Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Darryl PaulsonJanuary 31, 2017

During and after the 2016 presidential election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump complained about “millions of people who voted illegally.” He offered no proof to his charge, and virtually all state supervisors of elections found little evidence of fraud. It is “big news” when a single case of vote fraud emerges. It would be the […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 14, 2016

Zakee Furqan — briefly touted as a backer of former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown before news of his criminal history, which included a second degree murder charge, came to light — will see his pretrial begin Tuesday morning on a perjury charge and multiple counts of felony vote fraud. At issue: fallacious testimony from Furqan, saying he had […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 25, 2016

Jacksonville’s Zakee Furqan achieved prominence during the 2015 Jacksonville mayoral campaign when he was part of a group of “business leaders” endorsing Alvin Brown. That endorsement became a liability when news of his felony rap sheet, including a murder conviction, was reported. The Brown campaign quickly repudiated that endorsement, and donated Furqan’s campaign contribution to charity, yet […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2015

Earlier this year, Zakee Fur’qan was trumpeted by the Alvin Brown campaign as one of the “job creators and business leaders” who backed the mayor’s reelection. Since then, it has been all downhill for Fur’qan, who under his previous name was convicted of second-degree murder and felony-level robbery. His endorsement was repudiated by the Brown campaign in the strongest […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 13, 2015

The saga of Zakee Furqan, the so-called “business leader” and “job creator” who may be the only person convicted of second-degree murder to be touted as an endorser in a mayoral race in Jacksonville history, continues. Furqan, whose endorsement of then-Mayor Alvin Brown was touted by the campaign as a coup before it was unceremoniously […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 29, 2015

The Jacksonville mayoral election, and the Alvin Brown campaign, are in the rearview mirror at this point. Despite thar, Zakee Fur’qan remains in the news. Mark Glaeser, a Gainesville resident, filed an election fraud complaint on March 27 accusing Fur’qan of potential voter fraud. It has been referred to the State Attorney’s Office by the General Counsel at […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 9, 2015

More research has revealed that Zakee Fur’qan‘s political contributions in recent years extend beyond Mayor Alvin Brown and U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown to at least one Duval County School Board candidate. A Duval County contribution search shows donations from his company, Freedom Lawn and Landscape, and from his wife Hanan Fur’qan to candidate Constance Hall. Three […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 6, 2015

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown’s re-election campaign on Monday doubled down on its “zero tolerance” policy for Zakee Fur’qan. Campaign Manager Isaiah Nelson said the campaign plans to donate Fur’qan’s 2011 donation of $200 to the first Brown campaign. “This individual is not a part in our campaign in any way. To ensure that is clear, we will […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 3, 2015

The Alvin Brown campaign has distanced itself from the endorsement of Zakee Fur’qan, who apparently changed his name from Leon Edward Nelson, a man convicted of second-degree murder and felony-level robbery. This past month Brown’s campaign touted Fur’qan’s endorsement. On Friday, though, it had scrubbed all mention of Fur’qan from the mayor’s campaign’s website and issued a statement […]

Tag: Zakee Furqan

Darryl Paulson: Florida – Land of electile dysfunction

Pretrial begins on Zakee Furqan perjury, voting fraud charges

Hung jury in Zakee Furqan voter fraud case requires March retrial

Zakee Fur’qan facing felony vote fraud charges

Arrest warrant issued for Zakee Furqan

Zakee Fur’qan under investigation by Florida Department of State

School board contributions from Zakee Fur’qan wife, business raise questions

Alvin Brown to donate 2011 Zakee Fur’qan donation to charity

Alvin Brown campaign endorsed by convicted killer