Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 16, 2016

Tuesday afternoon finds Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry “headed back over to Tallahassee” to sell the pension tax bill, he told FloridaPolitics.com. Though the “Discretionary Sales Surtax” bill is not up for any committee hearings this week, Curry plans “individual meetings” with lawmakers. The next stop for the bill, Jacksonville’s plan to deal with the unfunded pension liability, […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 16, 2016

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is more identified with his love of commercial rap than jazz, so one might have wondered what his first jazz festival would have held. The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, held on an annual basis since 1981, has featured a wide range of artists, ranging from Dizzy Gillespie in its first year, to a […]

Melissa RossFebruary 16, 2016

She was appointed in the fall of 2008 to lead former Mayor John Peyton‘s ambitious attempt to dethrone Jacksonville as Florida’s murder capital. She left the job during the tenure of former Mayor Alvin Brown, when the Jacksonville Journey changed focus, and lost funding (the recession also played a role in that, it’s been pointed […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 16, 2016

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday OKd the settlement with John Keane, while it OK’d the JEA Agreement, and increased property donation limits. The settlement between the city and John Keane, a bill described as the “gorilla in the room,” was the big talker. The settlement version of the plan would pay Keane $225,000 in […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 14, 2016

We liked this lead so much from last week, we’re recycling it: With halftime in the 60-day 2016 Legislative Session on Wednesday, “the theme so far is like a line from a Frankie Valli song: ‘… so close/And yet so far.’ “ With budget votes in each chamber and conference ready to begin, about $1 billion still separates […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 12, 2016

About $43,000 in January donations brought state Sen. Aaron Bean‘s campaign account up to $136,700, with more than $92,500 cash on hand for the Fernandina Beach Republican’s re-election bid. Especially enthusiastic about the Bean Team: Northeast Florida anesthesiologists. Eleven of them made $500 contributions, which adds up to a lot of Novocaine at today’s prices. […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 12, 2016

While Jacksonville leaders wait to see whether Tallahassee will give them the go-ahead on the Pension Tax referendum, they might want to consider the latest annual report from the Police and Fire Pension Fund, which offers disturbing auguries for the future of fund holdings. The Jax PFPF report indicates a major downturn in equity investment […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 11, 2016

Solving the Unfunded Liability may be Lenny Curry’s spend of political capital. But if all goes right, and that is a big if, the Jax Journey renewal will be his legacy. And the city’s. In a media availability before Thursday’s Community Conversation on the Youth Violence prevention aspect of the Jax Journey, Lenny Curry spoke […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 11, 2016

The big “heavy lift” for Jacksonville during the legislative session: getting Tallahassee’s go-ahead to “repurpose” the half-cent Better Jacksonville Plan sales tax, once it sunsets, to address the city’s $2.6 Billion Unfunded pension liability. The bill cleared the second and final House committee on Wednesday. But a big takeaway: statements made by some skeptics on […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 11, 2016

One of the roughest Jacksonville ZIP codes, 32209, was a place of epiphany for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on the campaign trail. Slayings and abject poverty in the area shocked his conscience, in a way roughly analogous to John F. Kennedy visiting Appalachia during the 1960 campaign. Curry vowed to address the crime, the blight, the […]

Tag: Lenny Curry

Lenny Curry, pension tax on his mind, heads back to Tallahassee

Jacksonville Jazz Festival unveils 2016 lineup

Jax Journey 2.0 to look at jobs for at-risk kids: “our teenagers haven’t had enough focus”

Jax Finance Committee reluctantly OKs John Keane settlement

Takeaways from Tallahassee: A good week for lobbyists, a tough one for oranges, Ed Narain

Aaron Bean’s campaign account jumps in January

Jax Police and Fire Pension Fund investments underperform

The Jax Journey: Lenny Curry’s legacy, and ours

Lenny Curry discusses pension tax debate in Tallahassee

Lenny Curry on blight: “We’re here and we’re ready to take action”