Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 26, 2016

Tuesday, the Community Affairs Committee of the Florida Senate approved Senate Bill 1652, the Discretionary Sales Surtax bill introduced by Rob Bradley and co-sponsored by Aaron Bean. The bill has its first House committee stop scheduled for Wednesday; it still has two Senate committees to go. As the meeting soldiered toward the presentation, Jax Mayor Lenny Curry could be […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2016

On at least one public occasion, Jacksonville’s Chief Administrative Officer, Sam Mousa, groused that it’s cheaper to feed the meter and park on the street than it is to use the city’s parking garages. That, coupled with a focus on parking meter income in general this last month (both in terms of uncollectible debt from parking […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 15, 2016

As Sam Mousa walked into the Police and Fire Pension Fund building on a misty Friday morning to sell the board on the Lenny Curry plan, FloridaPolitics.com asked him his thoughts on Rick Scott not committing to support the Jacksonville mayor’s pension sales tax plan to address the unfunded actuarial liability. Mousa’s answer was typically economical, “The mayor never asked the […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 14, 2016

With the MLK Birthday Breakfast Friday calling him back to Jacksonville, Mayor Lenny Curry will wrap up his Tallahassee trip Thursday after meetings galore. One would surmise that those meetings are intended to create buy-in for his pension sales tax proposal, which some worry was advanced a bit late for this Legislative Session. Curry’s meeting schedule […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 12, 2016

““Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.” — John Adams “If we’d had a referendum in 1965, I’d still be on the back of the bus.” — Denise Hunt A light legislative agenda on Jacksonville’s City Council was offset by dozens of […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 12, 2016

Tuesday’s JEA Agreement meeting, at least on the agenda, was dominated by two meaningful issues. The first: pension issues, in light of both the General Counsel ruling that Council, and not JEA, was the appropriative body for pay negotiations. This ruling overruled the previous General Counsel’s take on the matter earlier in the decade. As well, […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 6, 2016

“The people made it clear what they wanted,” a re-elected politician said. “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and I intend to spend it.” That politician: George W. Bush, in 2004. Bush 43 learned about the finite power of political capital the hard way: seeing his father go from 91 percent approval ratings to […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

In November, FloridaPolitics.com reported on the people behind Illuminate Jax seeking buy in from the Lenny Curry administration to move forth with plans to light up the Jacksonville skyline. In January, they will get the meeting they sought in November. Margie Seaman of Illuminate Jax will get a long-awaited meeting with city officials in January, including […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

In Jacksonville politics in 2015, the game changed … perhaps for good. Big money went into campaigns: over $10 million, including soft money, in the mayoral race. Close to $2 million in the sheriff’s race. And even some City Council candidates who raised close to a quarter of a million dollars did so in vain. […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

The theory of recurrence is something not unique to Jacksonville politics. In this list of five people who likely will be in the headlines, there are some familiar names. Alvin Brown: The one-term Jacksonville mayor took some time off after his narrow defeat in the May election. He surfaced on very rare occasions, through media […]

Tag: Sam Mousa

Jax pension tax bill clears Senate Community Affairs Committee

Sam Mousa to Jax employees: Stop feeding the meter

Pension Tension: PFPF pushback on Jax pension unfunded liability surtax

Lenny Curry wraps up Tallahassee junket Thursday with more pension tax meetings

HRO expansion talk roils Jax City Council

Pension, contribution issues dominate JEA Agreement meeting

Lenny Curry, the pension tax, and political capital

Illuminate Jax moving forward?

A.G. Gancarski’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Jacksonville politics

A.G. Gancarski’s 5 people to watch in Jacksonville politics in 2016