Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschMarch 27, 2016

Another year passes, and another Rick Scott Chief of Staff is out the door. The Governor’s office announced last week that Kim McDougal will succeed Melissa Sellers in the top staff position, making McDougal Scott’s fifth CoS in six years. Which makes us wonder: Where are they now? Mike Prendergast, a retired Army colonel, moved over to become Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, […]

Jim RosicaMarch 10, 2016

State Sen. Don Gaetz said Thursday he did not know whether his son Matt is running for Congress but said he’d “be a great congressman.” FloridaPolitics.com caught up with the Niceville Republican after Thursday’s Senate floor session. Earlier in the day, the site reported that Matt Gaetz, now a sitting state representative, is considering a […]

Peter SchorschMarch 10, 2016

State Rep. Matt Gaetz, the conservative firebrand from northwest Florida, is aggressively exploring a run for Congress, three sources with deep ties to the Panhandle tell Florida Politics. Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, is eyeing the 1st Congressional District seat now held by U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller. The eight-term Florida Republican on Thursday announced […]

Diane RobertsMarch 7, 2016

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith is getting evicted from Statuary Hall. The Sons of Confederate Veterans are not happy. Sen. Don Gaetz, a native of that little-known Old South state of North Dakota, is not happy: “There is nothing in the bill analysis, nothing in the testimony, that tells us any reason why […]

Diane RobertsMarch 6, 2016

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE – Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith is getting evicted from Statuary Hall. The Sons of Confederate Veterans are not happy. Sen. Don Gaetz, a native of that little-known Old South state of North Dakota, is not happy: “There is nothing in the bill analysis, nothing in the testimony, that tells us any reason why […]

Scott PowersFebruary 29, 2016

A bill that started out seeking to expand Florida’s limited medical marijuana program to give relief to end-of-life patients has grown into a measure to expand the program in several directions. And it got approval Monday by the Senate Rules Committee. The overhauled Senate Bill 460 now heads back to the Senate floor, from where […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 16, 2016

The Florida Senate Health Policy Committee today will decide Dr. John Armstrong’s fate as a group of bipartisan senators confront Florida’s surgeon general with tough questions that include his absent leadership on HIV/AIDS. Florida leads the nation with the highest rate of new HIV infections. Like that of President Ronald Reagan’s shameful legacy of refusing […]

Diane RobertsFebruary 10, 2016

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — They call us the Sunshine State, but Florida’s government prefers to operate in the shadows. Like vampire bats, cockroaches and mold spores. If you can’t see what the government is doing, you can’t fight it. That explains the 74 public records exemption bills before the Legislature this Session. Yes, 74 new attacks […]

Diane RobertsFebruary 9, 2016

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — They call us the Sunshine State, but Florida’s government prefers to operate in the shadows. Like vampire bats, cockroaches and mold spores. If you can’t see what the government is doing, you can’t fight it. That explains the 74 public records exemption bills before the Legislature this session. Yes, 74 new attacks […]

Tag: Sen. Don Gaetz

Peter Schorsch: Five big stories in Tallahassee last week

Don Gaetz supports son Matt’s bid for Congress – “if he runs”

Sources: Matt Gaetz exploring run for Congress

Diane Roberts: Let’s replace Confederate general with a statue of the “Florida Man”

Diane Roberts: Let’s replace Confederate general with a statue of the “Florida Man”

Senate Rules panel OKs expanded medical marijuana bill

Michael Emanuel Rajner: Senate must reject Dr. John Armstrong, demand leadership on HIV/AIDS

Diane Roberts: Legislature works hard to keep us in the dark

Diane Roberts: Legislature is working hard to keep citizens in the dark