Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiNovember 21, 2016

Last March, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and members of the Duval delegation convened at Jacksonville’s City Hall, to discuss “what winning looks like.” The city got 90 percent of its appropriations goals. Jacksonville got money for public safety, such as the COPS program, and infrastructure needs, asking for $2 million and getting $1.8 million. And […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2016

Former President Bill Clinton stopped in Jacksonville Friday as part of a bus tour through the northern part of Florida on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was a tale of two narratives. The fans — and the haters — both were “ready for Hillary.” The scene was set outside before and after the rally, with protesters […]

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 29, 2016

The last eight months in Jacksonville politics have been dominated by one referendum. County Referendum 1, which would allow Jacksonville to extend a current 1/2-cent sales surtax past its sunset and to dedicate it to a $2.8 billion unfunded pension liability, is that referendum. Mayor Lenny Curry and his political machine have done everything they could […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 16, 2016

Those who have waited for opposition to Jacksonville’s proposed “pension tax” are finally seeing it manifest, just in time for early voting. With oppressive humidity in the air and a non-affiliated crackhead milling around the parking lot engaging with the media, the Duval Democrats made their stand against Jacksonville’s County Referendum 1 in a parking […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 1, 2016

The money race through July 22 in Northeast Florida State House races is starting to reveal clear resource gaps in some races and tighter contests in others. As candidates are starting to deploy their resources in earnest, an increasingly important metric is cash on hand. **** House District 11: Sheri Treadwell still leads Donnie Horner […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 27, 2016

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Florida House District 13 incumbent Democrat Reggie Fullwood was left for dead, politically speaking, not too long ago. With a federal trial on 14 counts pending, Fullwood drew Democratic and Republican challengers alike in his solidly Democratic Jacksonville seat. Now, however, Fullwood appears to have overcome those issues to some degree. After a hearing last week in which […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 14, 2016

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The most interesting primary in Jacksonville-area state House races right now may be the Democratic scrum in House District 14, which appears to be narrowing down to a two-woman contest between former Jacksonville City Councilwoman Kim Daniels and trial lawyer Leslie Jean-Bart. There are similarities. Both have powerful backers. And both have meaningful endorsements: Daniels, who once proposed a 9 […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 11, 2016

The biggest endorsement in the House District 14 Democratic primary, from termed-out incumbent Mia Jones, was conferred to Leslie Jean-Bart Monday. The Northwest Jacksonville seat tends to be a Democratic stronghold, and it is widely expected the winner of the Aug. 30 primary will win the election. “I am confident that Leslie Jean-Bart is the only candidate that […]

Phil AmmannMay 9, 2016

With a tip of the hat to LobbyTools, here are the latest movements – both on and off – of the legislative merry-go-round. Off and on: Maggie Mickler is no longer press secretary for the Senate Majority Leader’s office. She has become director of communications at the Department of Management Services. On: LaQuisha Persak has become the new […]

Tag: Mia Jones
Debate party at Sports Grill Kendall. Image via AP.

New Duval delegation members face a learning curve

A divided Jacksonville greets Bill Clinton

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

Jax referendum opponents coalesced, but too late to matter

Duval Dems slam ‘sham flyer,’ ‘smoke and mirrors’ pension tax

A look at Northeast Florida State House campaign finance

Dem leaders, unions back Reggie Fullwood for re-election

Leslie Jean-Bart makes the case against HD 14 opponent Kim Daniels

Mia Jones backs Leslie Jean-Bart in HD 14 Democratic primary

Latest on the legislative staffing merry-go-round