Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 1, 2016

Something had to give. And it did. Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Schellenberg, citing the pressures of running a business outside of the council with serving on three standing committees, cut his workload last month by resigning from one of those committees. The casualty: his position on a new standing committee, Neighborhoods, Community Investment, and Services. The Mandarin […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 26, 2016

The mild-mannered, soft-spoken Clay Yarborough has been called many things. Early on in his eight years on Jacksonville’s City Council, Yarborough was dubbed “Dr. No.” Even in his last year, when Yarborough was president of that august body, he took a lot of incoming for taking what many people thought to be a quixotic stance against […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 23, 2016

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On Tuesday, the Friends of Hemming Park group got more capital for its operations when the Jacksonville City Council appropriated $132,618. Of that total, $74,618 went into a council contingency account, related to the Southwest Airlines allocated earlier this year, with the expectation a stage would be built. Meanwhile, $58,000 was allocated for August and September, to close […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 9, 2016

A historic Jacksonville landmark looks slated for preservation, and some long-delayed road and bridge projects are being prioritized, after Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council meeting. Meanwhile, a discussion of housing funds led to an exegesis on public housing related to the problem-plagued Fairway Oaks development, built by Habijax on bad foundations, leading to structural damages. The Council […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 26, 2016

Tuesday evening saw the first Jacksonville City Council meeting of the Lori Boyer presidency. Though the agenda was light, it wasn’t empty. For starters, there was bill to make animal cruelty complaints more enforceable. Time limits for permissible noise were cut to 20 minutes. And instead of requiring two corroborating witnesses, one witness, whose testimony was bolstered by […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 29, 2016

On Wednesday, Jacksonville City Council President-Designate Lori Boyer announced committee assignments for the upcoming year, which reflect the holistic vision she expressed to FloridaPolitics.com earlier in June. As she promised media, new council members chair all committees, with experienced hands serving as vice chairs. There also will be a new committee: Neighborhoods, Community Investments and Services Committee, which […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 14, 2016

As Jacksonville continues to refine its Inspector General position, two bills to that effect highlighted a quiet agenda. One bill expanded the duties of the Inspector General to cover the entire consolidated government. It passed 18-0 without discussion. And a second sought to remove the provision that the Inspector General could not have been employed by the city […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 3, 2016

On Thursday, the Florida Times-Union reported on a setback for a family business of Jacksonville City Councilwoman Katrina Brown. Councilwoman Brown’s CoWealth LLC was found to be in default for $590,000 in loans and grants, related to Jerome Brown BBQ Sauce, a barbecue sauce manufacturing company that hasn’t ramped up as quickly as was intended when Brown’s family […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 31, 2016

Closing out his tenure as the City of Jacksonville’s Inspector General, Thomas Cline issued his final report about alleged Sunshine Law issues with the city council. Cline’s verdict: There were none. Ordinance code requires an audit of Sunshine Law procedures with the council every two years and Cline fulfilled that task, reviewing public notices, minutes, and […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 31, 2016

So who won the Jacksonville City Council leadership elections last week? The prima facie answer: President-designate Lori Boyer and Vice President-designate John Crescimbeni. Beyond those two obvious winners, some people’s stock went up, and some people’s went down. The pitch Crescimbeni made to Danny Becton, one of his supporters in his 10-to-9 victory, was illustrative. To paraphrase: […]

Matt Schellenberg leaves Jax Council NCIS committee

Direct mail round-up: ‘Conservatives for Truth’ maligns ‘Taxzilla’ Clay Yarborough

Friends with benefits: Hemming Park group gets more cash

Jax Council approves transportation plan, money for fort preservation

Jacksonville City Council gets tough on animal cruelty

New Jax City Council committee assignments announced; first-termers in all chairs

Jax City Council moves inspector general legislation

A brief interview with Jax Councilwoman Katrina Brown

Jacksonville’s Inspector General finds no Sunshine Law problems with City Council

Who emerged as the winners & losers from Jacksonville’s City Council leadership elections?