-171 would support policy designating city property “hit free zones.” This would create “areas in which no adult shall hit another adult, no adult shall hit a child, no child […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 15, 2018

Jacksonville City Councilman Bill Gulliford cut a solitary figure at the front of the Lynwood Roberts Room, as a few dozen stakeholders and interested parties convened to discuss the city’s continual struggle with affordable housing. Gulliford, not for the first time, described “neighborhoods in serious decline” locally, as spotlighted by the Block by Block study. And […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 15, 2018

A Jacksonville City Council special committee on parks continued its inquiry into the system Thursday. Council President Anna Brosche, when she took over the gavel last July, identified parks as a priority; the committee continues to explore ways to restore Jacksonville’s massive though unevenly maintained system of 400 parks, one that ranks among the worst in […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 14, 2018

Wednesday saw a Jacksonville City Council committee delve deeper into the concept of using local inmate work crews to clean up city streets. The concept is not a new one. A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office undersheriff noted just last year that there were plenty of inmates, but a surfeit of supervisors in the budget. At the […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 13, 2018

With roughly a year before voters cast first ballots in the 2019 Jacksonville City Council elections, it’s a good time to take a look at fundraising in selected races through February. With $8,400 of new money in February, Matt Carlucci, a former Council Republican running for at-large Group 4, is still the clubhouse leader with just […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 9, 2018

Yet another group of Jacksonville community stakeholders will now weigh in on a potential sale of JEA, the city’s municipal utility. Friday saw the Jacksonville Civic Council announce its creation of a “public finance task force,” which will have a special committee to look at a potential sale or other options for the 128-year-old utility. […]

Tag: jacksonville city council

Jacksonville Council auditor throws cold water on JEA sale fever

Jacksonville City Councilor seeks $5B net for JEA electric sale; colleagues skeptical

Jacksonville City Council committee defers JEA sale straw ballot bill

‘Fentanyl laced cocaine’ an emergent overdose trend in Jacksonville

Jacksonville to mull making city property a hit free zone

Jacksonville affordable housing crisis continues, outside of media spotlight

Jacksonville City Council panel wrestles with park security, vandalism woes

Jacksonville Council panel seeks inmates to beautify neighborhoods

Highlights from recent Jacksonville City Council race fundraising

Jacksonville Civic Council forms committee to ‘assess’ possible JEA sale