Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryOctober 10, 2017

Florida Department of Transportation officials call Tampa Bay Next a “process,” one in which more input from the public is always welcome. That attitude is impressing some of the agency’s critics, after what was widely perceived as a heavy-handed approach with the now-defunct Tampa Bay Express project, the multibillion-dollar proposal that most prominently included adding […]

Joe HendersonMay 23, 2017

Transportation issues in the Tampa Bay area have been well-documented and they will get worse before they get better — assuming, of course, “better” ever comes. The Florida Department of Transportation wanted to attack the problem with a plan called Tampa Bay Express, or TBX. I’ll simplify: It called for building more roads, including 90 […]

Mitch PerryMay 22, 2017

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Over the course of six years as mayor, Bob Buckhorn has said things that have offended some people, but he has rarely (if ever) been forced to apologize. Until now. Unless you’ve been avoiding local (now national) press over the past couple of days, you know the mayor has been (metaphorically) under fire since the Tampa Bay […]

Mitch PerryDecember 20, 2016

At a town-hall meeting in Tampa’s Ybor City, newly-elected Senate District 19 Democrat Darryl Rouson said he feels that, finally, a serious attempt at criminal justice reform is going to take place in the Florida Legislature in 2017. “It’s my intention to change the Black Caucus this year so that all 28 members … really stand up […]

Joe HendersonNovember 8, 2016

Incumbent Sandra Murman cruised to victory Tuesday over Democrat Jeff Zampitella in the Hillsborough County Commission District 1 race. With 69 of 86 precincts reporting, Murman held a 57-43 percent lead over Zampitella. “I knew this was going to be a tough cycle, so we ran a whole campaign all the way,” she said. “A […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 16, 2016

The House District 63 race between Republican incumbent Shawn Harrison and Democratic challenger Lisa Montelione is expected to be one of the most competitive in Florida this fall. The North Hillsborough County swing district — which includes much of New Tampa, Forest Hills, North Tampa and the USF community — has flipped back and forth over the past three election cycles, with […]

Tom JacksonSeptember 7, 2016

As someone who lives near a thoroughfare in a constant state of construction, I sympathize with anyone who looks upon the approach of road expansion with dread. It’s noisy. It’s dirty. It’s inconvenient. It’s hard on tires and suspensions. It impedes traffic in ways that seem to outweigh any eventual benefit. And all but the […]

Mitch PerryJuly 19, 2016

If I’m Joni Ernst, I’m a little p.o.’d this morning. The Iowa senator and some others came on to the stage at “The Q” last night at 11:15 p.m., as delegates were flooding out of the arena. They were leaving after hearing a very hawkish Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn rail against political correctness, among other […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday unanimously overturned former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s conviction on corruption charges. In case you’ve forgotten, McDonnell and his wife Maureen accepted more than $175,000 in nice gifts, such as $6,000 Rolex watches and $20,000 in designer clothing from a dude named Jonnie Williams, who was swarming around the couple in […]

Joe HendersonJune 23, 2016

An essential part of the libertarian ideal is a belief that for public services, consumers should pay as they go. The preference is user fees instead of taxes. As we well know, Gov. Rick Scott has strong libertarian leanings. Keep that in mind while considering the 12-4 vote by the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization to […]

Tag: TBX

Residents, critics speak out on Tampa Bay Next ‘process’

Joe Henderson: FDOT’s Tampa Bay transit plan has new name, but really needs new ideas

Bob Buckhorn apologies for military conference joke

At town hall in Ybor City, Darryl Rouson says climate is good for “true” criminal justice reform

Sandy Murman cruises to victory over Jeff Zampitella in Hillsborough County Commission

Shawn Harrison and Lisa Montelione clash on education issues at Tampa Tiger Bay Forum

Tom Jackson: TBX meets the Star Trek test

Mitch Perry Report for 7.19.16 — Donald Trump’s short attention span theatre

Mitch Perry Report for 6.28.16 — SCOTUS ruling on McDonnell case must delight compromised politicos across the land

Joe Henderson: Rick Scott, libertarians love TBX; everyone else can suck exhaust