Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2017

Friday saw the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee move toward wrapping up budget deliberations. However, there was still some unfinished business with various departments. And the most interesting bit of business was political business — not budgetary. — The big enchilada: the 100 new police officers and other proposals from JSO, which were not approved […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 24, 2017

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry unveiled ambitious reforms to Jacksonville children’s programs earlier this summer. And when he launched the bill at a press conference, 14 Jacksonville City Council members raised their hands in support of the bill he sold to them, one by one, in the days before that high-profile presser. The Jacksonville Children’s Commission and […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 18, 2017

Friday morning saw the Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee review the Mayor’s proposed capital budgets for JEA. The discussion sprawled close to 90 minutes — double the allotted time — and was one in which budget line items were often directly related to equity in services throughout the city. ____ JEA was up first. The […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 10, 2017

The first day of Jacksonville City Council review of Mayor Lenny Curry‘s proposed budget was highlighted by a deep dive into the Sheriff’s budget: 35 percent of the general fund. Among the highlights of the proposed budget: 100 more cops, which would bring force levels within a few dozen of the peak of 1,800 officers years back. […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 10, 2017

The August ritual began anew Thursday morning in Jacksonville’s City Hall, with the City Council Finance Committee beginning its review of the Mayor’s proposed budget. The day began with a romp through a presentation from the Curry administration, followed by the Council Auditor’s review of the budget. The proposed $1.27B budget is up from the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 8, 2017

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and City Councilman Garrett Dennis agree that more money is needed for Duval County’s after-school programs. However, they are on what Dennis called “different pages” regarding how much is needed. A need for resolution looms and will be provided at Council Tuesday night. And that resolution looks likely to come out of one-time, […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 3, 2017

These have been tough times, financially speaking, for the business interests of the family of Jacksonville City Councilwoman Katrina Brown. Last week, the city of Jacksonville won what is essentially a worthless default judgement of $222,000 against two businesses owned by the Councilwoman’s family (with the Councilwoman as title manager) related to a failed BBQ sauce […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 1, 2017

Last week, the city of Jacksonville won a $222,000 default judgement against businesses belonging to the family of Jacksonville City Councilwoman Katrina Brown. This judgement was the culmination of a long-standing legal action against CoWealth LLC and Basic Products LLC, two shell companies of the Brown family that — back in 2011 — accepted roughly $600,000 […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 26, 2017

As the old saw goes, victory has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan. In that context, a decision to postpone a decision — such as that made by the Jacksonville City Council during yet another attempt to push through a referendum that could scuttle current term limits (changing limits from two consecutive terms to […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 25, 2017

The Jacksonville City Council voted Tuesday evening to approve Resolution 2017-457, which was intended to commemorate Consolidation. But the vote was not unanimous. A movement for full Council sponsorship of the resolution was spiked by Councilman Reggie Brown, who spoke at length about infrastructural failings and broken promises. Brown noted that JEA, for example, isn’t committed […]

Tag: Katrina Brown

Jax Councilors feel ‘targeted’ by Sheriff’s poll pushing 100 new cops

Jax Councilors won’t ‘rubberstamp’ Mayor’s children’s program reforms

Jax City Councilors mull JEA budget, ‘broken promises’ of Consolidation

Jax Councilors hammer Sheriff Mike Williams on policy, procedure

Jax City Council begins mulling Lenny Curry’s budget

After-school funding showdown looms in Jax City Council

Car trouble: Repo action filed on Jax Councilwoman Katrina Brown’s Porsche

Jacksonville wins $222K default judgement against Councilwoman’s business

How the Jacksonville City Council effort to scuttle term limits went wrong

Jax City Council sees fissures on celebrating Consolidation