Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressFebruary 14, 2017

A judicial official sided with Georgia in a decades-long dispute over water rights with Florida on Tuesday, recommending that the U.S. Supreme Court refuse Florida’s high-stakes request to cap water use by its neighboring state. The dispute focuses on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, covering nearly 20,000 square miles in western Georgia, eastern Alabama and the […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 31, 2017

After years of watching other red states leap ahead of them on criminal justice reform, Pinellas County Republican Senator Jeff Brandes is filing a bill that would create a criminal justice task force in the state of Florida in 2017. It calls for a large committee consisting of 27 members (16 will be appointed) representing the Florida House, […]

Associated PressJanuary 4, 2017

A court official on Tuesday ordered attorneys for Florida and Georgia to try again to settle a yearslong dispute over water use in the region. Special Master Ralph Lancaster gave the states until Jan. 24 to meet and encouraged them to use a mediator. He also ordered the states to file a confidential report to […]

Associated PressOctober 10, 2016

Maureen Miller was among the 2 million people ordered to evacuate coastal areas in the Southeast ahead of Hurricane Matthew. Her family and their dog spent two nights in a hotel and struggled through police roadblocks to return. When they finally got back, their Brunswick, Georgia-area home was unscathed. Now they wish they had never […]

Associated PressOctober 6, 2016

Hundreds of thousands of anxious people boarded up their homes and businesses and grabbed a few belongings to flee inland as Hurricane Matthew gained strength and roared toward the Southeast seaboard on Thursday. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said the state, its skies already darkening from early outer rain bands of the life-threatening storm, could […]

Mitch PerryMarch 30, 2016

Back in 2009-2010, the folks behind the Moving Hillsborough Forward brought Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory to Tampa on three different occasions to advise local officials on how to pass the one-cent sales tax referendum for transit on the November 2010 ballot in Hillsborough County. As we all remember, the measure went down to a resounding […]

Mitch PerryMarch 21, 2016

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After the June 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, more than 20 state legislatures reacted by passing religious freedom laws to protect clergy. This month, Florida became the latest state to do so after Gov. Rick Scott signed the Pastor Protection Act. The new law shields religious entities […]

Peter SchorschDecember 16, 2015

With Christmas just around the corner, and New Year close behind, so arrives a flurry of politically themed holiday greetings, each providing a little bit of cheer (not to mention a few chuckles) to usher in 2016. One standout comes from Georgia-based political consultancy Stoneridge Group, a conservative firm for candidates looking for “bleeding-edge campaign […]

Associated PressJune 9, 2015

The governors of Florida and Georgia are discussing how to resolve a long-running water dispute. Florida Gov. Rick Scott met for an hour Tuesday with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal at the governor’s mansion. The meeting comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a challenge from Florida seeking to limit Georgia’s withdrawals from the […]

Ryan RayJune 9, 2015

In a revision issued less than 2 1/2 hours before the meeting is to take place, the office of Gov. Rick Scott released an amended daily schedule that includes a 3 p.m. Tuesday meeting with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a defendant in a lawsuit Scott filed last year in the latest episode of Florida’s decades-long “water […]

Tag: Nathan Deal

Official sides with Georgia over Florida in water lawsuit

Jeff Brandes legislation would create task force focusing on criminal justice

Florida-Georgia water case official orders settlement talks

After Matthew, some second-guess decision to evacuate

Hundreds of thousands flee Florida coast to escape Matthew’s fury

Mitch Perry Report for 3.30.16 – What happened to the moderate, affable Pat McCrory?

Florida’s Pastor Protection Act doesn’t go as far as Georgia’s — and that’s a good thing for NFL fans

Stoneridge Group sends “redacted” Christmas message, pokes fun at Hillary Clinton emails

Florida, Georgia governors hold private meeting on water

Rick Scott’s agenda amended to include meeting with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal