A sign of things to come? Dem wins GOP seat

February 26, 2008 | 5 Comments

Today was the special election for House District 32 on Florida’s East Coast. The district was vacated when former Rep. Bob Allen resigned after being convicted of soliciting sex.
The seat was fairly safe - held by a Republican for some time. Bob Allen and before him Republican Randy Ball.
But tonight, at least from what […]

Jan

29

The Big Winner: Charlie Crist

January 29, 2008 | 1 Comment

Let’s see. John McCain won the Republican Primary. Amendment 1 passed with more than 60%. Things I didn’t think would happen.
The big reason? Could it be the fact that Governor Charlie Crist took an active role in both?

An interesting note that McCain received almost 50% of the vote in Miami-Dade - thank you […]

Jan

25

I voted.

January 25, 2008 | 7 Comments

Earlier today I told you how it was still a difficult decision. It was. I stared at that screen for five minutes. In the end, I voted for Rudy Giuliani. It’s not that I think Rudy is the best candidate. Clearly I don’t. I like them all equally, which […]

Jan

17

Interesting politics in the Florida Senate

January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday, former State Senator Skip Campbell (D-Ft. Lauderdale) announced he will challenge incumbent Senator Jeff Atwater (R- North Palm Beach) for the District 25 seat. There are a few things that really make this interesting.
First, Atwater has been selected by the Republicans in the Senate as their designee for Senate President for the next […]

Jan

15

Here’s a prediction: the tax reform amendment will fail.

January 15, 2008 | 1 Comment

Yup. I know it’s not necessarily a bold prediction of what’s going to happen on January 29th. The usual suspects are lined up on either side: labor unions (including firefighters and teachers) against the GOP’s big business base.
There have been some news stories and blog posts that make me think it will happen.
First, […]

Aug

27

Hometown Democracy is a bad idea - but why fight it?

August 27, 2007 | 5 Comments

Okay, I’m not asking why businesses should oppose the plan by Hometown Democracy to require a referendum for any and all amendments to local government comprehensive land use plan. It’s obvious. It is a bad idea. It will kill Florida’s economy. I know, I grew up in Rochester, New York. […]

Aug

21

PIP! PIP! Hooray!

August 21, 2007 | 3 Comments

A number of news outlets — and a few other blogs — have written about the end of PIP in Florida. “PIP” - no, not a Dickens character - is the requirement that all drivers carry personal injury protection as part of their auto insurance. In fact, this is really all that is […]

Aug

13

How to “Write your Congressman”

August 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I read a post today on Firedoglake from a link on Discourse.net, written by University of Miami law professor Michael Froomkin. The Firedoglake post was entitled “Correspondence School“ - a quick lesson on effectively communicating with your Representative and Senator in Washington DC.
It’s a decent article, and comes from a former Congressional staffer’s perspective, […]

Aug

10

Are Florida Business Groups Really That Dumb?

August 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment

The Buzz and other media outlets are reporting today that the National Federation of Independent Businesses/Florida will be supporting the Super Homestead Exemption amendment to be voted on in January. This is on the heels of the Associated Industries of Florida announcement that it also supports the amendment.
Um. What?
Let’s see two business groups - […]

Aug

3

“Way Down Upon the Swanee River….”

August 3, 2007 | 2 Comments

The State of Florida is looking for a new song. The existing official song, “Old Folks at Home” is a bit dated. It was written by Stephen Foster in 1851, when slavery was the norm in our state, and the words imitate the way slaves talked in the 1850s. In contemporary Florida, […]

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