Florida
updated
8:27 a.m.
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By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott named Jacksonville state Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate Thursday. Carroll, 51, is a U.S. Navy veteran and mother of three who in 2003 was the first black female Republican elected to the Florida Legislature. If elected with Scott...
Equality Florida - 8:27 a.m.
"Republican nominee for governor Rick Scott is set to name State Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate. ... The 51-year-old Carroll served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and was elected to the Florida Legislature in 2003. She would become the state's first black woman to be a candidate for lieutenant governor." " Scott will name running mate ". See also " Rick Scott's likely No. 2: Navy vet ...
Florida Politics - 7:24 a.m.
Expect your ballot this Election Day to feel amendment-light. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed lower court rulings and struck Amendments 3, 7 and 9 from the November ballot. All three amendments were conjured up by the GOP-controlled state legislature. FOX News called the tossing of Amendment 9 aka Health Care Freedom "...a serious blow to state lawmakers..." who had hoped ...
Talk to Me - Wed 11:28 p.m.
The Florida Supreme Court yesterday struck a proposed state constitutional amendment from the November ballot. The proposed amendment would have prohibited Florida from participating in the federal health care reform program. Florida has two ways of getting a proposed amendment on the ballot -- by petition, or by an act of the legislature. This one was placed there by the Re...
DailyKos (Florida) - Wed 6:22 a.m. - 5 clicks 
Interesting : Here’s what happened: [Florida] Attorney General Bill McCollum was the favorite in the GOP gubernatorial primary, with a moderate record on immigration and strong support from Latino Republicans. His opponent Rick Scott, a political newcomer and self-funded multi-millionaire, decided to make a name for himself by riding the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment so popul...
DailyKos (Florida) - Tue 2:28 p.m. - 7 clicks
Today the Florida Supreme Court agreed to take Amendments 3, 7 and 9 off of the November ballot. The court also struck down a challenge from members of the legislature against Amendment 5 and Amendment 6- the fair district amendments promoted by FairDistrictsFlorida.org Amendment 3,7, and 9 were put on the ballot by the Republican-controlled Florida legislature. Amendment 3 relates to pro...
Equality Florida - Tue 2:02 p.m. - 9 clicks
In 2005 notorious anti-LGBT State Senator and then Hillsborough County Commissioner Rhonda Storms led a successful effort to ban county recognition of LGBT pride celebrations. This hateful policy was aimed at silencing our community and sending us back into the closet. But instead of feeling defeated and demoralized, our community rallied together with Equality Florida and marched through the str...
Equality Florida - Tue 10:26 a.m. - 8 clicks
"Once viewed as a pariah among Republicans, Rick Scott is embraced by top party leaders who hope he can forgive and forget." Politics is funny sometimes in Florida. One day people call you a fraud who ripped off taxpayers and financed smut, the next day they hail you as a visionary leader, job creator and good friend. One day you're denouncing special interest and lobbyist money, the next day y...
Florida Politics - Tue 7:24 a.m. - 7 clicks
Although GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott ran as the ultimate outsider, it didn't take too him too long to allow the insiders in. In fact, it didn't take two shakes of an elephant's tail for Senate President Mike Haridopolos to sidle out from behind Bill McCollum's left shoulder primary night to hang with Rick at the Tampa Jet Center and paint the picture of a united conser...
Talk to Me - Mon 11:06 p.m. - 2 clicks
Florida Governor and one-time leading Senatorial Candidate Charlie Crist is finding that independence is no party. GOP partisans feel betrayed and vengeful. Voters with no affiliation are open to persuasion, but only if Crist remains "independent." Meanwhile, Crist's refusal to pick sides by declaring who he'll caucus with may push wavering Dems to back Kendrick Meek - the only real Democrat in t...
