Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryMarch 28, 2015

Members of the GLBT community and their allies flocked to Ybor City under idyllic conditions on Saturday, as Tampa held its first gay pride event in more than a decade. In his public remarks, Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner referred to what he called one of the “darkest moments in this country’s history” — the June 15, […]

Mitch PerryMarch 26, 2015

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The organizers behind Saturday’s Tampa Pride Festival and March received a commendation this morning from the Tampa City Council, 48 hours before the big event takes place in Ybor City. It’s the first of its kind in Tampa since 2002, but longtime community members acknowledge that event 13 years ago was somewhat disappointing. In the […]

Mitch PerryMarch 2, 2015

Welcome to March, where the weather is warming up and so are the politics: In Washington, where Benjamin Netayahu will give his much-anticipated speech to (most) members of Congress on Tuesday; in Tallahassee, where the Legislative Session begins in a little more than 24 hours; and in Tampa, where the municipal elections take place Tuesday […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 26, 2015

Alan Clendenin, who nearly became chairman of the Florida Democratic Party two years ago, is considering a run for elected office for the first time. The 55-year-old State and Democratic National Committeeman from Tampa says he is considering a run for the open Hillsborough County Commission District 6 race, but says it could be another office. […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 25, 2015

Mise en Place was the place to be if you were a Tampa Democrat on Tuesday night, as the upscale establishment played host for the latest (and probably last) Ready for Hillary fundraiser in the Bay area. Hundreds crammed into the restaurant’s backroom, a destination for Democratic fundraisers over the years, each contributing the $20.16 requested to […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 20, 2015

Happy Friday to y’all. So much to talk about in the news this morning … The Tampa Bay Times’ flooded the zone in December with a series of disturbing stories about New Beginnings of Tampa, one of the city’s largest homeless charities, which for years has made money off its residents through its controversial “work therapy” program. The […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 12, 2015

Jim Norman ended a two-decade career in politics in 2012, when he announced he would not run for re-election for the state Senate seat that he won in 2010. It came after Pasco legislator John Legg decided to challenge him in the GOP primary, and it became apparent that the GOP establishment was abandoning him. […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2015

Hillsborough County Commission Chair Sandy Murman says she definitely will file for re-election for her District 1 seat for 2016 later this year, but hasn’t completely discarded the idea of running for a countywide seat. “I love my district and I’m happy to serve,” the Davis Islands Republican said when asked about her plans for […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 27, 2015

The Tampa Bay Times alienated some of it readership and certainly surprised many others last fall when it editorialized against Amendment Two. That was the medical marijuana initiative being proposed in Florida some 18 years after California became the first state in the nation to legalize the herb for medicinal purposes. The editorial called the substance of the […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 6, 2015

At approximately 12:11 p.m. today, Hillsborough County Clerk of the Courts Pat Frank wound down her official duties in officiating over the mass same-sex marriage ceremony in downtown Tampa’s Joe Chillura Park. “By virtue of the authority invested in me, under the laws of the state of Florida, I now pronounce you joined in matrimony,” she […]

Tag: Kevin Beckner

Activists at Tampa Pride urge celebrants to fight adoption bill

Organizers prepare for Tampa Pride event on Saturday

Mitch Perry Report for 3.2.15 — Local leaders want to get serious about wage theft

Tampa DNC Committeeman Alan Clendenin contemplating a run for office

No primary challenger? No problem say attendees at Tampa Ready for Hillary event

Mitch Perry Report for 2.20.15 — On Rudy, Rick and DWS

Mitch Perry Report for 2.12.15 — Jim Norman seriously contemplates return to Hillsborough politics

Sandy Murman plans to keep Hillsborough seat in 2016

Mitch Perry Report for 1.27.15 — The politics of pot returns to Florida

Over a hundred same-sex couples get married in downtown Tampa