Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersApril 7, 2017

Former Osceola County chairman, Florida state representative, and Kissimmee Mayor Frank Attkisson was killed Thursday night when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Attkisson, 61, was riding on Kissimmee Park Road near St. Cloud around 6:30 p.m. Thursday when his bike was struck from behind […]

Scott PowersMarch 23, 2017

In January, when she took office, new Denver District Attorney Beth McCann reaffirmed her campaign promise on an extraordinary policy: There would be no death penalty cases in her district under her watch. The reaction? Virtually nothing. No expressions of shock or outrage from other politicians, no calls for cases to be stripped from her, […]

Scott PowersJanuary 12, 2017

Leah Carius said she knows something about being in a medium- or small county and feeling largely ignored by Democratic Party leaders Tallahassee, yet she also knows more than a little about strengthening a Democratic powerhouse. Carius, the chair of the Osceola County Democratic Party, is one of the dark horses seeking election as chair […]

Scott PowersDecember 20, 2016

The number of visitors to Florida choosing to stay in private homes through the Airbnb home-sharing app continues to explode and has topped 1.5 million for the 2016 year, the company announced Tuesday. With Florida attracting more than 100 million visitors a year Airbnb still represents a tiny fraction of the market. But it now […]

Larry GriffinNovember 17, 2016

The Orlando Political Observer, a local political news site, has changed hands — now it’s owned Doug Kaplan, a Winter Park-based pollster and president of market research firm Gravis Marketing. Kaplan purchased the Orlando Political Observer from founder Frank Torres, according to a story on the site written by Torres himself. Kaplan assured readers in the OPO story […]

Michael MolineNovember 14, 2016

Citrus greening may chase one of Florida’s largest landowners out of that industry. “We’re going to shift out if it and transition, probably, to cattle production,” Erik Jacobsen, president of Deseret Ranches, said in a speech in Tallahassee Monday to the Economic Club of Florida. Deseret, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter […]

Scott PowersNovember 8, 2016

Tuesday night’s election was just a formality, but now it has become official: upstart Democratic candidate Aramis Ayala of Orlando was elected state attorney in Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit, making her the first African-American state attorney in Florida’s history. Ayala effectively won the race when she upset incumbent Jeff Ashton in the Democratic primary in August because there were […]

Scott PowersOctober 18, 2016

Osceola County Commission Chairwoman Viviana Janer and two activist Puerto Rican women from Central Florida announced an effort Tuesday to convince the region’s Puerto Rican women to come out to vote against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio Tuesday. At a press conference in Kissimmee, Chairwoman Janer, Somos Orlando [We Are Orlando] […]

Scott PowersOctober 10, 2016

Democratic state Rep. Victor Torres‘s bid for a promotion to Florida Senate District 15 is getting the financial blessing of several big Orlando business interests, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Torres, who is facing Republican Peter Vivaldi, received thousands of dollars in the last two weeks of September from interests representing the Walt […]

Scott PowersSeptember 14, 2016

BusinessForce, the political action arm of Central Florida chambers of commerce, announced its endorsements in 13 state legislative races and eight local races Wednesday. The group, associated with the Central Florida Partnership, a coalition of chambers of, picked Republicans in every race except two Osceola County commission contests. “These endorsements send a strong signal to our […]

Tag: Osceola County

Frank Attkisson killed in bicycle-car crash

If Aramis Ayala had been in Denver, people might have shrugged

Leah Carius seeking to be the local-control candidate for state Democrats

Airbnb housing in Florida doubles again in 2016, reaches 1.5 million

Orlando Political Observer purchased by Doug Kaplan-led group

Blaming greening, Deseret Ranches foresees the end of its citrus production

Aramis Ayala becomes first black state attorney in Florida’s history

Viviana Janer, Nancy Rosado, Zoé Colón urge Puerto Rican women to vote ‘for our future’

Labor, tourism, citrus money coming in for Victor Torres in SD 15 race

BusinessForce announces endorsements in Central Florida elections