Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanApril 16, 2015

His name was Arthur. I remember no one else from the third grade, and I had forgotten him until beginning what was the most difficult of all my college term papers even though it required no research. We were to write down everything we could remember about our attitudes toward black people. “Nobody but me […]

Martin DyckmanApril 16, 2015

His name was Arthur. I remember no one else from the third grade, and I had forgotten him until beginning what was the most difficult of all my college term papers even though it required no research. We were to write down everything we could remember about our attitudes toward black people. “Nobody but me […]

Associated PressApril 15, 2015

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio launched his Republican presidential campaign this week with a promise to reject “the leaders and ideas of the past.” It was a not-so-subtle jab from a 43-year-old fresh-faced senator at his likely 2016 competitors, Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Clinton, whose families cemented political dynasties in the 1990s. A closer […]

Bruce RitchieApril 10, 2015

A group of large power customers says that if proposed legislation involving Duke Energy Florida is going to save customers money, then that language should be put in the bill. HB 7109 was amended on Thursday to provide the Florida Public Service Commission with authority to approve bonds that could be issued by Duke to […]

Associated PressApril 9, 2015

If he runs for president as expected, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio will have a political committee ready to raise and spend unlimited cash on his behalf. Rubio is set to announce his 2016 campaign plans in a speech Monday in Miami and would become the third major candidate to declare his White House ambitions. A […]

James CallMarch 19, 2015

Stephen R. Wise served 25 years as a lawmaker, first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1989 and term-limited out of the Senate in 2014. Wise was a skillful lawmaker in the area of education, as chairman of both education appropriation and policy committees he would hold up bills until he thought them ready […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 18, 2015

A Senate committee on Wednesday voted to restore funding for affordable housing, as a way to offset the loss of revenue because of Amendment 1. Approved overwhelmingly by voters in November, Amendment 1 assigns 33% of documentary stamp tax revenue to water and land conservation. SB 586 seeks to redistribute the remaining $1.3 billion in documentary […]

James CallMarch 17, 2015

The latest chapter of “4th Floor Files” talks with Mario Bailey, a lobbyist with the Becker & Poliakoff firm. Bailey represents clients from a variety of sectors including government — he has six south Florida governments including Cape Coral, Hollywood, and Lauderdale Lakes; education — Bethune Cookman, Florida Memorial University, and Miami-Dade Schools; and businesses — […]

Mitch PerryMarch 13, 2015

The Guido Maniscalco campaign team has bristled at Jackie Toledo and Anthony Pedicini, her campaign consultant, after a mailer blasting Maniscalco hit homeowners in the Tampa District 6 area Thursday. It came days before early voting begins in their runoff election set for March 24. Toledo, though, isn’t backing down. The mailer bashes Maniscalco, claiming his […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 27, 2015

In what appeared to be the most anticipated moment at CPAC 2015, Jeb Bush went into the lion’s den this afternoon and seemed to emerge not only unscathed, but actually stronger in the process. Although some of his responses regarding immigration garnered boos from the Conservative Political Action Conference crowd, they weren’t substantial, and were […]

Tag: Ronald Reagan

Martin Dyckman: Voters respond to politicians’ racist “dog whistles”

Martin Dyckman: Voters respond to politicians' racist 'dog whistles'

Marco Rubio draws from past despite future focus

“Trust but verify” on Duke Energy deal, industrial power customers say

Marco Rubio, set to launch 2016 campaign, gets a super PAC

4th Floor Files talks with Steve Wise about shoes, spaghetti, and Ronald Reagan

Senate panel restores affordable housing funds shifted by Amendment 1

4th Floor Files talks with Mario Bailey about government, Ronald Reagan, and mentoring

Tampa District 6 candidates slur opponents’ business backgrounds

Jeb Bush dares to piss off CPAC crowd, but cheers ring too