Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

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 […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 27, 2016

Note: a previous version of this piece asserted a connection between the family of Jacksonville CAO Sam Mousa and J.B. Coxwell. That connection was limited to Mousa having been an employee in the past. No current connection exists. We regret the error. Duval County and Jacksonville were spared the absolute worst of Hurricane Matthew’s fearsome […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 24, 2016

On Monday in Jacksonville, Gov. Rick Scott and Mayor Lenny Curry convened to discuss response to and recovery from Hurricane Matthew. In the fourth floor of Jacksonville’s Emergency Operations Center, Scott and Curry met along with a panoply of other state and city stakeholders. Media was allowed to observe a couple minutes of that meeting, in which the governor […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 11, 2016

On Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry‘s Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa addressed the city council on how recovery efforts are going after Hurricane Matthew. There is lots of work ahead, and that work will have to be exhaustively documented for reimbursement purposes, and it will cost millions of dollars. Mousa noted the process, including engaging contractors, would be done outside […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 15, 2016

On Thursday afternoon, a Jacksonville City Council subcommittee discussed “measurements of success” for Hemming Park. The object of Thursday’s meeting, said Chair Greg Anderson, was refining those measurements and discerning the “hook” that drives traffic to parks. Previously, the committee agreed on some big-picture goals: safety, cleanliness, and business friendliness of the park. Refining those desired goals, and […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 15, 2016

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A spirited discussion of the dispensation of surplus property in District 10 and Jacksonville’s lingering affordable housing issues highlighted Jacksonville’s NCIS committee Monday. The Real Estate Division requested authorization to declare 32 condo lots on Lane Avenue South in Common Elements, Brookewood A Condominium, as surplus tax reverted parcels after an investigation which determined the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 11, 2016

Spending will go up on public safety, stay flat in most other areas. Revenue will be up, though millage collection still isn’t back to where it was before the crash of 2008, and business tax collection is down almost 10 percent. These insights and others were to be heard in council chambers Thursday morning, as […]

Tag: Sam Mousa

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

Jacksonville continues ‘aggressive’ approach to post-Matthew cleanup

Rick Scott, Lenny Curry talk Hurricane Matthew response, recovery

Up to $100M needed to get Jacksonville to normal after storm

Jax City Council panel mulls how to make Hemming Park more attractive

Over district councilman’s objections, Jax surplus property bill moves through committee

Jax City Council begins budget deliberations