Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 11, 2017

The city of Jacksonville and its police union resumed collective bargaining for the first time since November on Tuesday, with the sides starting far apart. The daylight between labor and management was significant as last year closed. There’s less daylight after the Wednesday session. The city made an improved offer, one which offers a bigger city […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 2, 2017

Now that 2017 is all but upon us — after a tumultuous 2016 electorally — what’s next for Northeast Florida politics? One assurance: unlike in 2016, with a massive electoral turnover in the region’s Washington and Tallahassee delegations, as well as in both the state attorney and public defender offices, 2017 won’t see that. With […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 27, 2016

When 2016 kicked off, the world was different, and our political prognoses reflected those false assurances. We didn’t imagine President Donald Trump on a national level. We figured Hillary Clinton would end up taking on Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio in the general election. And we expected the rhetoric would sound like the previous two or three campaigns. Regarding #jaxpol, we had a pretty good […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 7, 2016

Key Jacksonville officials leave for New York Wednesday, on a pivotal trip for meetings with various bond ratings agencies. 2015’s meetings saw a series of upgrades for the city’s position. Thursday sees meetings with Fitch and Moody’s. Friday offers some time with S&P. Mayor Lenny Curry, Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, CFO Mike Weinstein, and Treasurer Joey Greive will […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2016

“Who knew what when?” That’s the question posed by Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police head Steve Zona in a two-paragraph open letter regarding the latest in Jacksonville’s police and fire pension fund drama. On Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry expressed frustration over problems with calculations of a “waiver” from the Jacksonville PFPF that could result in an […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 29, 2016

Tuesday saw negotiators from the City of Jacksonville squaring off with the Jacksonville Supervisors Association in collective bargaining. And substantial progress was made on key elements during two sessions. As with the other bargaining units, the city is negotiating with in the wake of the passage of August’s County Referendum 1, a considerable gap looms between what […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 23, 2016

Tuesday saw the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters slamming a pension reform proposal from City Hall. Wednesday saw the Fraternal Order of Police doing the same, offering its own proposals for police and corrections that include raises for all employees, pension benefits rolled back to 2015 levels for extant employees, and the Florida Retirement System […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 22, 2016

In 2015, the city of Jacksonville’s annual bond rating trip to New York City was a success, one which improved the city’s credit ratings and allowed the Lenny Curry administration to trumpet its successes well into 2016. Among the accomplishments: Better Jacksonville Plan sales tax revenue upgrades in February to A+ from S&P and Fitch, with a […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 16, 2016

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On Wednesday afternoon, Jacksonville City Council members convened to discuss a recurrent topic: enforcing regulations in Hemming Park. The so-called “front door to city hall” has encountered challenges of late, with the most recent narrative twist being the mayor’s office saying last week that it was time that the “Friends of Hemming Park” experiment end. […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 4, 2016

Incoming Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry are allies on more issues than not. A year ago, at the Sunshine State Summit, Curry and Corcoran lambasted the “liberal media” as impediments to a conservative governing agenda. Corcoran holds Curry in such high regard he’s even been known to make book recommendations to him. The […]

Tag: Sam Mousa
Image via AP.

Lenny Curry sweetens pension offer to Jacksonville police, gives 30 days to respond

A.G. Gancarski’s 10 predictions for Jacksonville politics in 2017

A.G. Gancarski surveys the wreckage of his 2016 predictions

‘Reform of the system’ part of the narrative on Jacksonville bond rating trip

Jacksonville FOP fires back against mayor’s office in pension flap

Jacksonville and its supervisors get closer to a deal on Tuesday

Jacksonville police union: defined benefit pensions are not ‘dinosaurs’

Agenda set for city of Jacksonville bond rating trip

Uncertainty over Hemming Park’s future pervades discussion of park rules

Despite Richard Corcoran’s opposition, City of Jacksonville will still have lobbyists