DailyKos (Florida) - Mon 9:25 a.m. - 8 clicks
Hours after sparking a firestorm with comments during a CNN interview, Florida Governor Charlie Crist says he does NOT support an amendment to the US Constitution that would ban marriage for gay couples. "In an interview that aired today, I was not discussing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage, which I do not support, but rather reaffirming my position regarding...
Bilerico Project Florida - Mon 5:45 a.m. - 11 clicks
"Florida's party primaries last week set the stage for a half-dozen closely contested congressional elections this fall that could help resurgent Republicans regain majority control of Congress." National political analysts foresee a Republican gain of two or three U.S. House seats in Florida. Four Democratic incumbents appear vulnerable: Alan Grayson of Orlando, Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Bea...
Florida Politics - Mon 5:45 a.m. - 11 clicks
Hours after sparking a firestorm with comments during a CNN interview, Florida Governor Charlie Crist says he does NOT support an amendment to the US Constitution that would ban marriage for gay couples. "In an interview that aired today, I was not discussing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage, which I do not support, but rather reaffirming my position regarding F...
Equality Florida - Sun 5:08 p.m. - 7 clicks
The Pensacola News Journal reported today that — despite BP's repeated insistence that there was no oil in Pensacola Bay — there's oil in Pensacola Bay. We can't begin to explain how shocked we are that BP would try to shirk its responsibility and obfuscate the truth. More than that, though, we're concerned that local fisherman and Escambia County seem to be the only parties taking responsibility...
Progressive Pensacola - Sun 10:49 a.m. - 7 clicks
Check out " Webster and the accidental neo-Nazi ". Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows. Teabaggers have captured the RPOF "The tea party movement muscled its way into the American political psyche over the past year with huge rallies, angry voters and colorful rhetoric. It’s not clear how much voters are responding, but in Florida, at least, ...
Florida Politics - Sun 7:04 a.m. - 10 clicks
Will Scott, the rural-teabagger candidate , have the courage to accept Sink's " challenge to 5 debates? "; that, and Crist's " dizzying reversal ... and re-reversal ", together with our digest of, and commentary on the remainder of today's Florida political news and punditry follows. Scott, the rural teabagger candidate Jeremy Wallace: "Republican Rick Scott needs an urban renewal project if ...
Florida Politics - Sat 6:05 a.m. - 12 clicks
As the Miami Herald observed yesterday, " Scott benefited from several factors that may not be present in the general election". Meanwhile, the " GOP air-kisses are pretty tortured . More on this, and our digest of, and commentary on the rest of Florida's political news and punditry below. "Serious dent" in RPOF attempt at party unity "Bill McCollum doesn't forget easily." Two days after...
Florida Politics - Fri 8:04 a.m. - 12 clicks
TALLAHASSEE, FL – To celebrate the 90 th anniversary of women’s right to vote, a coalition of statewide organizations have committed to getting out the vote this election year. August 26th, 2010, commemorates the 72 year struggle and the groundbreaking victory of women with the passage of the 19th Amendment. The courageous fight to gain women’s suffrage extended from the Seneca Falls C...
Equality Florida - Thu 1:45 p.m. - 9 clicks
Eeewww ... the postmortems, " Post-election observations " and blather about fence mending has begun. Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows. "GOP insiders fear Sink" ... Scott a "dead man walking" "Analysts who work with Latino voters say McCollum's shift on immigration may have cost him crucial support. But they argue that Scott's concrete s...
Florida Politics - Aug 26 - 12 clicks
Bill McCollum is still paying for George Rekers. In a stunning defeat, Bill McCollum lost the 2010 Florida Republican Primary by 3% despite having the full support of the Christian Family Council, Florida's Republican party establishment and prominent national Republican figures, including Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Tea Party leader Dick Armey. Why? Two words - George Rekers. You ...
Bilerico Project Florida - Aug 26 - 10 clicks
Progressive Pensacola congratulates mayoral candidates Diane Mack and Charles Bare on their strong campaigns. They might not have made the run-off, but they can both be proud of the high-minded, spirited campaigns they each ran. Diane Mack, always bold, kicked off the mayoral campaign with gutsy pledges to grow the City's population, reduce unemployment, and increase per-capita income. Always one...
