Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 20, 2015

The Jacksonville Recreation, Community Development, Public Health and Safety Committee had a light agenda Tuesday morning. The big bill on the agenda was an amended and restated golf course lease and management agreement with Comstock Golf Management’s financially struggling nine-hole golf club at Blue Cypress in Arlington. Councilman Matt Schellenberg pointed out that “if you don’t […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 19, 2015

One of the interesting things about the current permutation of the Jacksonville City Council’s Neighborhood Improvement and Enhancement Committee is how many complaints there are about it from the regulars. Not enough items on the agenda. They don’t do anything anymore. If you scratched the surface, you might hear similar complaints from those on City […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 13, 2015

Finally, Jacksonville City Council meetings are lively again. Between reactions to a good chunk of Council being sued for texting a lobbyist during a budget meeting, the removal of a Lenny Curry appointment of Jay Demetree from the consent agenda, and a public comment protest campaign planned in reaction to the replacement of Planning Commission member Joey McKinnon […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 5, 2015

The long-awaited JTA presentation to the Jacksonville Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee on the way forward for the much-maligned Skyway finally occurred on Monday afternoon. Scheduled originally for a committee meeting in September, scheduling confusion pushed back the original presentation. The options on the table range from overhauling vehicles, creating new vehicles, decommissioning the Skyway once obsolete, […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 21, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council officially approved the FY 16 budget and related bills on Monday evening. Leading off the meeting, Council President Greg Anderson quipped, regarding the jampacked Chambers, “I wonder why you’re all here tonight.” The Capital Improvement Plan was approved without discussion or exception (though a floor amendment at the end changed that), as […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 1, 2015

The Jacksonville Public Library has had a rough decade. Ten years of budget cuts have taken the beleaguered JPL past the point of efficiency into the realm of austerity. However, of late there has been hope, says Barbara Gubbin, JPL director. In welcoming Mayor Lenny Curry, Gubbin mentioned that she and her staff have been on “tenterhooks,” […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2015

During her campaign for Jacksonville’s City Council, Republican Anna Brosche represented what many moderates and liberals thought was a new type of Republican. Her enthusiasm for expanding the Human Rights Ordinance to the LGBT community delighted many Democrats who were appalled by the atavistic position taken by then-incumbent Kim Daniels, who described the HRO as a “very […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 28, 2015

Jacksonville’s flawed Public Service Grants process got yet another review from the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee on Friday afternoon. Councilman John Crescimbeni again spotlighted the lack of funding, and how many of the organizations toward the bottom of the funding matrix suffer because of a lack of funding. The total request for all organizations: $3.78 […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2015

The highlight of the agenda meeting before Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council meeting: a discussion of a potential appeal of the Property Appraiser budget (2015-616). “The success of this” sort of action is “nominal at best,” said Matt Schellenberg, referring to exchanges that he had with the Florida League of Cities. Schellenberg, of course, was not driving […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 17, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council special ad hoc committee on Neighborhood Improvement and Community Enhancement discussed, as did Finance earlier on Monday, 2015-322, which Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart called a “three-year strategy” for fund allocation for affordable housing programs. Councilman John Crescimbeni asked Stewart interesting questions about Mayor Lenny Curry being on the Housing Commission, noting a “lot […]

Tag: Joyce Morgan

Jax recreation panel backs Blue Cypress golf course deal

Jax NICE Committee, against all odds, passes a bill

Planning Commission drama enlivens Jacksonville City Council

Jacksonville Transportation Authority presents Skyway options to Council TEU committee

Jax City Council approves FY16 budget

For Lenny Curry and Jax Public Library, JAXREADS embodies 1C1J

Citing “personal conflict,” Anna Brosche will not attend Equality Florida’s 9/26 Jax Gala

Finance adds $608K to Jax PSG funding for 6 agencies

Property appraiser budget emergency appeal falls at Jax Council meeting

Jax NICE Committee mulls housing, “junk cars”