Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJune 20, 2017

Tuesday saw a big project for Jacksonville’s transportation future break ground: JTA’s Regional Transportation Center. The JTA center, to be constructed in Jacksonville’s historic LaVilla neighborhood, will accommodate Greyhound, Uber, Megabus, the Skyway, First Coast Flyer and other modes of travel, in what is designed to be a regional focus. Greyhound will go online in January […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 24, 2017

The Jacksonville City Council Officer Elections have wrapped, and now comes the inevitable post-game analysis…. ____ PROLOGUE A year ago, the Jacksonville City Council – like Jacksonville itself – was in a different place. Pension reform was a concept, ethereal on some distant horizon. And you couldn’t go a week without a thinkpiece on the […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 24, 2017

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council elected its new President and new Vice-President. For those seeking “Chamber friendly” officials, the vote couldn’t have gone better. Elected President: Anna Brosche. Elected Vice-President: Aaron Bowman. There are those who say the Jax Chamber and former Mayor John Peyton swayed the outcome of the vote. If that was their intention, they […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 23, 2017

With Jacksonville City Council members preparing to vote Tuesday on their next President, the outcome is starting to look clearer hours from the 3 p.m. vote to decide who will assume the lead in Council starting July. Right now, Finance Committee Chair Anna Brosche leads current VP John Crescimbeni 9-7 in the pledge count. Three councilors, meanwhile, remain officially undecided. […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 22, 2017

On the eve of a vote for the next Jacksonville City Council President, a reliable source notes that three councilors — including one candidate for President — had breakfast together Saturday at a Metro Diner location. Councilwoman Anna Brosche and Councilmen Matt Schellenberg and Doyle Carter (two committed Brosche backers) were among the participants in a group breakfast, […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 22, 2017

On Friday, Jacksonville City Council members Scott Wilson, John Crescimbeni, and Greg Anderson discussed commercial corridors — a recurring conversation in recent months. As ever, blight remediation was the focal point … specifically relative to older, dilapidated properties. Councilors had discussed making zoning less “intense” previously, with an eye toward removing some of the zoning most conducive to […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 21, 2017

February ended with Jacksonville City Council VP John Crescimbeni storming out of the gate in the race for the council presidency. A bipartisan group of councilmen — Bill Gulliford, Greg Anderson, Jim Love, Scott Wilson and Tommy Hazouri — signed on very quickly, giving Crescimbeni, a Democrat, a real leg up. Rhetoric was pitched in the councilmen’s conclave: lots of talk […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 20, 2017

Outdoor storage of tires for sale may eventually be a thing of the past in the city of Jacksonville, if an ordinance filed last month becomes law. Ordinance 2017-231 would require storage of tires for sale to be not visible from the street or adjacent properties within 5 years of the effective date of the ordinance. This would remedy […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 10, 2017

What happens when the Americans for Disabilities Act meets a Jacksonville zoning overlay? A headache, some litigation, and, eventually, attempts by all parties to arrive at a workable compromise. Emphasis on the word “attempts,” as seemingly everyone outside of the lawyers who reached the compromise found something at which to balk. A bill that would […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 6, 2017

Jacksonville City Council members, upon hearing the details of the Lenny Curry pension reform plan, seemed optimistic upon first hearing. However, as they were not at the bargaining table, they questioned the parameters of collective bargaining agreements, and wanted more detail on the actuarial projections. ____ Councilman Bill Gulliford, instrumental in the 2015 pension reform deal, said […]

Tag: John Crescimbeni

Ground broken on JTA Regional Transportation Center

Winners and losers emerging from the 2017 Jax Council leadership elections

Anna Brosche wins Jacksonville City Council President’s race; Aaron Bowman takes VP

Danny Becton pledges to Anna Brosche as she closes in on Jax Council presidency

Unnoticed meeting of Jax Councilors, including Presidential candidate, draws notice

Less ‘intense’ zoning discussed for Jacksonville commercial corridors

Why the next Jacksonville City Council President is still undetermined

Tire blight exhausts Jax Council patience

Springfield Overlay zoning change legislation draws scrutiny in public notice meeting

Jacksonville Councilors embrace, question details in Lenny Curry pension pitch