Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 8, 2015

As the Jacksonville mayoral campaign between Lenny Curry and Alvin Brown heated up, one of Curry’s vows was that he would institute a 90 day audit of the city’s financial situation. His rationale was summed up by an email from his campaign in late April in which he pledged to bring back “sound fiscal management.” “With news […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 7, 2015

[Updated at 7:16 p.m] In Tuesday’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council Rules Committee, Councilman Tommy Hazouri voted against Russ Thomas being appointed to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. This came as a surprise to Thomas, who received a very genial voicemail from Hazouri, pledging what seemed to be unconditional support before the vote. “Hey Russ, […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 7, 2015

Local and state legislators in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida see deepening the JaxPort channel as a priority. However, the gap between what’s in the budget and what’s needed is significant, though apparently not prohibitive. The Florida Department of Transportation has budgeted money for the project. About $10 million has been set aside, and the state […]

Melissa RossOctober 7, 2015

Home furnishing giant IKEA has set hearts aflutter in Jacksonville, announcing it plans to start construction next summer and open a new location in Duval County in the fall of 2017. The proposed store will be 294,000 square feet, sited at the intersection of Gate Parkway and I-295 near the St. Johns Town Center. IKEA, […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 6, 2015

The slogan of the Jacksonville Block by Block event, put on by the Jessie Ball Dupont Fund and the Reinvestment Fund, is a simple six word declaration. Our homes. Our neighborhoods. Our opportunities. On Tuesday morning, a cavalcade of Jacksonville civic leaders converged at the Jessie Ball Dupont Center (formerly the Haydon Burns Library) in […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 5, 2015

As the Lenny Curry administration wrestles with how to bring the JEA Board in line, a “highly confidential” report from the MAEVA Group (which was brought up during Monday’s Finance Committee meeting) regarding the Jacksonville publicly owned utility underscores some key issues with the utility. The report from August argues that JEA could operate more efficiently, contributing money saved toward […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 29, 2015

Recently, I had the pleasure of re-reading “A Quiet Revolution” by former Jacksonville Times-Union writer Richard Martin. Published soon after Consolidation in the late 1960s, the book documents how the pro-Consolidation forces overcame their opponents, most of them entrenched in one of two governmental structures: the city of Jacksonville’s city government, or Duval County’s then separate […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 25, 2015

The Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University was the site of the Lenny Curry transition team meetings that have been instrumental to his early-term approach to restructuring government. On Friday afternoon, one of the rooms used for transition meetings was filled to capacity with some of the city’s most powerful movers and shakers, to […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 25, 2015

Ready for Hillary? The Clinton campaign thought that the Jacksonville mayor was, Florida Politics has learned. A staff member from the Hillary Clinton campaign reached out to the Mayor’s Office to try to secure a key endorsement as part of a larger bundle of endorsements the campaign is readying for Monday. Time was when an endorsement from […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 25, 2015

“I have decided to resign from the board of JEA,” wrote former Vice Chair Peter Bower, because “the atmosphere for public service has become poisonous and detrimental.” Knowing Lenny Curry reasonably well at this point, I’m sure that, as he read this, his thinking went something like this… Don’t let the door hit you in […]

Tag: Lenny Curry
A sign that reads, Gaza Solidarity Encampment, is seen during the Pro-Palestinians protest at the Columbia University campus in New York, Monday April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

The 90 day audit: Is Jacksonville on the fiscal brink?

A look at Tommy Hazouri’s change of heart on Russ Thomas

Jax dredging funds slow to come by

IKEA announces plans to open a store in Jacksonville

Jacksonville Block by Block validates city housing, neighborhoods policy approach

What a “highly confidential” JEA report says about Jacksonville’s future

Lessons for Lenny Curry from “A Quiet Revolution”

Lenny Curry, Greg Anderson outline shared vision at Friday lunch

Hillary Clinton campaign seeks endorsement from Jacksonville mayor

The end of Peter Bower, and what it means for Jacksonville’s boards