Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 1, 2016

One of the most compelling races in Northeast Florida this summer was the race for the House District 16 GOP nomination between Jason Fischer and Dick Kravitz. Fischer vs. Kravitz: a battle of closed fists and brass knuckles; charges and countercharges; character assassination, and social media excoriation. In other words, it was good politics and great theater. And […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2016

The northeast Florida primaries have been in the books for almost 24 hours at this writing. A review of the winners — and the losers — goes beyond the election returns to look at what happened to create these outcomes that will, in historical retrospect, seem inevitable. Winners Lenny Curry — The chattering classes told him he couldn’t get […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 29, 2016

The two leading candidates in the GOP race in Congressional District 4, Hans Tanzler and John Rutherford, both donated money to Charlie Crist when Crist was a Republican. At the time, that wasn’t a political liability. Years later, however, donations to Crist have become more controversial, and Republicans of a certain age are compelled to answer for them. […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 21, 2016

A radio ad in the Jacksonville market from 4th Congressional District candidate Hans Tanzler led to an interesting exchange of views between operatives for Tanzler and the other serious candidate in the CD 4 race, John Rutherford, this week. One line in Tanzler’s ad was of particular interest: “Politicians love to talk about creating jobs, but I’m not […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 26, 2016

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is expected to address the City Council Tuesday evening, and the subject will be 2016-300, the ordinance setting an August referendum for the pension tax. Council won’t be a hard sell. The entire Council co-sponsored the resolution authorizing Curry to explore the referendum ahead of the 2016 legislative session, and the referendum […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

In Jacksonville politics in 2015, the game changed … perhaps for good. Big money went into campaigns: over $10 million, including soft money, in the mayoral race. Close to $2 million in the sheriff’s race. And even some City Council candidates who raised close to a quarter of a million dollars did so in vain. […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 7, 2015

Is the fundraising momentum of moderate Republican Donnie Horner slowing down in the House District 11 race to replace Janet Adkins? November’s numbers suggest so. Horner raised $3,925 in November, keyed by two max donations from Donna Bailey and Patricia Frisch. Other significant donors: Michael Munz, one of the early and key backers of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, as […]

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. GancarskiJuly 1, 2015

The number of Lenny Curry campaign events I covered is definitely in three figures. A common thread for many of them was how below the radar they were. Endorsement events at local businesses. A speech to the Visit Jacksonville forum. An appearance at the recreation center in Grand Park. And so on. The media wasn’t at […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 20, 2015

With the Mayor’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, and eight city council seats up for grabs on Tuesday evening, there’s no shortage of winners and losers emerging from Jacksonville’s elections. In some cases, they’re pretty obvious; in other cases, they bear explanation. Winners Robin Lumb — The Duval GOP chairman, who took over the local party […]

Tag: Tim Baker

Jason Fischer discusses his HD 16 GOP primary win

A rundown of the winners and losers from northeast Florida’s primary elections

Hans Tanzler, John Rutherford ops spar over Charlie Crist contributions

Hans Tanzler, John Rutherford ops trade barbs about government jobs

Lenny Curry to address Jax City Council Tuesday on pension tax referendum

A.G. Gancarski’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Jacksonville politics

HD 11 Republican candidate Donnie Horner hits November fundraising lull

Personnel note: Jessica Baker joins Lenny Curry administration

It all has changed for Lenny Curry

Winners, losers emerge from Jacksonville’s elections