Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryJune 10, 2016

Former Florida Democratic Party state chairman Bob Poe revealed Thursday he’s HIV-positive. The 61-year-old Democrat says in a video that he’s healthy because he got tested and diagnosed early, but he wanted to share his condition publicly to “remove the fear, the stigma and the shame that goes with this.” “It’s those things that keep people from getting the […]

Mitch PerryMay 13, 2016

Well, so much for that much-anticipated San Antonio-Golden State NBA Western Final. Congrats to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who took down the Spurs in six. Gotta love the unexpected. Today the Republican Party of Florida hosts the first of a two-day spring meeting in Tampa. I just realized the Republicans always hold these type of […]

Mitch PerryMay 5, 2016

John Kasich dropped out of the Republican race for president yesterday, conceding he won’t be the “White Knight” fantasized by #NeverTrump acolytes over the past few months. The Ohio governor’s departure came less than 24 hours after Ted Cruz “suspended” his campaign, so now we have a full half-a-year to contemplate a Trump–Clinton showdown in […]

Mitch PerryApril 21, 2016

Some quick hits before I hop on a plane … I know much of our news media would rather spend another day focusing on our national elections, what about what’s going on the world? A U.N. agency said yesterday that up to 500 may have died last week, when a large boat packed with migrants from […]

Mitch PerryApril 14, 2016

Why do Hillsborough County State Attorney employees even need “key cards”? That’s the question I have after reading the Anna Phillips/Windy March penned story in the Times this morning (and Elaine Silvestrini’s in the Trib). Their story revolves around an allegation made about Mark Ober’s work ethic by his Democratic party challenger, Andrew Warren. Records unearthed by his campaign […]

Mitch PerryApril 7, 2016

Gay Talese is one of the great American reporters of our time. Now 84, Talese was considered part of the New Journalism that took the country by storm in the 1960s. I’m going to write about his new book in a moment, but I confess that I’m a little late to the party regarding the […]

Mitch PerryMarch 8, 2016

To the surprise of virtually anybody, Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday that he will not run for president as an independent this year. Writing on um, Bloomberg View, the former New York City Mayor announced that after serious contemplation, he will not run this year, despite the concerns he has about the campaigns from both the […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 3, 2016

Good morning from Nashua, New Hampshire, where I’m extremely annoyed at the level of service at my motel – which will go nameless – for at least one more day. Working on little sleep due to excessively exuberant day laborers who couldn’t shut up until the wee hours of the morning in the room adjoining […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 6, 2016

Since we don’t know who the presidential nominees are yet, it’s insanely premature to speculate on who might be the vice-presidential candidates, right? Of course not. Actually, the reason I’m even thinking of this today is that my original story idea for this column is being banked for a future story. But I thought about […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorMay 4, 2015

Critics of the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline” could be on their way to a huge victory in Hillsborough County. According to The Tampa Tribune, State Attorney Mark Ober has shifted his position on addressing first-time juvenile marijuana offenders with civil citations instead of criminal charges. Ober’s opposition last year helped kill efforts to include misdemeanor marijuana possession on […]

Tag: Mark Ober

Mitch Perry Report for 6.10.16 — Bob Poe’s courage

Mitch Perry Report for 5.13.16 – Friday 13th edition

Mitch Perry Report for 5.5.16 — Requiem for a would-be contender

Mitch Perry Report for 4.21.16 – Will Hillsborough adopt Palm Beach law regarding Uber and Lyft?

Mitch Perry Report for 4.14.16 – So who wants to go to Cleveland this summer?

Mitch Perry Report 4.7.16 — Gay Talese, meet Twitter

Mitch Perry Report for 3.8.16 – Bloomy, we hardly knew ye

Mitch Perry Report for 2.3.16 – Will Democrats debate Thursday night?

Mitch Perry Report for 1.6.15 – Are Nikki Haley and Julian Castro top picks for VP?

Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober shifts position on juvenile pot charges