Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiAugust 8, 2018

On Wednesday night, Jacksonville will play host to what likely is the last major stand for Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the race for Governor. Putnam’s debate at Jacksonville University with U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis is a make-or-break moment if one is still possible in this race. The Real Clear Politics polling average, which includes polls conducted before President […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 7, 2018

A July report from the Jacksonville City Council auditor says Duval County is leaving $366,000 per year on the table when it comes to the so-called bed tax. One source of a revenue increase could be Airbnb. Unlike 39 other Florida counties, Airbnb does not pay this tax — six cents per dollar — to the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 7, 2018

In 1984, there was no bigger star in the world than Michael Jackson. With the songs from 1982’s Thriller still resonating on the charts, he and his brothers thought the time was right for a family Victory tour. That tour came to Jacksonville: a three-night Gator Bowl stint in a metropolitan area much less populous than […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 6, 2018

It is rare that a Jacksonville City Council resolution gets four committee stops, but such is the case with 2018-429, a resolution of disinclination to sell local publicly owned utility JEA. It is even rarer that a bill can’t get a second to move into consideration. That was the case in Monday’s Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public […]

Staff ReportsAugust 3, 2018

For political watchers, August offers an embarrassment of riches in this market. A number of competitive and contested primaries, including one open Democratic primary and a citywide race for tax collector. Not to mention the state races, including one competitive primary for governor and one that appears to be all but decided. For those keeping […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 2, 2018

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan‘s vision for the Jacksonville Shipyards redevelopment was unveiled Thursday morning, via a news release from the team. A 490,000-square-foot riverfront convention center (a long-standing local wish list item) and a 350-room hotel will be included on the site, according to the release. In April 2017, Khan’s Iguana Investments was approved to […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 30, 2018

On Monday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Greene made the rounds in Northeast Florida, a bus tour that included a number of Jacksonville stops. At one of them — a back-to-school backpack giveaway at Northwestern Middle School — we caught up with the candidate, who per at least one recent poll of the race is within six […]

Staff ReportsJuly 27, 2018

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry stirred things up on Twitter this week, essentially declaring total war against his electoral competition. “Same s%#t different place. Elected office is loaded w/amateurs. Folks w/no ability to implement ideas. Many are full of empty rhetoric & a false sense of self. They survive on the bottom w cheap talk. We will retire some […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 26, 2018

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum spent his birthday Thursday in Northeast Florida. First in Atlantic Beach, accompanied by his wife R. Jai, for a “Women with Gillum” event at the Adele Grage Cultural Center that he said was “incredible.” Then, at a stately home in Avondale near the river, he opened his new campaign headquarters. These are good times for his […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 23, 2018

Though controversy has yet to subside over the appointment of Republican Terrance Freeman to a perennially Democratic seat on the Jacksonville City Council, the defense strategy from Freeman and the city of Jacksonville is beginning to coalesce. Brenda Priestly-Jackson, a Democrat and former Duval County School Board chair who was passed up for the appointment to fill […]

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Mike Johnson. Image via AP.

How Adam Putnam could have home-field advantage over Ron DeSantis during Jacksonville debate

As other counties move forward, Duval County leaves Airbnb money on the table

Forgotten about for 34 years, Michael Jackson’s money will fund Jacksonville music scholarships

JEA ‘no-sale’ bill appears to be ‘black flag dead’ in Jacksonville City Council

Jacksonville Bold for 8.3.18 — Home stretch

Shad Khan’s Jacksonville Shipyards redev plan includes convention center, hotel

Jeff Greene extols ‘excited’ electorate as primary enters final stretch

Jacksonville Bold for 7.27.18 — Same s**t, different place

As third-party groups stump for Andrew Gillum, can he control the message?

Defense firms up for Terrance Freeman appointment to Jacksonville City Council