Progressive Pensacola - Aug 25 - 7 clicks
Bill McCollum Still Paying for George Rekers In a stunning defeat, Bill McCollum lost the 2010 Florida Republican Primary by 3% despite having the full support of the Christian Family Council, Florida's Republican party establishment and prominent national Republican figures, including Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Tea Party leader Dick Armey. Why? Two words - George Rekers. You don't have...
Equality Florida - Aug 25 - 7 clicks
Democrat backed by Obama wins Senate nomination in Florida That is a real headline and sub from the Chicago Tribune this morning. Page 12 in the Nation and World section, by M. Barabak. ...
DailyKos (Florida) - Aug 25 - 3 clicks
In yesterday's City of Pensacola mayoral election, first-place finisher Mike Wiggins won 19 precincts, while challenger Ashton Hayward took 11 precincts. Precinct 48, which has very few City voters, registered no votes. Messrs. Wiggins and Hayward will proceed to a November 2 run-off. An interesting tidbit — the margin between the winner and the second-place finisher was ten votes or less in four...
Progressive Pensacola - Aug 25 - 4 clicks
I am a DEMOCRATIC ACTIVIST here in Naples, Florida... The Republican Collier Board of County Commissioners want to raise taxes $130 million for a CORPORATE WELFARE giveaway to the Jackson Laboratories to relocate here and build a Genome DNA research facility. The good old boy Republican network here want to fund Jackson Labs as a way to bail out the Barron Collier Company...
DailyKos (Florida) - Aug 25
Florida Election Watch offers a cool interactive tool that allowed me to maneuver between various Florida counties and check the progress of last night's vote count. Around 9:00 PM, a pattern became evident in the GOP race for Governor. Rick Scott was ahead of Bill McCollum, in almost every county I selected to view, including Brevard. Proving a factor in the race--Mike McCalist...
Talk to Me - Aug 24
Pro-Equality Winners Dan Gelber Click here to see a victory message from Dan April Griffin "My thanks to everyone would not be complete without a special shout out to Equality Florida donors and volunteers. Your tremendo...
Equality Florida - Aug 24 - 3 clicks
Here's a quick email we just got from Joe Saunders, our Statewide Field Director. He and Michael Farmer, our GSA Network Coordinator, are spending the day working hard elect Florida's first out-LGBT state legislator. We're working through a call and walk list of our LGBT targets who are UNLIKELY voters. We're getting really strong feedback from this list that people have already or will ...
Equality Florida - Aug 24 - 4 clicks
Just a reminder that as always Progressive Pensacola will be livetweeting election results tonight. We'll have the results as they are being counted, before you'll find them anywhere else. You can follow @derekcosson on Twitter, and we'll also have the live Twitter feed at the top of the Progressive Pensacola front page. Polls are open until 7:00 PM; be sure to get out and vote if you haven't. W...
Progressive Pensacola - Aug 24 - 4 clicks
Here are a few of our predictions (guesses) for today's elections: City of Pensacola — Mayor (Non-partisan) Mike Wiggins: 35% Ashton Hayward: 33% Diane Mack: 18% Charles Bare: 14% Escambia County Commission — District 2 (R) Grover Robinson IV: 62% Dennis Green: 38%...
Progressive Pensacola - Aug 24 - 2 clicks
Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry. Quinnipiac : "August 23, 2010 - Meek, McCollum Lead One Day Before Florida Primaries, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; But Many Likely Primary Voters Remain Undecided ". More: "A weekend of last-minute polling shows that the primary race for governor continues to be volatile as a new Quinnipiac University poll re...
Florida Politics - Aug 24 - 5 clicks
I won't bore you with my selections for the election, but I will share what races have captured my attention. The tussle between Establishment Incumbents vs We'll Buy Our Way In Challengers have us all stagestruck. Which Democrat-- Kendrick Meek or Jeffrey Greene --will the donkeys choose to sidle up beside Republican Marco Rubio and Independent Charlie Crist at some future debate? A...
