Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiNovember 29, 2018

One of the knocks against Jacksonville’s government is a lack of long-range planning. Jacksonville City Council members are working to change that, via the institutionalization of plans extending out as far as five years. These plans have been pushed before in the early 2000s, and are up again. A bill under consideration in the Jacksonville […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

A bill voted down 8-0 last week in the Jacksonville City Council Rules Committee nonetheless got its hearing in front of the full Council this week. However, the result was no different, as the full Council followed the lead of Rules and the Council President and turfed Ordinance 2018-570 by a 3-16 vote. The bill, […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

Electricity was in the air Tuesday, as the board of Jacksonville municipal utility JEA picked its new CEO. It turned out to be the guy who had been in that role for some time. Some members of the Jacksonville City Council and the media thought it was a done deal well ahead of the meeting, […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

Jacksonville Democrat Yolanda Thornton wants to be Mayor. And she has made her move, opening a campaign account in which there is room to grow. Thus far, she has raised $100. She has never held elected office before. Never been appointed to a city board or commission. And she moved back to town only recently. […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 26, 2018

With a little more than a month to go before qualifying in the Jacksonville mayoral race, there is little drama. Incumbent Lenny Curry has almost $3,000,000 cash on hand for his re-election campaign while he awaits a challenger with any sort of fundraising traction to file (only NPA Connell Crooms, who has about $1,000 on hand, has filed). Curry has […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 20, 2018

Legislation that would introduce a number of transparency reforms to Jacksonville’s city government went down in the Jacksonville City Council Rules Committee Tuesday, despite bill sponsor Anna Brosche requesting a deferral. Rules, the sole committee of reference, is chaired by Councilman Tommy Hazouri, who asserted that the deferral request was too close to the meeting to be […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 19, 2018

Only a couple of days of Jacksonville City Council committee meetings stand between the people running local government and the trappings of Thanksgiving. Soon enough, ovens and stoves will be in “go” mode. Yet already heating up: Rhetoric around the mayoral race, qualifying for which begins the week after Epiphany (Jan. 7-11). The Florida Times-Union […]

Staff ReportsNovember 16, 2018

A cottage industry among Northeast Florida political observers this year has revolved around the same question it did in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Did Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry go too far? In 2015, he capsized a popular Mayor. In 2016, he stumped for President Donald Trump and got pension reform through (which ticked off the […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 16, 2018

Jacksonville will send a new Republican to Tallahassee next session. In the expensive and brutal race in House District 15, Republican Wyman Duggan defeated Democrat Tracye Polson 51 percent to 49 percent. Polson spent heavily in an attempt to flip the seat previously held by Jay Fant, but ultimately fell short. Duggan, a connected land-use lawyer backed by a wide […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 12, 2018

With Jacksonville’s leading Republican officeholders all in for the Ron DeSantis campaign, October fundraising for their 2019 campaigns was on the back burner. And why not? Though Jacksonville has a Democratic plurality, and statewide candidates Bill Nelson, Andrew Gillum, and Nikki Fried all won here, local Republicans have no reason to doubt their ability to hold serve based on […]

Tag: Lenny Curry

Long-range plan: Jacksonville City Council members delve into budget priorities

Jacksonville City Council downs transparency bill

Temp to perm: Jax insider Aaron Zahn locks up JEA CEO gig

‘Underdog story’: Yolanda Thornton‘s longshot bid for Jacksonville Mayor

‘Her window’s closing’: Is Anna Brosche running for Jacksonville Mayor?

Clear as mud: Jacksonville City Council committee kills transparency bill

Rhetoric heats up ahead of Jacksonville mayoral race

Jacksonville Bold for 11.16.18 — A very good year.

Long-range vision: Wyman Duggan sees House seat as more than a stepping stone

October slump: Governor’s race chills local political fundraising in Jacksonville