Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaDecember 14, 2015

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Circuit Judge George Reynolds is scheduled to begin on Monday a five-day trial to determine the makeup of the state’s 40 senatorial districts. After listening to lawmakers, staff members, expert witnesses and other who will testify, Reynolds will have to pick one of five suggested maps submitted by the plaintiffs and the Legislature. One of […]

Jim RosicaDecember 2, 2015

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Tallahassee on Wednesday said she was “disappointed” by the state Supreme Court’s decision in a redistricting case that could spell the end of her nascent congressional career. But Graham, elected in 2014, said she hadn’t decided which direction her public service will next take. The court approved a map that redraws […]

Jim RosicaDecember 1, 2015

Mindful of time constraints, the judge in charge of the state Senate redistricting case said he’ll likely have to just pick one of the many proposed new maps rather than, say, combining elements of different ones. Circuit Judge George Reynolds held a pretrial hearing in the case on Tuesday, with trial set to begin 9:30 […]

Jim RosicaNovember 30, 2015

The plaintiffs in the state Senate redistricting case could call 21 witnesses – and possibly more – at this month’s 5-day trial, according to filings in the case released Monday night. The plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters of Florida, released a list of five “will call” witnesses: State Sen. Bill Galvano, the head of the […]

Jim RosicaNovember 24, 2015

The plaintiffs in the state Senate redistricting case have reshuffled their proposed maps to redraw the state’s 40 senatorial districts, saying they want to “narrow the issues for trial.” Part of their reason was the much-maligned “jumping the Bay,” or districts that cross the water from Hillsborough County into Pinellas County to capture a Democratic […]

Jim RosicaNovember 19, 2015

The plaintiffs in the state Senate redistricting litigation filed six versions of a redrawn district map late Wednesday night, according to an email from their spokeswoman. Despite previous directions against drawing districts that cross Tampa Bay in a congressional redistricting case, their plans include areas that ‘jump the Bay.’ The plaintiffs and the Legislature have now filed proposals for […]

Jim RosicaNovember 18, 2015

In the ongoing saga over state Senate redistricting, everything old is new again. The state Senate on Wednesday disclosed its proposed fix for its gerrymandered districts, a mash-up of two previous maps: One was passed by the Senate, another was drawn but not voted on in the recent Special Session. Because lawmakers couldn’t agree, it’s now […]

Jim RosicaNovember 10, 2015

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Circuit Judge George Reynolds stuck to his guns Tuesday, saying that pre-trial conference and trial dates for a state Senate redistricting challenge were “carved in stone.” Reynolds held a brief case management conference at the Leon County Courthouse, reiterating that Dec. 1 and Dec. 10 would be reserved for pre-trial, with trial remaining on Dec. 14-18. As he […]

Jim RosicaNovember 10, 2015

Despite questions on many parts of the map, the Florida Supreme Court Tuesday focused on South Florida during the final scheduled oral argument in an ongoing congressional redistricting challenge. That inflamed Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, whose north-south district had been ordered changed by the court to an east-west configuration. That district didn’t get a mention. Brown, wearing […]

Jim RosicaNovember 10, 2015

The outside lawyer for the Florida House of Representatives argued in a legal brief against a set of suggested congressional district boundaries in part by saying there’s no legal requirement “to create the ‘best’ possible districts.” George Meros, a Tallahassee attorney who also represented then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential recount, says the court […]

Tag: special session

State Senate redistricting trial set to begin Monday

Gwen Graham staying course despite redistricting decision

Judge in redistricting case says he may just “pick a map”

Judge to hold first pre-trial hearing for Senate redistricting

Maps shuffled in state Senate redistricting fight

Redistricting plaintiffs come in with six new maps

Senate submits proposed redistricting map

Judge holds to dates for state Senate redistricting trial

Corrine Brown lambastes state Supreme Court over congressional redistricting

House lawyer: Congressional districts don’t need to be perfect