Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Anne LindbergDecember 6, 2016

Pinellas residents can expect to hear a lot next year about the number of roads, fire stations, parks, buildings and other projects the county and cities have constructed during the past 30 years. Residents will also hear a lot about construction planned for Pinellas’ future. It’s all part of an education campaign that the county […]

Anne LindbergNovember 2, 2016

Civil rights icon John Lewis, now a congressman from Georgia, came to St. Petersburg on Wednesday to support former Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist, a Democrat, is running against Republican incumbent David Jolly for Florida’s 13th Congressional District. Lewis, who has represented Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District since 1986, said he had followed Crist’s career. “I’m delighted […]

Mitch PerryMay 10, 2016

(Updated) St. Petersburg-based attorney Ben Diamond announced his candidacy for the House District 68 seat in Pinellas County on Monday, April 25. In the six days leading up to the campaign’s first fundraising deadline on April 30, he was able to raise an impressive $28,366. “I’m running for the Florida House because I want to fight for Pinellas […]

Anne LindbergApril 30, 2016

Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch took a field trip Friday to the cemetery pond where three teenage girls drowned in a stolen car. The drowning happened about 3:50 a.m. March 31. The girls, who were being followed by Pinellas sheriff’s deputies, turned into Royal Palm North Cemetery, 2600 Gandy Blvd. and drove into a pond. […]

Mitch PerryApril 25, 2016

St. Petersburg based attorney Ben Diamond will run as a Democrat for the now open House District 68 seat later this year. In what appears to be a coordinated effort, Diamond made his announcement just hours after incumbent Dwight Dudley announced publicly that he would not run for the seat he has held since 2012. “I have long been […]

Mitch PerryMarch 30, 2016

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With great fanfare last week, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia proudly boasted that seven counties have switched from majority Democratic to majority Republican in 2016. “I have always maintained that a strong Republican party with a strong grassroots infrastructure is the key to winning elections,” Ingoglia said in a prepared statement. “We remain […]

Mitch PerryNovember 5, 2015

I received a text message Wednesday night saying that the Tampa Bay Sierra Club had embraced Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandy Murman‘s late-hour plan to fund transportation projects, which sounds like a larger-size version of what the club sought this past summer. You remember, it asked the county to began raising mobility fees and the […]

Mitch PerryNovember 4, 2015

Considering he was at Charlie Crist‘s pitch two weeks ago to run for Congress, it was no surprise Wednesday when the Crist campaign said it now has Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch‘s backing. “Charlie Crist has been standing up for our values his whole life, even when it wasn’t easy,” Welch says in a prepared […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 29, 2015

Reaction was fierce and accusatory in the immediate wake of the revelations of a Tampa Bay Times story published last month that traced the Pinellas County School Board’s role in resegregating five elementary schools and having them turn into some of the worst performing ones in Florida. St. Petersburg based House Democrat Darryl Rouson called on the […]

Mitch PerryJuly 24, 2015

(Updated with quote from Eric Lynn spokesman Bill Burton below). Even before a poll was released earlier this week that showed he would be an overwhelming underdog to former governor Charlie Crist in a Democratic primary election in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, Eric Lynn made it clear that he was committing to run for the seat next year. And that’s […]

Tag: Ken Welch

Pinellas County launching educational campaign to renew Penny for Pinellas

Congressman, civil rights icon John Lewis: Vote, vote, vote

HD 68 Dem candidate Ben Diamond raises over $28,000 in one week on the campaign trail

Ken Welch: Sheriff not at fault for drowning deaths of 3 teen girls

Ben Diamond to run for Dwight Dudley’s seat in Florida House

Pinellas County Democratic chairwoman thinks D’s can pick up legislative seats this year

Mitch Perry Report for 11.5.15 – A Hillsborough transportation plan without a sales tax?

Ken Welch latest Democrat to embrace Charlie Crist’s congressional candidacy

Darryl Rouson challenged by School Board chair on South St. Pete school crisis

Pinellas Democratic Party chair thinks it’s premature to speculate about CD 13 race