Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiApril 3, 2017

Friendship on the installment plan. Golf carts at the county line. A date with Joe Camel? You’d better be 21. A “bully” on a commission. A gag rule for the public. And incentives for the donor class. These are just a few of the concepts and bills the Jacksonville City Council mulls in committees this week. […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 17, 2017

Coal may be coming back as a power source, if President Donald Trump is to be believed. However, as of early 2018, there will be one fewer coal power plant in Florida. As a JEA press release indicates, the Jacksonville utility and Florida Power and Light intend to decommission the St. Johns River Power Park, located on […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 10, 2017

The Jacksonville City Council starts off 2017 with an agenda light on controversial legislation, which presumably gives the body more time for HRO-related public comment. That said, the agenda Tuesday evening in Council Chambers is highlighted by notable board nominees and local bills to be pushed in Tallahassee. **** One interesting moment that likely will […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 28, 2016

Subpoenas with a side of sauce. That’s one way to sum up the year. In Jacksonville politics, 2016 started with subpoenas being delivered to Rep. Corrine Brown and her clique at a barbecue place on the Northside. And it ended with a raid on Councilwoman Katrina Brown’s familial barbecue sauce plant on the Westside. Katrina […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 2, 2016

A pastor who was vocal in his opposition to expanding LGBT rights in Jacksonville is poised to become a member of the JEA Board, via recently filed legislation at the request of the mayor’s office. And in doing so, that pastor will fill the vacancy of a councilman who introduced a bill for an expanded […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 18, 2016

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry doesn’t make every JEA Board meeting. But he made the one after Hurricane Matthew on Tuesday. Curry’s attendance, once FloridaPolitics.com reported it last week, has been a matter of some speculation, especially since JEA CEO Paul McElroy said last week he was out of town during Hurricane Matthew, as JEA imposed an unreachable […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 18, 2016

For most of the last year, the JEA — Jacksonville’s municipal utility — had benefited from positive news cycles. In the fall of 2015, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry requested the resignation of JEA board members. The source of Curry’s ire were scripted comments in a board meeting related to a pay hike and contract extension for CEO Paul McElroy. […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 13, 2016

Even as considerable acrimony has been shown by Jacksonville residents to JEA management during the post-Matthew period of sustained power outages, there is reason for hope. As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the utility was down to 4,806 customers without power. That reduction is not a moment too soon for long-suffering customers, many of whom have been […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

Despite a contentious meeting between JEA CEO Paul McElroy and the Jacksonville City Council Tuesday evening, odds are good council members will continue their complaints regarding the slow pace of power restoration on Wednesday and perhaps beyond. The JEA Outage Map shows 23,914 JEA customers are still without power as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, almost five days after the […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

Though the major story of Tuesday’s city council meeting was that the city may have to spend $100 million and that JEA may have to spend $30 million (in funds that should be reimbursed) to get back to normal after Hurricane Matthew, bills nonetheless were deliberated and passed. **** On Tuesday night, the Jacksonville City Council passed […]