Talk to Me - Aug 23
Progressive Pensacola reminds City of Pensacola residents to vote Ashton Hayward for Mayor tomorrow to begin moving Pensacola forward. We have devoted countless hours to working to make Pensacola a better place. We don't get paid to sit through and report on City Council meetings or to pore through piles of public records. We haven't received any money from any political campaign. We don't have a...
Progressive Pensacola - Aug 23 - 3 clicks
"Candidates in the homestretch of tumultuous races for governor and U.S. Senate fanned out Saturday across Florida, with once-vulnerable political insiders surging in the polls and mega-rich outsiders struggling to regain momentum before Tuesday's election." In the Republican gubernatorial race, Attorney General Bill McCollum dredged up an old deposition to continue his tarring of opponent Rick S...
Florida Politics - Aug 22 - 4 clicks
Mark Horvath of invisiblepeople.tv visited us at the IDignity event in Sanford the other day. I had no idea we're the only folks in the country doing this kind of thing -- but if Mark says so, it must be true! ...
The 13th Juror - Aug 22
While the big news at Bilerico ranch was Jerame's new job with the National Stonewall Democrats and our upcoming move to Washington DC , the rest of the TBP crew kept us up on all the news while adding their own spin. Check out these great posts from last week: Sunday Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka To Be Gay Dads, Heroes Filed by: Andrew Belonsky Even If Your Hands Tremble F...
Bilerico Project Florida - Aug 21 - 5 clicks
Steve Bousquet asks "What if?" What if Rick Scott and Jeff Greene both win on Tuesday? That would be the most shocking result of the wildest Florida primary campaign in memory. It would leave both political parties in shambles and turn Florida into a national symbol of voter anger. " Rick Scott and Jeff Greene may be the political establishment's nightmare " Bought and paid for "McCollum, ...
Florida Politics - Aug 21 - 4 clicks
The four candidates for Mayor of Pensacola have posted their campaign finance reports for the F3 reporting period, which covers July 31 through August 19. Ashton Hayward posted the highest contributions total at $10,032.50; Mike Wiggins had $5,298.90, and Diane Mack and Charles Bare rounded out the field with $1,285 and $691.06 respectively. Mr. Hayward received $1,000 from companies controlled ...
Progressive Pensacola - Aug 21 - 4 clicks
The August 24th primary election is just 5 days away and Equality Florida and our energetic army of volunteers around the state have been hard at work supporting candidates and elected officials who support the LGBT community. In the last few weeks we've identified thousands of new pro-equality voters and made thousands of phone calls. We're in the home stretch but we still need your support. ...
Equality Florida - Aug 19
"It looks like the millions of dollars spent for ads by Republicans in Florida are paying off - for Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Alex Sink, who was on par with or ahead of her prospective GOP opponents in a poll released Thursday." Sink, Florida's chief financial officer and a former Bank of America executive, has sat on the sidelines while Attorney General Bill McCollum and millionaire busin...
Florida Politics - Aug 19
"Career politicians Bill McCollum and Kendrick Meek have surged ahead of their wealthy, outsider opponents, overcoming large deficits in the last few weeks, according to a poll released just days before Florida's gubernatorial and U.S. Senate primaries." McCollum, the state's attorney general and a former congressman, has taken the lead over millionaire businessman Rick Scott in their nasty and e...
Florida Politics - Aug 18 - 4 clicks
Dan Gelber, Equality Florida Action PAC endorsed candidate for Attorney General appears poised to clinch the Democratic nomination for the states top lawyer. According to Sunshine State News, Gelber is "Sitting pretty" in the AG race. Check out their story about this exciting new polling: Just a week before election day, more than one in three Democrats remains undecided about who to vote...
