Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2016

Without a doubt, the most interesting Senate committee meeting of the new Florida Legislative Session for Jacksonville will occur Tuesday morning. The Committee on Community Affairs meets to consider nine bills, but it’s the sixth that should interest Jacksonville locals. The Discretionary Sales Surtax bill, introduced by Sen. Rob Bradley and co-sponsored by Sen. Aaron […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2016

Another one in an informal series of epistles from Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry to Jacksonville employees went out Friday: this on the pension tax. Curry updated employees on his trip to Tallahassee earlier in January: “Last week,” wrote Curry, “I traveled to Tallahassee to meet with state Senators and Representatives about a proposed solution for the […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 22, 2016

In Northeast Florida, Rob Bradley has a lot of pull. One of the most powerful Senators in the state, with a PAC to match, a measure of Bradley’s esteem is that he was chosen to carry the ball on the Lenny Curry plan to defray the unfunded liability of public pensions with a half-cent sales tax. In […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 22, 2016

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In a conversation Friday, state Rep. Lake Ray talked with FloridaPolitics.com about the biggest bill this session for Jacksonville: the proposed extension of the Better Jacksonville Plan half-cent sales surtax to address the unfunded liability with public pensions. Ray, a co-sponsor of the House version of the bill, described the legislative effort as a “work […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2016

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Naval Air Station Jacksonville is getting ready for two parallel anti-terror training exercises in February. Howard Wanamaker, commanding officer of NAS Jax, informed Jacksonville City Hall in a letter that NAS Jax will participate in Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield 2016. The exercises enhance the training and readiness of security forces to respond against threats to institutions, […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2016

“Let’s go get ’em!” The always enthusiastic Senator Aaron Bean enthused in a card about Jax Mayor Lenny Curry‘s trip to Tallahassee to sell the pension surtax, intended to address the unfunded liability. “My Senate colleagues are telling me how great you did in talking and framing the issue,” Bean said, before saying “thank you so much […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2016

In a packed conference room, Jax City Council members, media, and activists convened to discuss the Committee of the Whole process Tuesday. Council President Greg Anderson, by necessity, reiterated much of what he’s said already on the subject, saying that the process would encompass the current bills, in addition to anything that may be coming from […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 18, 2016

Where do we go from here? And when we get there, can we Build Something That Lasts? The 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. speech referenced above was given at the 10th annual session of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It epitomized King’s late period in terms of calling for social justice for African-Americans. Among other calls […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 15, 2016

Several Jacksonville City Council members on Friday gave their take on the comments Roy Bay made this week in public comment on HRO expansion. Bay, perceived by some people as a plant put up to make a false connection between the serial child molestation he confessed to and homosexuality, shocked those watching in the room and at […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 15, 2016

As Sam Mousa walked into the Police and Fire Pension Fund building on a misty Friday morning to sell the board on the Lenny Curry plan, FloridaPolitics.com asked him his thoughts on Rick Scott not committing to support the Jacksonville mayor’s pension sales tax plan to address the unfunded actuarial liability. Mousa’s answer was typically economical, “The mayor never asked the […]

Tag: Lenny Curry

Senate panel to discuss Jacksonville’s pension liability surtax Tuesday

Lenny Curry pitches pension tax to Jax employees

Rob Bradley talks Jax pension surtax, cannabis, and his political future

Lake Ray says “hurdles” remain in passing Jax pension tax plan

Naval Air Station Jax to participate in February anti-terror exercise

Aaron Bean gives Lenny Curry high marks for pension tax pitch

Jax HRO Committee of the Whole discussed

Lenny Curry PAC draws parallel between Jax mayor, MLK

Jax councilmen talk Roy Bay child molestation confession, HRO

Pension Tension: PFPF pushback on Jax pension unfunded liability surtax