Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 22, 2018

Did the mayor’s office move toward a sale of Jacksonville’s utility before Council had a chance to weigh in? And what does that mean for the process going forward? A profound rift has emerged between Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and the City Council on the question of JEA privatization. And, say some Councilors, existential questions loom […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 16, 2018

A shakeup in the office of Mayor Lenny Curry ends a particularly eventful week in Jacksonville politics. Sports and Entertainment head Dave Herrell resigned, capping an almost four-year run after being appointed in 2014 by former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown. The role, per Brown, was “a key position to build Jacksonville’s momentum as a premier destination for major […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 15, 2018

In January, Jacksonville residents complained about the return of Ku Klux Klan flyers to city streets. “I am visiting Jacksonville, and was disturbed to see these flyers (such as those pictured) rolled up and strewn along Riverside Ave. in Five Points in short intervals. They are everywhere in the area between the Publix and Bell […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 9, 2018

2017 ended with bodies piling up in Jacksonville’s morgue. 2018 brings something approaching a solution via Ordinance 2018-005. A bill slated to be introduced at Tuesday’s City Council meeting on an emergency basis will offer what Medical Examiner Valerie Rao called last week a “proposed space solution,” which includes “office and refrigerator space”: a walk-in cooler […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 28, 2017

Two consecutive years have seen hurricanes strafe Duval County shorelines. And Jacksonville leadership wants $10 million in federal help. Last week, Jacksonville’s Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa emailed Susie Wiles, a City Hall veteran and Ballard Partners lobbyist who ran the stretch run of President Donald Trump‘s Florida campaign. The subject: getting federal movement on beach renourishment funds. […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 17, 2017

The office of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry believes it is done with pension reform. Yet Council President Anna Brosche and other allies, including the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee, disagree. That conflict set the stage for the latest skirmish related to a bill introduced months back by Councilman Danny Becton. The bill, brought back yet again recently, […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 18, 2017

Monday’s Jacksonville City Council meeting saw local officials address the body regarding Hurricane Irma. Expect a big budgetary hit from this year’s storm, with infrastructural damage that is still being tallied. That cost was buried in the mix of a few speakers on Monday, but will be the long-range policy impact of the storm. The city’s […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 11, 2017

A walk through Jacksonville’s Avondale neighborhood Monday morning revealed the destruction Hurricane Irma had wrought. But even as the storm was headed out, more danger follows Monday afternoon, via record high tides. Avondale, along with Riverside and Downtown, got the worst of the flooding; Avondale also got some of the most brutal winds, the kind […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 7, 2017

One of the many discussions that enlivened Jacksonville City Council budget hearings in August was the city’s surfeit of minority engineers. Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa noted that some categories — such as “African-American engineers” — are “difficult to find.” “Most African-American engineers graduate from Northeastern universities and stay in the [Northeast],” Mousa added, explaining a shortfall […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2017

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee put Sheriff Mike Williams through the wringer during this year’s budget process. They pushed back against budget asks two weeks ago, compelling the Sheriff to return Friday morning, where he spent roughly an hour answering questions related to a poll his political committee ran. Among the items in suspension: 100 […]

Tag: Sam Mousa
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 4/18/25-Candles and remembrances are left near the Unconquered statue a few hours after the Florida State University Gathering of Unity Vigil held Friday to honor victims of the recent mass shooting. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Latest JEA sale revelations roil Jacksonville City Council

Jacksonville Sports and Entertainment head Dave Herrell resigns

Jacksonville warns Klansman about littering in wake of leaflet drop

Jacksonville City Council mulls morgue money Tuesday

Jacksonville seeks $10M from feds for beach renourishment

Jax Council panel bucks leadership, votes down controversial pension bill

Jax Irma costs: ‘Equal or a bit more’ than Matthew

Jacksonville riverfront residents face new threats from record high tide

Garrett Dennis wants answers on Jacksonville’s minority engineer shortage

After venting about poll, Jax Council panel gives Sheriff 100 new cops