Jacksonville City Council races: Will anti-incumbent mood strike voters?
The conventional wisdom is there may not be much turnover on the Jacksonville City Council after elections this spring. All 19 seats are open, but 12 incumbents are running for re-election. In politics, the power of incumbency is generally difficult to defeat. But there could be some surprises. Jacksonville voters are angry about two consecutive property tax rate increases, and an anti-incumbent sentiment has swept across the nation. Ref. Source 6
Jim Bailey drops out of Jacksonville mayoral race
Downtown businessman Jim Bailey is dropping out of the race for mayor, his campaign said Monday. Deciding to withdraw was difficult, Bailey said in an e-mail, but he will continued to be involved with getting out the message he's been working on during his campaign: That the city has what it takes to move to the next level, but doing so would require some tough choices. Ref. Source 9
Barack Obama faces uphill climb in Florida
Florida Politics
President Barack Obama faces an uphill battle in scoring a Florida repeat in his 2012 re-election bid. Floridians disapprove of his job performance by a margin of 52 - 44 percent, according to a poll released today by Quinnipiac Polling Institute.
The president strikes out on three fronts - his approval rating, the fact that Floridians prefer an unnamed challenger by a 41 - 38 percent and the belief among 51 percent of Floridians who don't believe he deserves a second term.
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Source: PolitiJax
Senate panel moves Thrasher's union dues bill despite large union showing
Florida Politics
Over the opposition of more than 100 union members that packed a Senate chamber Wednesday, a committee passed legislation that would no longer allow governments to deduct union dues directly from a member's paycheck.
For more than three hours, public employees one-by-one came up to speak against the bill.
They cast the bill as Republicans slamming the generally Democratic-leaning unions, while supporters of the bill, including some of the state's largest business lobbies that support Republicans, played down politics.
Source: PolitiJax
Historically black colleges brace for big funding cuts
Florida Politics
From the News Service of Florida:
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 20, 2011..........Florida's historically black colleges are facing crippling cuts in funding under budget proposals passed by the House and Senate earlier this month.
Under those budgets, historically black private colleges could see their state funding slashed between $2.2 million under the House proposal and $3 million under the Senate proposal due to the disappearance of federal stimulus dollars. That amounts to a reduction between 23 and 32 percent from the year before.
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Source: PolitiJax
Scott fails to win over Senate in union fight
Florida Politics
From Florida Morning:
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Source: PolitiJax
Virginia Congressman takes aim at Mayport, carrier plans
Florida Politics
Mayport's dream of a nuclear-powered carrier could be in jeopardy if a Virginia Congressman has his way.
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, a Republican who recently took over as chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, targeted funding for Florida in his spending plan, which was released this week. The plan, according to The Virginian-Pilot, "pointedly excludes $30 million intended to help move a Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Mayport, Fla." From the paper:
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Source: PolitiJax
Poll: Alvin Brown, Mike Hogan locked in a tight race
Florida Politics
The Jacksonville mayoral race is a near-dead heat between Democrat Alvin Brown and Republican Mike Hogan, according to a new poll released by Times-Union news partner First Coast News.
Hogan holds a five and a half point lead over Brown, according to the poll. More than seven percent of voters, including nearly nine percent of women, remain undecided in the race.
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Source: PolitiJax