Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Christine Jordan SextonMay 4, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott reappointed 16 state agency executives by late Monday, all of whom weren’t confirmed by the Senate this spring. Scott reappointed Jon Steverson as interim executive director of the Department of Environmental Protection Secretary and appointed Rick Swearingen as an interim executive director of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Those agencies report to […]

Phil AmmannMarch 31, 2015

In his newest editorial cartoon, Bill Day takes on the state’s “Keystone Cops,” otherwise known as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE, in a rare moment of self-reflection, acknowledged it “could have better evaluated” the “threat” from Boca Raton-based blogger Daniel Tilson. Tilson’s transgression? Using a Beatles lyric in a recent Context Florida post […]

Phil AmmannMarch 31, 2015

In his newest editorial cartoon, Bill Day takes on the state’s “Keystone Cops,” otherwise known as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE, in a rare moment of self-reflection, acknowledged it “could have better evaluated” the “threat” from Boca Raton-based blogger Daniel Tilson. Tilson’s transgression? Using a Beatles lyric in a recent Context Florida post […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 29, 2015

Editor’s note: The following is a first-person account from Context Florida columnist Daniel Tilson. After getting home from shooting video for a client today, I found a business card shoved in my front door. Much to my surprise, it had the name and contact info of an FDLE inspector on it. Remember FDLE, the Florida […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 20, 2015

Try as it might to Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet, the controversy over the handling of former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey isn’t going away. This morning the conservative editorial page of the Tampa Tribune weighed in, writing that, “Gov. Rick Scott is sorely mistaken if he thinks a steady stream of press releases […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 13, 2015

Rick Swearingen, newly appointed commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is taking a stand against a recent article criticizing his trips he took as part of Gov. Rick Scott‘s security detail. “State’s new FDLE Commissioner has Earned Governor’s Favor,” which ran Feb. 9, has Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald reporter Mary Ellen Klas claiming Swearingen took several “inappropriate trips” at […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 13, 2015

Rick Swearingen, newly appointed commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is taking a stand against a recent article criticizing his trips he took as part of Gov. Rick Scott‘s security detail. “State’s new FDLE Commissioner has Earned Governor’s Favor,” which ran Feb. 9, has Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald reporter Mary Ellen Klas claiming Swearingen took several “inappropriate trips” at […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 3, 2015

It hasn’t been much of a honeymoon since Rick Scott won his re-election last November, and it may not get better anytime soon. The controversy regarding the dispute circumstances surrounding the firing of FDLE head Gerald Bailey continue to dog him on a daily basis, and a new poll conducted by St. Pete Polls commissioned […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 29, 2015

Governor Rick Scott was in Tampa this morning, touting his proposed cell phone and TV tax cut that is designed to reduce the average Floridians cable bill by approximately $43 a year. But that’s not what the press corps was interested in talking about of course, as Scott was besieged once again by questions surrounding […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 21, 2015

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has all the answers…if you know the right questions. Yet there remain few if any answers (that make sense) to questions from a persistent press corps doggedly digging deeper into “Baileygate” and the latest misdeeds and dysfunction of his scandalized administration. Intrepid reporters are still treated to the same evasive tactics […]

Tag: Rick Swearingen

Andy Gardiner defends appointment record; Rick Scott reappoints 2

Bill Day’s latest: Daniel Tilson and the FDLE Keystone Cops

Bill Day's latest: Daniel Tilson and the FDLE Keystone Cops

Daniel Tilson: My surprise visit from FDLE

First Amendment Foundation wants special prosecutor to investigate Rick Scott, Baileygate

New FDLE chief blasts Herald article on “inappropriate” trips as Rick Scott security detail

New FDLE chief blasts Herald article on "inappropriate" trips as Rick Scott security detail

New poll shows Rick Scott hurt by Baileygate

Rick Scott again says no Cabinet member objected to his desire to fire Gerald Bailey

Daniel Tilson: Rick Scott doubles down on bad government agenda