Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiNovember 21, 2016

Jacksonville is wrestling with a pension crisis decades in the making. And national media and political pressure groups are taking notice. The venerable American Spectator magazine — a bible of movement conservatism — waded into the Jacksonville public pension debate last week, throwing sharp elbows at the Northeast Florida city’s pension crisis. The Spectator hit on Jacksonville is […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 21, 2016

Last March, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and members of the Duval delegation convened at Jacksonville’s City Hall, to discuss “what winning looks like.” The city got 90 percent of its appropriations goals. Jacksonville got money for public safety, such as the COPS program, and infrastructure needs, asking for $2 million and getting $1.8 million. And […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 18, 2016

Two heads of Jacksonville departments are being promoted from within, it was announced Friday by the office of Mayor Lenny Curry. Diane Moser, chief of Talent Management, has been promoted to serve as director of Employee Services. Stephanie Burch, chief of Real Estate, has been promoted to director of Neighborhoods. Curry described these roles as “critically important” […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 18, 2016

In St. Augustine for his monthly jobs numbers presser, Florida Gov. Rick Scott took questions about his meeting with President-elect Donald Trump and discussed the 2018 political landscape. Scott said he had a “great meeting yesterday with President-elect Trump” lasting roughly 45 minutes. When asked if he might be part of one of Trump’s “landing teams,” designed to help […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 17, 2016

Jacksonville’s Carlucci family is inextricably linked with Jacksonville history. Joe Carlucci was a councilman from the days of consolidation. Matt Carlucci carried on the family’s tradition of public service, serving three terms on the council, including a stint as president. Now Carlucci is the chairman of the Florida Commission on Ethics. Yet his time there is nearing an […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 17, 2016

Laura Thompson, the head of the 206-unit Plaza Condominium Board of Directors, expressed concerns this week in a letter to Mayor Lenny Curry about continued blight at the stalled out Berkman II project on Bay Street in Jacksonville. The Plaza has 360 residents, and is just a block away from the Berkman project, where construction halted […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 16, 2016

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On Wednesday afternoon, Jacksonville City Council members convened to discuss a recurrent topic: enforcing regulations in Hemming Park. The so-called “front door to city hall” has encountered challenges of late, with the most recent narrative twist being the mayor’s office saying last week that it was time that the “Friends of Hemming Park” experiment end. […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 15, 2016

The major conflict in Jacksonville politics right now: negotiations between Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and the heads of various public sector unions. Curry wants to move the unions beyond defined benefit “dinosaur” plans, offering raises for current workers, assurances that their plans won’t change, and bonuses for the current employees. The unions are reluctant to move […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 15, 2016

Justice was delayed for an important member of Jacksonville’s city government. But on Monday, it was finally delivered, as one of the most honorable people in City Hall was cleared of what were ultimately spurious charges. Last year, a report from the Jacksonville City Council auditor’s office implied Kerri Stewart, the chief of staff for […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 15, 2016

Last Saturday, I checked out a protest against President-elect Donald Trump — the Jacksonville iteration of the #NotMyPresident movement. As protests go, it was as Shakespeare wrote: “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Those in attendance – 150, maybe 200 – were peaceful, by and large. The signs and speakers were all earnest, in that young, leftish, […]

Tag: Lenny Curry
Michael Thompson. Image via Facebook.

Jacksonville’s pension reform efforts get national attention

New Duval delegation members face a learning curve

New Jacksonville department heads are promoted from within

Rick Scott on Donald Trump: ‘I’ll do everything I can to help him be successful’

Matt Carlucci ‘seriously considering’ another run for Jacksonville City Council

Downtown residents express concerns about Berkman II blight

Uncertainty over Hemming Park’s future pervades discussion of park rules

Americans for Prosperity issues call to action on Jacksonville pension debt

Kerri Stewart cleared of ethics charges

How Jacksonville can benefit from Donald Trump