Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJuly 13, 2017

Screen-Shot-2017-07-13-at-10.48.52-AM.png

It was a moment Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones remembered clearly — even though she got it completely wrong. Talking with the Miami Herald in 2017, Jones recounted a visit to Graceville Correctional Facility two years earlier; Graceville is a North Florida correctional facility operated by Geo Group, a Boca Raton-based private company […]

Mitch PerryJune 16, 2017

It was a tough room for House Speaker Richard Corcoran. Speaking before an unfriendly crowd of public school supporters in Tampa, Corcoran doubled down on his support of an education bill that creates a new system of charter schools to replace underperforming public schools. On Thursday, Corcoran stood beside Rick Scott in Orlando as the Governor signed the controversial […]

Peter SchorschJune 15, 2017

Earlier this month, FloridaPolitics.com reported on the outpouring of community support for the “signature bridge” design chosen for the new I-395 overpass through Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. Despite protests by some with a political agenda, the drumbeat of support for Archer Western-de Moya’s winning design continues to grow in intensity. After more than a quarter-century of discussion […]

Mitch PerryJune 6, 2017

Miami Beach House Democrat David Richardson will run for the Congressional District 27 seat being vacated next year by Republican Illeana Ros-Lehtinen. Richardson has served in the Florida House since 2012, when he became the first openly-gay lawmaker elected in Florida. He had been considering entering the race after Ros-Lehtinen announced in late April that she would step […]

Jim RosicaJune 5, 2017

The state’s anti-gambling expansion group is pushing back against comments that it’s “misinformed” about casino gambling not being a “meaningful attraction for Florida tourism.” Steven Norton, a longtime gambling executive and consultant, linked to Nick Sortal‘s Friday column for the Miami Herald in Norton’s Monday email roundup of the gambling scene in the South. “As I survey the scene […]

Peter SchorschJune 2, 2017

Bridges have one purpose, to get people safely from one place to another. Being aesthetically pleasing is just a bonus. Drama should not be part of the deal. Yet no bridge has come as much drama as the proposed I-395 overpass through Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. It’s time to end the spectacle and move forward. The […]

Mitch PerryMay 31, 2017

Sarasota Republican Vern Buchanan wants the Department of Justice to begin paying the victims of Bernie Madoff‘s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme with some of the recovered funds. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Buchanan points out that the victims of Madoff’s crime have yet to receive a penny from the $4 billion victim fund […]

Florence SnyderMay 22, 2017

In 1960s Dade County, men who were privileged to be newspaper columnists could — and did — mock “women’s libbers” like Roxcy Bolton in the pages of the Miami Herald. Department stores could — and did — have fancy private dining rooms open only to men. Banks could — and did — deny credit cards […]

Martin DyckmanMay 22, 2017

The Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wrote a powerful case for Donald Trump‘s impeachment, in the style of an open letter to the “Dear Republicans in Congress,” that I was reading to my wife as she prepared breakfast the other morning. At the part where Pitts asked, “Have you no loyalties deeper than party?” Ivy […]

Mitch PerryApril 30, 2017

Democratic hopes to retake the House in 2018 received a boost Sunday, with the announcement that longtime South Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will not run for re-election. “There was no epiphany. There was no moment, nothing that has happened that I’ve said, “I’ve got to move on,’” Ros-Lehtinen, who represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District, told […]

How Julie Jones got it completely wrong with GEO Group ‘Continuum of Care’

In Tampa, Richard Corcoran faces hostile crowd angry about school bill

United in purpose, Miami’s Overtown says ‘move on’ with I-395 project

David Richardson seeks to bring his brand of reform politics to D.C.

No Casinos responds to criticism it’s ‘misinformed’ about casino gambling

Time to move forward with the Miami I-395 project, reconnect a divided Overtown

Vern Buchanan tells Justice Department ‘pay up’ for Bernie Madoff victims

Florence Snyder: In memory of Roxcy Bolton, #EndTheBacklog

Martin Dyckman: It’s always about the money

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will not run for re-election in 2018