Equality Florida - Aug 17 - 4 clicks
"Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink will choose a former state attorney and Gainesville state senator Rod Smith to be her running mate for governor in an pre-primary announcement on Thursday in West Palm Beach. Sources close to the Sink campaign said that she selected Smith after a two-month search of candidates that was narrowed to four finalists, including state Sen. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach De...
Florida Politics - Aug 17 - 4 clicks
The print ads for a South Florida Karate School featuring young boys doing stereotypically "feminine things" like wearing their mother's high heels or playing with make-up have been making their way around the internet this past week and causing lots of debate and anger. The ads seem to use gay panic and gender shaming to say that the cure for this "shocking" behavior and the best way to "...
Bilerico Project Florida - Aug 16
NOTE: Brian Winfield, Equality Florida's Communications Director reached out to a number of Florida papers to take a stand on the McCollum/Foster Parent debacle. The Pensacola News Journal felt strongly enough about the issue that their Editorial Board ran a fantastic editorial, with a scathing cartoon . This is Pensacola folks, one of the most conservative bastions of Florida! ______________...
Equality Florida - Aug 16
"After an uncomfortable two weeks of publicity over his 2007 trip to Cuba, Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene said Sunday that he was rethinking his opposition to the U.S. embargo and travel restrictions." Greene, a Palm Beach real estate mogul, called efforts to squeeze the Communist regime a "failed policy'' in his third and final face-off with rival Kendrick Meek. The debate was broadcas...
Florida Politics - Aug 16 - 2 clicks
Two new polls to report: the just released Aug. 6-10 by Ipsos Public Affairs poll, and a Aug. 9-11 Mason-Dixon poll released earlier in the week. According to the just released Ipsos Public Affairs poll: "Florida voters are in the dumps, deeply pessimistic about the state's direction and not particularly impressed with any U.S. Senate candidate." Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene is barely lead...
Florida Politics - Aug 15
A 58-year-old homeless man was beaten with a wooden plank, robbed and left mortally wounded in the street of a South Dallas neighborhood this morning. Officers found the victim lying in the street about 1:55 a.m. The victim, whose name was withheld until family members were notified, told police that two men walked up to him and began hitting him with the wooden plank. When he fell to the ground...
The 13th Juror - Aug 14
Editor's Note: Be sure to check out the update on this story, complete with my contact and conversations with both the Ad Agency and the Karate School: Karate/Sissy Ad Update: A Teachable Moment in Stereotypes, Gender Roles, & Shaming . In what has to be the most offensive ad campaign I've seen in a long time, Key Biscayne's Academy Of Martial Arts RDCA in Florida has decided the best w...
Bilerico Project Florida - Aug 13
Social Security reduces elderly poverty dramatically in Florida (and every other state in the nation). Without Social Security, the poverty rate for Floridians aged 65 and over would exceed 46%. With Social Security, the elderly poverty rate is slightly more than 10%. Only California had more residents lifted out of poverty by Social Security. Read the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities rep...
The 13th Juror - Aug 13
At a recent candidate forum at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, a couple of candidates made the Bay Buzz blog for their efforts to out pray each other. Check out this bit of hilariousness that could only come from the sunshine state! From the Bay Buzz Blog: "Without question, the most interesting moments of the marathon meet and greet and candidate forum at Bell Shoals Baptist Church on...
Equality Florida - Aug 12 - 4 clicks
Election Day is August 24th Early voting has already begun Get yours today, print it out and take it to the polls. ...
Equality Florida - Aug 11 - 2 clicks
Candidate for Florida Governor and current Florida Attorney General was confronted by reporters on the contradiction of questioning the moral character and fitness of gay people to parent while having a gay parent as his political advisor. The media deluge comes a day after McCollum called for a ban on gay people being foster parents. Florida is the only state with a law banning gay people fr...
