Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

guestOctober 30, 2018

This year’s ballot is full of proposed Constitutional amendments — some arguably good, and some bad. A contender for the worst among the bunch: Amendment 3. It is very misleading, and we urge voters not to be fooled. Upon casual inspection, Amendment 3 does not seem terrible. It purports to let voters decide whether the […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 11, 2018

New legislation filed this week to the Jacksonville City Council would impose a six-month moratorium on adult arcades. Ordinance 2018-680 would ban permitting for these so-called internet cafes, a bane to the existence of Jacksonville lawmakers. These establishments are predominately located in areas of town that have socioeconomic challenges already, and Council members have sought to […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 28, 2018

A draft of the final report from the Jacksonville City Council special committee on the future of JEA revealed a consensus to keep the utility local and publicly owned. However, the report was not memorialized by committee passage, due to a lack of quorum. And that worries committee Chair John Crescimbeni. “I would hope that the committee’s […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 26, 2018

Jacksonville City Councilman John Crescimbeni introduced a resolution Tuesday night that would solicit the opinion of the State Attorney on local regulation of nicotine vapes. The specific question to be considered via 2018-282: “Whether the City of Jacksonville has the ability to regulate the sale of nicotine products and nicotine dispensing devices” as reflected by Florida Statute […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 20, 2018

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said last month that he wanted the city to have a “mature conversation” about JEA valuation and whether privatization was the way forward. However, after yet another series of bad news cycles in which Curry, a popular mayor for most of his term, has seen that conversation and his mayoralty pilloried in […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 17, 2018

Jacksonville’s public utility on Tuesday picked a new interim CEO, Aaron Zahn, who said — along with JEA Board chair Alan Howard — that there needed to be a “pause” in the privatization discussion. For months, City Hall has been roiled with discussions of a potential sale of JEA. Now, there fmay be a break in the action. […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 10, 2018

Two bills of note passed by the Jacksonville City Council Tuesday evening. ____ Straw ballot for JEA sale: 2018-141 will prime a straw ballot referendum for November to test the voters’ mood on a JEA sale. The measure, sponsored by Garrett Dennis and John Crescimbeni (two skeptics of the need to sell), would, in theory, […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 30, 2018

The Jacksonville City Council’s special committee on the “potential sale” of local utility JEA met Thursday for the first time since the Council decided to expand the panel from five to 19 members. The major item of interest: the testimony of JEA CEO Paul McElroy, previously summoned via subpoena. McElroy was compelled to address, among other […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 29, 2018

On the issue of the potential sale of Jacksonville public utility JEA, a narrative turning point occurred Tuesday. City Council members voted to expand the five-person special committee of sale skeptics to include the full council while divesting the panel of subpoena powers (such as those imposed on JEA CEO Paul McElroy two weeks prior). In […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 28, 2018

The Jacksonville City Council voted Tuesday evening to maintain the JEA Special committee, but not until after a heated debate that exposed historic fissures and spoke to the eternal struggle between the Council President and the Mayor’s allies. After a compromise motion to kill the committee’s subpoena power failed after a reconsidered vote, the Council […]

Tag: John Crescimbeni

Jamie Shelton: Amendment 3 is a shameless attempt to dupe voters

Game over: Jacksonville mulls adult arcade moratorium

Aaron Bowman won’t bury Jacksonville City Council JEA report

Jacksonville City Councilman wants Pam Bondi’s opinion on local regulation of vape devices

Is Jacksonville’s ‘mature conversation’ about JEA privatization over?

Is the JEA privatization push on ‘pause’ … or dead?

JEA straw poll, board reform bills clear Jacksonville City Council

Jacksonville City Councilmembers hammer JEA CEO Paul McElroy over inconsistencies

Lenny Curry denies pulling strings, intimidating Jacksonville City Council members over JEA issue

Jacksonville City Council expands JEA special committee to 19 members