Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 28, 2017

The case of Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Gaffney and his troublesome license plate rages on, a full ten days after he was pulled over by police officers for driving with a license plate he had previously reported stolen. Since then, Gaffney has profusely apologized for his conduct during the stop — first at the front of […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 28, 2017

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams, and 4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson talked to press at City Hall Thursday. And as such meetings go, this one had myriad purposes. One such purpose: to discuss public safety spending in the new $1.27B city budget, passed Tuesday unanimously by the City Council. The other, more holistic purpose: to […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 18, 2017

Monday’s Jacksonville City Council meeting saw local officials address the body regarding Hurricane Irma. Expect a big budgetary hit from this year’s storm, with infrastructural damage that is still being tallied. That cost was buried in the mix of a few speakers on Monday, but will be the long-range policy impact of the storm. The city’s […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 15, 2017

“A Safe Jacksonville,” the political committee of Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, cleared $100K cash on hand in August. August, of course, was the first deployment of the committee’s muscle: a well-timed poll from the committee, dropped during budget hearings, helped the Sheriff make his case that his department needs 100 new officers. Williams’ committee brought in […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 5, 2017

Republican Attorney General candidate Ashley Moody picked up an endorsement from Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar, her campaign announced Tuesday. “It’s more important than ever that we elect an Attorney General who possesses the necessary experience to tackle the increasing threats to our safety and security. Ashley Moody has spent her entire professional career […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 22, 2017

In what has become a tradition in Jacksonville politics, a well-timed poll dropped Monday, just days before the City Council had a big decision to make. A difference this time: instead of dropping from the political committee of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, it came from “A Safe Jacksonville,” the political committee of Sheriff Mike Williams. The poll […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 22, 2017

Gary Snow, a provocateur who came to Jacksonville during the height of the 2016 campaign and continued his ad vocacy for Donald Trump after the election, was arrested in Bradenton for protest antics on Monday. Snow, reports Jenna Bourne of Action News Jax (via the Bradenton Herald), was charged with “misdemeanor riot,” after police interfered in a scuffle between Snow […]

Associated PressAugust 19, 2017

A police officer in Florida died from his injuries Saturday, a day after his colleague was killed when a suspect fired at them during a scuffle while they were on patrol. The suspect was later arrested at a bar. Sgt. Sam Howard died Saturday afternoon at a hospital where he had been taken following Friday […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 11, 2017

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers have been under a media microscope of late, with a number of adverse stories about them in the local press. From DUI arrests to groping incidents in local bars and civil suits for shots in the line of duty, the news cycles have been brutal of late. And even in the JSO […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 10, 2017

What a difference five years makes. In 2012, Jacksonville contracted with Redflex, a global company that specializes in red light cameras and successfully lobbying governments from here to China to adopt them. In 2017, the experiment is set to end. On Thursday, Sheriff Mike Williams announced that in December, the cameras would be removed from Jacksonville streets. […]

Tag: Mike Williams
Image via AP

Jacksonville Sheriff, State Attorney talk Reggie Gaffney’s ‘Plategate’

Public safety – and reform – a big focus in Jacksonville’s new budget

Jax Irma costs: ‘Equal or a bit more’ than Matthew

Bail bonds money pushes Jacksonville sheriff’s political committee over $100K

Indian River Sheriff backs Ashley Moody for Attorney General

Why Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams is playing political hardball

Gary Snow, pro-Trump provocateur from Jacksonville, busted in Bradenton

Suspect in killings of 2 Fla. officers arrested at bar

Jax Sheriff discusses stressed officers making bad decisions

Jacksonville to junk red light cameras in December