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A.G. GancarskiJanuary 18, 2018

The Jacksonville City Council Presidency is set for the 2018-19 year that starts July 1: current VP Aaron Bowman, an executive at the local Chamber of Commerce, is a slam dunk. Re-election campaigns are just around the corner — and no one is going against the Chamber. More flux exists in the race for Vice President […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 12, 2018

“I walked through the morgue and into the cooler yesterday. That slams life and its realities home to you.” Councilman Bill Gulliford — a man who ensured, despite pushback from much of the Jacksonville City Council, that the overdose-racked Northeast Florida metropolis would attempt a pilot treatment program to deal with the wave of opioid overdose […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 11, 2018

Jacksonville Republican Rep. Jay Fant is in his last Legislative Session, and he’s carrying and co-sponsoring a number of hot-button bills. Fant, one of a group of candidates running for Attorney General, discussed those bills with Florida Politics this week; among them, a bill he’s co-sponsoring that prohibits sanctuary jurisdictions — a priority of House Speaker Richard […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 10, 2018

A third candidate has entered the scrum for Jacksonville City Council VP: former Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Hazouri. Hazouri, a Democrat, joins two declared Republicans in the race, Councilmen Sam Newby and Danny Becton. Newby has one pledged supporter already: a condition that happened without a pledge meeting, raising questions of a Sunshine Law violation from potential candidate Scott Wilson, […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 10, 2018

The race for Jacksonville City Council Vice President is on, and even before the first noticed pledge meetings on Wednesday, one candidate already has a pledge of support. Even as Republican Councilman Sam Newby sent in his pledge letter, word was he already had received the pledge of fellow Republican Al Ferraro. Ferraro confirmed his support of Newby […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 10, 2018

Embattled and often controversial Jacksonville City Councilwoman Katrina Brown will draw a new challenger on Wednesday: Tameka Gaines Holly. Holly is a community activist who went to school in District 8 (Ribault), has worked and lived there all her life, and will — with the backing of community stakeholders — be able to make a […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 9, 2018

Tuesday evening saw the Jacksonville City Council approve $206,000 for temporary storage and office facilities at the overburdened medical examiner’s office. The opioid overdose crisis, coupled with population growth, has created overcrowding, compelling bodies to be laid on the floor before processing, as well as delays in processing. The bill is intended as a stopgap. […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 9, 2018

2017 ended with bodies piling up in Jacksonville’s morgue. 2018 brings something approaching a solution via Ordinance 2018-005. A bill slated to be introduced at Tuesday’s City Council meeting on an emergency basis will offer what Medical Examiner Valerie Rao called last week a “proposed space solution,” which includes “office and refrigerator space”: a walk-in cooler […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 8, 2018

An annual tradition in Jacksonville City Council is beginning anew: the race for Jacksonville City Council VP. Often — but not always — the VP slot is a springboard to the Presidency the next year. The most interesting iteration of this race in recent memory: 2016, when Democrat John Crescimbeni bested Republican Doyle Carter in a cliffhanger 10-9 […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 2, 2018

2018 began for the Jacksonville City Council with some holdover business from 2017: a proposed lessening of residency distance requirements for sexual predators. The bill has been around since September, and is headed toward the graveyard of dead bills. Councilors spiked it by a 2-5 margin Tuesday in the Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and […]

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Image via AP.

Hopefuls vie for Jacksonville City Council Veep slot

For Bill Gulliford, opioid crisis is a matter of life and death

Jay Fant expects Senate to have to move on sanctuary cities bill

Former Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Hazouri launches run for City Council VP

Sunshine Law concerns creep into Jax Council VP race

Tameka Gaines Holly launches run in Jacksonville City Council District 8

Take the bodies off the floor: Morgue money clears Jacksonville City Council

Jacksonville City Council mulls morgue money Tuesday

Race for Jacksonville City Council VP begins: Danny Becton, Sam Newby launch runs

Jacksonville Council panel rejects change to sexual predator distance requirements