Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Janelle Irwin TaylorOctober 1, 2018

The Tampa Bay Times has endorsed the All for Transportation referendum seeking to raise sales tax by 1 percent to fund sweeping transit and transportation improvements in Hillsborough County. While the newspaper’s Editorial Board noted the tax would be regressive, meaning it disproportionately affects lower income residents, they wrote the benefits outweigh the burden because revenue […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorSeptember 28, 2018

Visit Tampa Bay joined the list of groups endorsing the All for Transportation campaign raising sales tax one percent to fund transportation and transit improvements, the campaign announced Friday. The board voted unanimously to back the measure. “Efficient and effective transportation plays a vital role in the success of tourism here in Hillsborough County,” said […]

Joe HendersonAugust 21, 2018

An item on the agenda for Friday’s Hillsborough County School Board meeting could lead people to believe it is seeking a referendum for a sales-tax hike in November to pay for major capital needs. Not so fast. Superintendent Jeff Eakins told Florida Politics late Monday that while the district is not ruling it out, the […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 8, 2018

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As owners of the state’s dog and horse tracks fret over a legislative deal this year, House Speaker Richard Corcoran on Thursday didn’t back down from his position that there be “an absolute contraction” of gambling in the state. But he also didn’t make clear what a “contraction” actually looks like, and whether that could […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 21, 2016

The proposed referendum allowing local gambling magnate bestbet to bring 2,000 slots, if approved by voters in a November vote, to their Arlington location, cleared the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee Monday. Tuesday, it was the Rules committee’s turn to push their green buttons in support. In a unanimous Tuesday afternoon vote that had about as much drama […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 9, 2016

Alas, there were no slot machines in the Lynwood Roberts Room for demonstration purposes. None of the earmarks of a casino. No young women selling packs of cigarettes. And very little in the way of entertainment in a committee workshop that had about as much drama as an algebra equation. Rather, there were just the familiar […]

Melissa RossNovember 4, 2015

The operatives on the ground in tax-averse St. Johns County are celebrating sweet, sweet victory. For the first time in 40 years, the residents of this upscale area have approved a tax increase. Voting 61 percent to 39 percent, voters approved a 10-year, half-cent sales tax to pay for new and improved school construction. With […]

Melissa RossNovember 2, 2015

St. Johns County, Florida is known far and wide for its great schools. They’re so great, in fact, that everyone is moving to the county. That’s become something of a problem. Total K-12 student enrollment in St. Johns is up about 45 percent during the past decade. In that time, the district has built 11 […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 19, 2014

Supporters of a medical marijuana initiative had two big reasons to cheer last week. But the real good news might not be what you suspect. The group People United for Care, which is leading the drive to get the medical marijuana question on the November ballot, announced last week that it had collected more than […]

Guest AuthorOctober 30, 2013

Florida’s enthusiasm for disenfranchising voters is an authoritarian’s theme park. The state is dallying in an on-again-off-again hate affair with early voting. It regularly conjures up fantastic tales of voter fraud that never happened. It treats ex-felons like ex-citizens forever robbed of their voting rights. And outdoing even bogus democracies like Iraq, it treats voter […]

Tag: referendum
No on 4

Tampa Bay Times backs Hillsborough transportation referendum

Hillsborough transportation referendum gets tourism backing

Hillsborough school board to discuss sales tax referendum

On Richard Corcoran, gambling and third-graders

Slots bill scores with final Jax Council committee

Jax Council committees workshop slots legislation

A Better St. Johns PAC savors victory: “We’re ecstatic”

St. Johns County votes Tuesday on taxing explosive growth

Andrew Skerritt: Good news for supporters of medical marijuana

Pierre Tristam: A county’s economic development affront to voters: drop dead