Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiMarch 29, 2018

On the issue of the potential sale of Jacksonville public utility JEA, a narrative turning point occurred Tuesday. City Council members voted to expand the five-person special committee of sale skeptics to include the full council while divesting the panel of subpoena powers (such as those imposed on JEA CEO Paul McElroy two weeks prior). In […]

A.G. GancarskiMarch 28, 2018

The Jacksonville City Council voted Tuesday evening to maintain the JEA Special committee, but not until after a heated debate that exposed historic fissures and spoke to the eternal struggle between the Council President and the Mayor’s allies. After a compromise motion to kill the committee’s subpoena power failed after a reconsidered vote, the Council […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 26, 2018

Some good news for Jacksonville came Monday via another bond upgrade. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced an uptick in the special revenue bond rating to ‘AA’ from ‘AA-’. “This latest upgrade further demonstrates our continued and strong focus on fiscal responsibility is making a difference for our citizens,” said Mayor Lenny Curry. “We continue […]

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 […]

Tag: Sam Mousa

Lenny Curry denies pulling strings, intimidating Jacksonville City Council members over JEA issue

Jacksonville City Council expands JEA special committee to 19 members

Ratings methodology change leads to bond upgrade for Jacksonville

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