Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Melissa RossSeptember 16, 2015

The 2016 presidential candidate that wins Florida will do it by pulling off a nifty hat trick: appealing to both Baby Boomers AND Millennials. “People don’t realize that the millennials as a group are larger in size than the boomers,” says Susan McManus, professor of political science at the University of South Florida. In her […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 8, 2015

The biggest news on Labor Day in Tampa was the report that, in the wake of the tragic stabbing death of former USF student and football player Elkino Watson early Sunday morning outside an Ybor City nightclub, head coach Willie Taggert was banning his players from visiting the historic entertainment district. The biggest story this morning […]

Mitch PerryJuly 22, 2015

Although Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has yet to announce any appearances in Florida, his fans in the Tampa Bay area are looking forward to seeing him next week — on video. At 7 p.m. Wednesday the U.S. senator from Vermont will speak via video hookup to his supporters at more that 1,500 separate house parties […]

Mitch PerryJune 30, 2015

Among the many local projects that didn’t escape Rick Scott’s veto pen last week was $2 million earmarked for the Tampa Innovation Alliance, the nascent public-private agency charged with redeveloping the University area of North Tampa. But Mark Sharpe, the agency’s Executive Director, insists that it’s not a big deal. He says the organization never envisioned receiving […]

Mitch PerryJune 29, 2015

One of the big winners out of last week’s budget signing by Gov. Rick Scott was the University of South Florida. It received $12 million in funding for its Kate Tiedemann College of Business building on its St. Petersburg campus, and for the $17 million it received toward the construction of the Morsani College of Medicine […]

Mitch PerryJune 23, 2015

There were some local projects of note in the Tampa Bay area that escaped Rick Scott’s veto pen Tuesday morning, but there were plenty of other local projects and programs that did not, all part of a record breaking $461 million in vetoes announced by the governor’s office. Winners included USF, which received $17 million for its […]

Mitch PerryJune 23, 2015

Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoed more than $461 million worth of projects from the state’s nearly $80 billion budget Tuesday morning, but the University of South Florida’s two pet projects survived his veto pen. They include $17 million for relocating USF’s Morsani College of Medicine to its expected downtown Tampa home on the corner of Meridian […]

Mitch PerryJune 23, 2015

Rick Scott has a week to sign the just-passed $78.7 billion Florida budget, and he’s promising taxpayers that “I’m going to watch your money” as he reviews projects with his veto pen. The Legislature’s last-minute addition of $300 million in pet local projects (including for a USF medical facility moving to downtown Tampa) has caused outrage in […]

Mitch PerryJune 11, 2015

The Tampa Bay Times lead Thursday is a story that we touched upon briefly Wednesday because the Legislature is now half-way through its Special Session in Tallahassee: There are fears among Tampa leaders that state funding for a USF College of Medicine building ($17 million) and accompanying USF Heart Institute ($15.75 million) is in peril. […]

Mitch PerryJune 10, 2015

The big news in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday morning is Mike Salinero‘s exclusive in The Tampa Tribune that Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill is prepared to recommend to county commissioners and Mayor Bob Buckhorn that a half-cent sales transit tax be put on the ballot in 2016, with 60 percent of the revenue going to […]

Tag: USF

Susan McManus: 2016 candidates must appeal to Florida’s two “super-sized generations”

Mitch Perry Report for 9.8.15 – USF Athletics audibilize on Ybor ban

More than 2 dozen Bernie Sanders viewing parties in Tampa Bay area scheduled for next week

Despite Rick Scott rejection, Mark Sharpe says Tampa Innovation Alliance is right on course

USF campuses in St. Pete, Tampa still celebrating budget wins

Tampa Bay area sees number of projects cut by Rick Scott in his budget

USF funding projects survive Rick Scott’s veto pen

Mitch Perry Report for 6.23.15 — Will Rick Scott veto IMG Academy funding?

Mitch Perry Report for 6.11.15 — Picking winners and losers in Tallahassee

Mitch Perry Report for 6.10.15 — Game-changing developments?