Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bruce RitchieMay 1, 2015

U. S. Sen. Bill Nelson says he filed legislation that he says would block a federal plan to allow oil and gas exploration off Florida’s Atlantic coast. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is considering 10 permits to allow seismic testing from Delaware south to about Melbourne off the coast of Florida. There is no timeline on a […]

Melissa RossApril 30, 2015

With just 20 days left until the city’s runoff election, Bill Bishop’s unexpected endorsement of Mayor Alvin Brown has landed as another late-in-the-game twist in the city’s tight mayor’s race. After tallying up 17% of the vote in the March First Election for mayor, Bishop vowed to run again in four years- but repeatedly said he was […]

Melissa RossApril 30, 2015

As the Jacksonville candidates for both mayor and sheriff campaign hard on how to boost public safety, the city’s influential faith leaders are also speaking out about a disturbing spike in crime rates and gang activity. They’re not all on the same page regarding recent calls to impose a 9 p.m. curfew in Jacksonville’s high-crime […]

Melissa RossApril 29, 2015

He hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but incoming Jacksonville City Council President Greg Anderson is already experiencing the headaches of leadership. Susan Aertker of Americans United for Separation of Church and State has emailed Anderson to ask him to (once again) change the rules about Council meetings and sectarian vs. inclusive prayers during the invocation. Under […]

Melissa RossApril 28, 2015

As the U.S. Supreme Court hears historic oral arguments on same-sex marriage, Jacksonville’s LGBT activists are growing increasingly vocal in pressing their case for full legal protections. “The change around this issue has happened so quickly,” says Dan Merkan, chairman of the Jax Coalition for Equality. Merkan says the Coalition will continue to advocate for […]

Melissa RossApril 28, 2015

Like the kudzu that keeps cropping up in backyards across the South, the longstanding bugaboo of billboards in the city of Jacksonville is the issue that just won’t die. The latest iteration: This week Jacksonville City Council is debating whether billboards should be allowed on the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. A letter sent from the […]

Melissa RossApril 27, 2015

Calls from the Jacksonville faith community to impose a 9 p.m. curfew in the city’s high-crime areas are getting pushback from activists on the ground in the Northwest quadrant. “In studies of dozens of U.S. cities, our research shows overall, youth curfews have had ‘no effect’ … in other words they just don’t work!” writes […]

Melissa RossApril 24, 2015

Choosing the classic Avondale café The Fox to illustrate the point, Mayor Alvin Brown joined the restaurant’s owner Ian Chase for a news conference touting his support for an increase in the local minimum wage. Denying the move was an electioneering strategy, Brown told reporters he supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, saying it […]

Melissa RossApril 23, 2015

As a conservative Democrat in GOP-leaning Duval County, Mayor Alvin Brown has always had to triangulate. It’s a skill most Florida political observers think he learned from his years Bill Clinton‘s orbit (arguably the most skilled Democrat in history at swimming upstream in the South). Perpetually walking a knife’s edge on taxes and spending, not to mention […]

Melissa RossApril 21, 2015

One of the most heated Jacksonville City races heading into the May runoff is the testy matchup between former mayor Tommy Hazouri and business owner Geoff Youngblood. The two sparred repeatedly during a Monday night debate, one of four held in libraries across the city and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Jacksonville […]

Tag: Jacksonville
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Bill Nelson files federal bill blocking seismic testing off Florida

Bill Bishop endorsement: “I really do think it’s a game-changer”

Jax pastor: We don’t want to become the next Baltimore or Ferguson

Email insights: Sectarian prayer issue flares up again at Jax City Council

Jax equality coalition: “Hearts and minds” changing rapidly

Billboard battles rage on in Jacksonville, Miami

Curfew controversy latest flap in Jax public safety concerns

Alvin Brown calls for minimum wage increase

LGBT issue forces Jax mayoral candidates to walk political tightrope

Sparks fly at Tommy Hazouri, Geoff Youngblood debate