Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJuly 16, 2018

On Monday morning, as District 10 Republican Jacksonville City Councilman Terrance Freeman settled in for his first committee meeting after being named last week to the board, a group of Duval County Democrats is asking for emergency relief from Gov. Rick Scott‘s appointment. If granted, that relief would stop Freeman from taking action as a councilman until legal […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 12, 2018

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott chose a Democrat (Ju’Coby Pittman) and Republican (Terrance Freeman) to replace indicted and suspended Jacksonville City Council members, Katrina and Reggie Brown. On Thursday afternoon, in the Jacksonville City Council Chamber, they were sworn in to fill the Browns’ terms, pending resolution of the fraud charges facing them. Yet, more drama is likely to come […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 6, 2017

The Jacksonville City Council Rules Committee mulled a bill that the committee itself introduced on Tuesday, a measure requiring Jacksonville Ethics Commission nominees to be confirmed by the City Council before serving on the commission. Then the committee moved to withdraw its own bill, which itself was the result of a nomination that was pulled. […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 8, 2017

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In the wake of a springtime clash between anti-Trump protesters and Jacksonville police officers, a very public clash soon ensued on Facebook between Jacksonville Ethics Commission nominee Leslie Jean-Bart and Fraternal Order of Police head Steve Zona. That clash — which involved, among other things, Jean-Bart defending protesters using the inflammatory phrase “f— the police” by posting […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 18, 2017

In 2016, State House candidate Leslie Jean-Bart pulled no punches when describing what she saw as a pre-ordained process of endorsement in her race from the local Fraternal Order of Police. “They knew weeks ahead of time that they were going to endorse Kim Daniels. They have a relationship with her … [maybe] someone in particular […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2017

A trio of politicians who suffered recent high-profile losses will be considered by the Jacksonville City Council for board appointments in the coming weeks. The Ethics Commission will potentially be the landing spot for two pols beloved by liberal Democrats. Leslie Jean-Bart, who lost a contentious Democratic primary in August to current HD 14 Rep. Kim […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 27, 2016

When 2016 kicked off, the world was different, and our political prognoses reflected those false assurances. We didn’t imagine President Donald Trump on a national level. We figured Hillary Clinton would end up taking on Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio in the general election. And we expected the rhetoric would sound like the previous two or three campaigns. Regarding #jaxpol, we had a pretty good […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 28, 2016

Up until now, the approach to campaign finance by Democrat Kim Daniels, running in heavily Democratic House District 14, has been unconventional. Throughout the primary period, Daniels contributed tens of thousands of dollars to her campaign, then refunded it, while eschewing meaningful fundraising. Daniels, a former Jacksonville City Councilwoman, found $10,500 of the establishment money that […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 1, 2016

Wednesday afternoon, we ran a piece: Winners and Losers in the NE Florida primaries. The piece was intended to document who won and who lost on primary night, going beyond the results to look at whose bets paid off and whose calculations did not. For those listed as winners, the read was lauded … even as […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2016

The northeast Florida primaries have been in the books for almost 24 hours at this writing. A review of the winners — and the losers — goes beyond the election returns to look at what happened to create these outcomes that will, in historical retrospect, seem inevitable. Winners Lenny Curry — The chattering classes told him he couldn’t get […]

Tag: Leslie Jean-Bart

Duval Dems move to remove Terrance Freeman from Jacksonville City Council

Terrance Freeman residency questions loom over Jacksonville City Council installation

Jax Council panel withdraws its own bill reforming Ethics Commission appointment process

Controversial Jax Ethics commission nominee pulled from consideration

Jax police union head, ethics commission nominee spar over police brutality

Defeated politicians poised for new life on Jacksonville boards

A.G. Gancarski surveys the wreckage of his 2016 predictions

Democrat Kim Daniels finds establishment backing in HD 14 race

Audrey Gibson: ‘Standing up for what you believe in is brave’

A rundown of the winners and losers from northeast Florida’s primary elections