Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterNovember 22, 2016

It’s official. The state Elections Canvassing Commission — made up of Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and CFO Jeff Atwater, all participating by phone — certified the results of the Nov. 8 General Election Thursday. The meeting took less than two minutes. “It was a record year in Florida,” said Secretary of State Ken […]

Jim RosicaNovember 16, 2016

A 64-year-old former employee of state Insurance Consumer Advocate Sha’Ron James says she was wrongly fired for, among other things, “sending James an email in all capital letters.” James told the worker, Camille Rawls, she “should have known (that’s) ‘the same as yelling at someone in person,'” according to a lawsuit Rawls filed in Leon County Circuit […]

Jim RosicaNovember 14, 2016

Jeff Atwater wants the federal government to show him the money: More than $1 billion worth. Florida’s chief financial officer now is suing the feds for that amount, saying it has refused to make good on matured U.S. savings bonds he holds as unclaimed property. The suit was filed last week in the U.S. Court of Federal […]

Jim RosicaOctober 31, 2016

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater says he’ll hand-deliver a check worth more than $1 million in unclaimed insurance benefits to Fort Lauderdale’s Holy Cross Hospital this week. The media event is yet another victory lap for the CFO, who championed a measure that became law this year, requiring insurance companies to track down beneficiaries. It was later […]

Mitch PerryOctober 28, 2016

Emphasizing her centrist political persona while addressing a packed restaurant in South Tampa Friday morning, Gwen Graham said her potential candidacy for governor of Florida in 2018 would be a “transcending of the politics” that currently exists today. “I have heard from so many people who say ‘you’re exactly what the state of Florida needs,'” Graham said at […]

Mitch PerryOctober 12, 2016

Bob Buckhorn has a simple question for the four members of the Florida Cabinet regarding Donald Trump. “Where ya hidin’?” the Tampa mayor asked Wednesday at a news conference held outside City Hall. He was referring to how some of Florida’s leading Republicans have cut a very low profile when it comes to discussing Trump in the aftermath of […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

As Hurricane Matthew becomes a memory, and yet another addition to the pantheon of tropical weather events affecting Northeast Florida, politicians — such as CFO Jeff Atwater, Sen. Aaron Bean, Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham, and Atlantic Beach Mayor Mitch Reeves — convened on a rainy, windswept Jacksonville Beach Wednesday afternoon to discuss last week’s destruction and the […]

Mitch PerryOctober 11, 2016

Florida Republican leaders have been conspicuously quiet about where they stand on Amendment 2, the ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana. “I think a lot of people are being quiet about it because they assume it’s going to pass and they don’t want to be on the wrong side,” incoming Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack […]

Staff ReportsOctober 5, 2016

NFIB/Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle on Wednesday criticized workers’ compensation insurers for pushing through a 14.5 percent rate increase this month. Herrle called the increase “massive” and said it would “undoubtedly hurt small businesses by threatening their ability to keep their doors open and employ Floridians.” The National Federation of Independent Business calls itself “the nation’s leading small-business advocacy group,” according […]

Peter SchorschOctober 4, 2016

Jackie Toledo, the oft-controversial Republican running for Florida House District 60, has a major fundraiser planned for Tuesday. And while the invitation for the event is studded with dozens of local Republican heavyweights, I’m still not sure what to make of Toledo. Is she, as I want to believe, the latest in a line of […]

Tag: Jeff Atwater

State leaders certify general election results

All caps email leads to lawsuit against Sha’Ron James

Jeff Atwater files blockbuster billion-dollar lawsuit against feds

Jeff Atwater to deliver unclaimed money to South Florida hospital

Gwen Graham says she’s poised to run a 67-county strategy for governor

Bob Buckhorn: Florida Republicans, ‘put your country first’ and vote for Hillary Clinton

Northeast Florida recovers from Matthew, awaits comprehensive federal help

Some Florida Republicans AWOL on talking about Amendment 2

Bill Herrle: Worker’s comp hike hurts small biz

What to make of House candidate Jackie Toledo?