Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJuly 31, 2017

Monday morning saw Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council President Anna Brosche announce that $1.071M of new money would be available for after school programs this coming academic year. With reforms to be announced Wednesday morning at a press conference for the Jacksonville Children’s Commission and the Jacksonville Journey this week, this is another short-term solution to a problem […]

Phil AmmannJuly 28, 2017

If this week’s issue of Bold has a unifying theme, it’s “institutional knowledge.” What that phrase means, in a political sense: knowing your milieu, learning what you can and can’t do in office. “Passing the torch,” so to speak. For our area’s congressmen, you will see below how the power of knowing one’s way around […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 25, 2017

Back in the early 1990s, the people of Jacksonville voted via referendum to limit city officials to two consecutive terms. Now, almost three decades later, a Jacksonville City Councilman wants another referendum — to amend that two-term limit, making it three terms for every elected office but that of the Mayor. In addition to giving […]

Phil AmmannJuly 22, 2017

For those in Jacksonville City Hall, these are halcyon days (somewhat). The mayor proposed the most ambitious budget in nearly a decade, addressing long-deferred needs. But, as is always the case in a Florida summer, storm clouds are on the horizon — with quiet assaults on the mayor’s vision. We cover two of them here: […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 20, 2017

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry introduced the City Council to his proposed FY 17/18 budget Monday, a $1.27B plan heavy on spending on infrastructure and public safety. Council Finance Chair Garrett Dennis is arguably the most important person in the process going forward; Finance will review the budget in August, tweaking it before the full City Council gets a […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 18, 2017

At a time when some constituents of Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Schellenberg are hopping mad at him over a zoning issue, a bill authorizing a referendum seems like an interesting play. And yet, that’s what Schellenberg seeks — with a bill in committees on Tuesday (Rules and Finance), a measure which would allow a third term, […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 17, 2017

On Monday morning, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry released his first budget since pension reform passed: a $1.27B budget, up from the $1.2B budget the previous year. With budget relief available after pension reform, Curry made the decision to invest in long neglected city infrastructure and employees, spending more than in the previous two years and adding […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 17, 2017

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On Monday, the cycle begins anew for the relationship between Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and the City Council. Curry drops his third budget — and this time, there is more room to maneuver than there had been the previous two years, in which pension obligations choked out most of the room for discretionary spending. The hit […]

Phil AmmannJuly 14, 2017

As the Jacksonville City Council wraps up its two-week break, Councilmembers will get a first peek at Mayor Lenny Curry’s budget Monday. They already know at least some of what to expect: a $100 million capital improvement budget and $8.4 million for Edward Waters College. Now the question is: Will everyone play ball? A.G. Gancarski […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 12, 2017

Wednesday morning saw Jacksonville open its first medical marijuana dispensary, as Trulieve’s storefront on Beach Boulevard opened for business. For those following the medical marijuana debate in the city as recently as two years ago, Trulieve’s facility represents real progress, especially in contrast to other cities across the state still wrestling with zoning and other […]

Tag: Jacksonville

More money for Jax after-school programs as Lenny Curry pushes for reform

Jacksonville Bold for 7.28.17 — Institutional knowledge

Are two terms enough for Jacksonville’s public officials?

Jacksonville Bold for 7.22.17 — Shadow play

Equal Opportunity criteria to be part of Jax budget review in August

Third term for Jacksonville City Council? The bill is back

Lenny Curry’s third budget brings more spending, more cops, ‘safer neighborhoods’

Lenny Curry’s third budget: Another year of ‘winning’?

Jacksonville Bold for 7.14.17 — Playtime is over

Jacksonville’s first medical marijuana dispensary represents policy progress