Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2015

The Tuesday Jacksonville Electric Authority Special Committee meeting, which was promised to be a short one with “cleanup” from unaddressed points from the previous agenda, seemed like it would be uncontroversial enough. It began with a discussion of surge protectors. Councilman Bill Gulliford mentioned that Florida Power and Light is running a deal where they offer […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2015

Florida Politics has learned that Jessica Baker, governmental consultant for Ballard Partners, has left the lobbying firm’s Jacksonville office to join the Lenny Curry administration, where she will be second in command in Intergovernmental Affairs under Ali Korman Shelton. Curry and his Chief Administrative Officer, Sam Mousa, were asked about the talk that had been circulating Tuesday morning. Answering […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 24, 2015

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In what could be construed as a shot across the bow of the Lenny Curry administration, the office of Councilman Tommy Hazouri this weekend advanced an ambitious proposal to expand the library’s collection budget and increase allocations to Urban Core libraries. The moves would expand service hours and add more services to address the outcome […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 22, 2015

Last week, the City of Jacksonville’s Information Technology chief, Usha Mohan, officially resigned her service with the City of Jacksonville. During the June transition period, the Information Technology budget hearing had its contentious moments, with questions ranging from use of reserve and surplus funds to workforce allocation. Emails between Mohan and Chief Administrative Office Sam Mousa on the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

Finance Committee Chair Bill Gulliford removed his prop bottle of Advil from his desk before the Friday session. Perhaps that was too optimistic a move. The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings on Friday morning started off with interesting exchanges between Sam Mousa and John Crescimbeni about Fire and Rescue structural issues, before going into a discussion of […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 13, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee Budget Hearing Day One commenced with the administration overview, then a bracing 165-minute romp through capital improvement projects with Council Auditor Kirk Sherman. As the old song goes, “Let’s get this party started right; let’s get this party started quickly.” Overall, it was a very smooth session, with minor […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 12, 2015

It’s the most exciting time of the year in #jaxpol: the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings start Thursday! For those upset that Jacksonville lacks a Disney-style theme park attraction, no worries: the next couple of weeks offers a veritable thrill ride through a mystery maze of line items, subfunds, and allocations. And you […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 11, 2015

As the new Jacksonville City Council settles in and bills wend their way through committees, Jacksonville City Council meetings haven’t truly heated up as they will during September’s budget deliberations. However, Jacksonville’s City Council is always a hotbed of entertainment and public interest, and Tuesday evening’s Council conclave was no exception. The Hemming Park funding […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 6, 2015

One of the hallmarks of the Lenny Curry administration thus far has been increasing the transparency of the process, which many people both covering City Hall and working inside it thought was necessary. The downside: It makes events like Thursday’s presentation of transition subcommittee reports, the culmination of a process begun shortly after Curry’s election, necessarily […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 30, 2015

In the immortal words of Wyclef Jean, the Jacksonville City Council Special Committee on Capital Improvement Projects is “gone ’til November.” However, it did have one final meeting (aside from an expected cameo during August’s Finance Committee budget hearings) on Wednesday afternoon. Many fascinating topics were covered at the meeting, which included, at least for part […]

Tag: Sam Mousa

Sam Mousa says JEA, Jacksonville “treat each other like strangers”

Personnel note: Jessica Baker joins Lenny Curry administration

Tommy Hazouri floats proposal to “rebuild” Jax library system

Usha Mohan resigns from COJ

Fireworks at Friday morning Jax Council budget hearings

Jax Council budget review morning session addresses UF Health, other issues

Jax City Council budget hearings start Thursday

Jax City Council approves Hemming Park deal 18-1

Curry transition reports push Neighborhoods, Jax Journey

Jax CIP committee, Curry administration debate semantics, capital, reserves