Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschDecember 9, 2015

Shawn Harrison wants to make it clear that he still very much likes Eric Eisnaugle, his colleague in the Florida House. What Harrison did last week was business, not personal. But with his decision to shift his support from Eisnaugle to Pinellas Republican Chris Sprowls, Harrison has changed the narrative about who will be Speaker of […]

Mitch PerryDecember 1, 2015

If you don’t know of anyone who is caught up in the Florida corrections system, stories about the care of prisoners may not matter much to you at all. But they have been disturbing, particularly regarding the state of health care for those who incarcerated. Rick Scott ran for office in 2010 promising to privatize […]

Mitch PerryNovember 30, 2015

Lisa Montelione said it was “excruciatingly hard” to decide to give up her Tampa City Council seat next year, but that’s what will happen now that she’s decided to run for the Florida Legislature in 2016. She’ll take on fellow Democrat Mike Reedy in the House District 63 primary next August, with the winner to […]

Mitch PerryNovember 25, 2015

Outgoing Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear signed an executive order Tuesday immediately restoring voting rights to more than 100,000 ex-felons convicted of nonviolent offenses. “This disenfranchisement makes no sense,” Beshear, a Democrat, said in his announcement. “It makes no sense because it dilutes the energy of democracy, which functions only if all classes and categories of people have a […]

Mitch PerryNovember 11, 2015

The odds were stacked against him last night, and there were many who were writing him off before last night’s debate. And yet he had a breakthrough performance at the GOP’s 4th presidential debate in Milwaukee. Jeb Bush? No, Rand Paul. Paul’s been down so far this election cycle that the only stories you seem […]

Mitch PerryNovember 10, 2015

Tampa City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione, who was just re-elected without opposition to a second four-year term in her District 7 seat this past winter, said Tuesday she’s running for the Democratic nomination for the House District 63 race, a seat now held by Republican incumbent Shawn Harrison. “The issues facing our city and the entire […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 22, 2015

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill is calling on Sheriff David Gee to investigate the contract awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff for the public outreach effort for a proposed transportation sales tax. He’s also calling on PB to stop all work on the Go Hillsborough campaign, until Gee’s inquiry is complete. That second action sounds more dramatic than it […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 14, 2015

Earlier this year, a national organization rated the Tampa Bay area as 11th in the nation for traffic congestion. Obviously, the region has problems with traffic, which is perhaps why St. Petersburg state Senator Jeff Brandes called it a “game-changer” today in describing what could be a $17 million contract that the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) was awarded by […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 4, 2015

It was famed actor, celebrity and humanitarian George Clooney who once said that he doesn’t tweet. “Just because, I like to have a drink at night. I could easily say something stupid, and I also don’t think you need to be that available.” But there are lots of folks who just can’t help expressing themselves via the tools of […]

Mitch PerryMay 21, 2015

Although he’s been on the job for nearly two weeks, Eric Ward didn’t officially become the new Tampa police chief until Thursday morning, when the city council unanimously confirmed his appointment. It came while dozens of his fellow TPD officers crammed into the council’s intimate chambers to part of the occasion. Ward, 48, grew up […]

Shawn Harrison says Eric Eisnaugle’s plan to rely on votes from future classes to win Speakership is why he flipped to Chris Sprowls

Mitch Perry Report for 12.1.15 – Corizon Health Care terminates contract with Florida prisons. That’s not a bad thing

Lisa Montelione feels confident in HD 63 Democratic primary versus Mike Reedy

Mitch Perry Report for 11.25.15 — Florida now one of 2 states withholding vote from ex-felons

Mitch Perry Report for 11.11.15 – The return of Rand Paul to the GOP presidential race

Tampa City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione files to run in state HD 63 race

Mitch Perry Report for 9.22.15 – Hillsborough County transportation tax now DOA?

Tampa Expressway Authority awarded first phase of funding for connected vehicle pilot program

Mitch Perry Report for 9.4.15 – Sam Rashid is not backing down

Eric Ward confirmed by Tampa City Council as new police chief