Equality Florida - Aug 10
Once assumed the inevitable GOP candidate for Florida Governor, Bill McCollum been sliding in the polls and now is sending up a desperate anti-gay hail mary to the religious conservative crowd. Here are excerpts from an interview with a Southern Baptist publication in which McCollum reaffirms his support for the ban on gay people adoption. Now he's also calling for laws banning gay people...
Bilerico Project Florida - Aug 10
(Click image above to view photos) In response to a Florida stop on the national tour of rabidly anti-gay Nat'l Organization for Marriage, Equality Florida joined with the ACLU-FL, MCC Tampa, Joy MCC in Orlando and numerous other organizations to host not one, but two "Celebrating Our Families" rallies on August 8th. While NOM spews its hate-filled message around the nation, we in Flo...
Equality Florida - Aug 9 - 6 clicks
Here's the latest from Bill "Reker's Scandal" McCollum. I guess wasting $120,000 of taxpayers' money defending Florida's bigoted adoption ban wasn't enough - now he wants to deny foster kids loving homes as well. Money Quote: " I really do not think that we should have homosexuals guiding our children. I think that it’s a lifestyle that I don’t agree with." This gu...
Equality Florida - Aug 9 - 2 clicks
BREAKING NEWS California's Prop 8 Deemed "Unconstitutional" PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE Tell the Florida Congressional Delegation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Today is an historic day in the march toward full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Moments ago, Chief U.S. D...
Equality Florida - Aug 4 - 2 clicks
We will be posting our digest of Florida political news and punditry only sporadically during the period 8/05/10 through 8/17/10. ...
Florida Politics - Aug 4 - 2 clicks
"For two candidates who disagree on so little, it's striking that Jeff Greene and Kendrick Meek can loathe each other so much. " The animosity between the U.S. Senate Democratic primary candidates was abundantly clear in a combative debate Sunday that will be televised on Bay News 9 tonight. " Greene and Meek don't hide ill will in debate ". See also " Democrat Kendrick Meek facing uphill battl...
Florida Politics - Aug 2
"Marco Rubio can't name either of his two Republican opponents for U.S. Senate, but both are acutely aware of him. 'He's avoiding us,' said William 'Billy' Kogut of Ormond Beach, while William Escoffery of Shalima says "Marco Rubio is hiding." However, Crist is 5 points up in the polls and has $8.2 million in the bank compared to $4.4 million for Rubio." " Conservative darling Marco Rubio trails ...
Florida Politics - Aug 1 - 2 clicks
The director of the homeless service center 15 Place in downtown Mobile calls them "rainbow chasers" -- unemployed, sometimes unemployable, people who've come to Mobile in hopes of striking oil cleanup gold. "I would say easily since the debacle began, particularly in the last 60 or 70 days, we get two new people a day," 15 Place Director Lyn Manz-Walters said. "I'm sure every city on the Gulf ...
The 13th Juror - Jul 31 - 2 clicks
"Go away, man!" Kolinio Waqairawai hollered at Mayor Gavin Newsom at first. But after they talked, he agreed to accept the mayor's offer of housing. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom visited a homeless encampment as part of a final push by city officials to find homes for about 30 die-hards who have used the soon-to-be-demolished Transbay Terminal and its web of overpasses as a shelter for...
The 13th Juror - Jul 31 - 2 clicks
"A federal appeals court in Atlanta turned Florida's public campaign financing law on its head Friday, halting a critical provision that was expected to inject taxpayer cash into Attorney General Bill McCollum's struggling campaign." The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will put an immediate stop to the matching money McCollum thought he was entitled to whe...
Florida Politics - Jul 31 - 3 clicks
Florida had the third-largest uninsured population in the nation in 2007, with more than 24% of its population lacking health insurance, according to the latest figures released by the United States Census Bureau. Texas lead the nation with 26.8% uninsured, followed by New Mexico, with 26.7%. The Census Bureau placed the percentage of people without health insurance nationally at 15.3% in 2007. ...
The 13th Juror - Jul 30 - 2 clicks
