Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJune 16, 2017

A year ago, when the city of Jacksonville was formulating its budget, there was a different State Attorney in Florida’s 4th Circuit. Angela Corey was running for her third term, facing a challenge from the woman who destroyed her in the GOP Primary months later: Melissa Nelson. Nelson ran on a platform of “smart justice,” a […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 10, 2017

Fulfilling a campaign promise from 2016, 4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson rolled out on Wednesday an initiative designed to increase the use of civil citations for juvenile offenders, via a memorandum of understanding among various local and regional agencies. “This new agreement for pre-arrest diversion will expand and enhance the juvenile civil citation program uniformly […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 28, 2017

The national observation of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is in April, yet Jacksonville kicked off the month days early on Tuesday, with city leaders convening in the atrium of the city hall. Jacksonville’s Sexual Assault Advisory Council was created in 1998, intending to bring awareness to the issue and to let victims know they have […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 13, 2017

As we previewed last week, Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri is looking to implement the next phase of the city’s response to human trafficking. In 2016, the city began a response, with awareness signs posted in strip clubs and massage parlors. However, Hazouri believes more can be done — and on Monday, the veteran pol met […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 15, 2017

Wednesday morning saw Jacksonville leadership announce and discuss a new initiative that stakeholders hope will abate the surge in gun violence in the Northeast Florida city. This initiative, conceived during a conversation between the mayor and the state attorney last month, may prove to be an indispensable investigative tool at a reasonable price. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 31, 2017

There are three local bills that the Duval County Legislative Delegation have to carry this session. Two of them involve relaxed restrictions for drinking. Rep. Tracie Davis will sponsor those. And one involves governance of the Duval County School Board, a subject that inspires drinking. Rep. Jason Fischer, an alumnus of the school board, will sponsor […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson rode into office wearing a white dress, surfing on a wave of hagiography, balanced on a board constructed on a sturdy narrative of collective anathema toward Angela Corey. For many of those who voted for her, the job was accomplished when Corey was defeated in August by a blowout […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 17, 2017

On Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry addressed the latest downtown shooting at the Jacksonville Landing, which has already seen one gunshot victim declared dead. Curry, who ran on a public safety platform in 2015, has seen his rhetoric undermined by not only an uptick in gunplay and homicides, but an uptick at high-profile events downtown this month, […]

Christiaan DeFrancoJanuary 4, 2017

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Outside the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts, protesters gathered. Inside, hundreds of people packed into the lobby, where the public swearing-in of Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels was held Monday evening. Organizers delayed the start of the ceremony for 40 minutes while they figured out where to put all the supporters, colleagues and curious citizens […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 28, 2016

Subpoenas with a side of sauce. That’s one way to sum up the year. In Jacksonville politics, 2016 started with subpoenas being delivered to Rep. Corrine Brown and her clique at a barbecue place on the Northside. And it ended with a raid on Councilwoman Katrina Brown’s familial barbecue sauce plant on the Westside. Katrina […]

Tag: Melissa Nelson

IT the focus of Melissa Nelson’s first budget as State Attorney

Melissa Nelson rolls out juvenile civil citations MOU

Jacksonville leaders observe sexual assault awareness month

Jacksonville leaders move on human trafficking, an ‘industry without borders’

Could NIBIN stem the tide of gun violence in Jacksonville’s streets?

Duval Delegation talks local bills, hears from Melissa Nelson

‘Tough but fair’ approach guides Melissa Nelson’s reform path

Lenny Curry addresses MLK day shootings, plans to meet with Melissa Nelson

Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels pledges transparency at impassioned swearing in

Subpoenas with a side of sauce: The 10 biggest #JaxPol stories of 2016