Category Florida Legislature
Florida Republicans Walking a Tightrope on Redistricting By Putting Politics Over Florida’s Citizens
Florida Republicans seem self-assured entering the Reapportionment Special Session which begins Thursday in Tallahassee. Having been rebuked for drawing unconstitutional districts, the leadership of the legislature seems to have no problem crying that a minor disruption to the election cycle is somehow worse than the citizens of the state being denied fair representation in unconstitutional […]
ANALYSIS: Congressional Districts Must Be Re-Drawn Before November
#Mappageddon is certainly deserved after Judge Lewis threw out all congressional Districts this morning and ordered new maps be redrawn. This is one of the biggest announcements in the history of Florida politics. The fallout could be huge for a variety of reasons. Above all, this is uncharted territory for all interested parties. I wrote […]
Ten Dollar Tuesday – Protect the Incumbents, Ladies/Central Florida Edition
A few weeks ago we talked about the importance of protecting incumbents and we named Reps. Mark Danish, Mike Clelland, and Carl Zimmerman. Today we highlight two more, this time ladies: Linda Stewart and Karen Castor-Dentel. They are very much in the same situation – purple seats with serious Republican contenders and a tough fight ahead. […]
Small Business view: Elected leaders should get in the act of helping businesses do better by being better
Editors Note: The Florida Squeeze encourages a vibrant debate on issues. We invite guest columns from people of all political persuasions and policy perspectives. Guest Column By Ricardo McQueen Mr. McQueen is a member-leader in Florida Main Street Alliance. I have more than a decade of experience running a small business that provides health and […]
Monday Musings – Redistricting, The passing of John Seigenthaler, Campaign Finance Reports and Renewed German Patriotism
In case you haven’t noticed, the whole nation is going to go a little crazy about our redistricting case. There is quite a large debate if anything will change. Kartik posted the other day about the consequences to Alan Grayson’s seat, and of course, Corrine Brown’s seat will break up and hopefully make Ted Yoho’s […]
Why Small County Math Adds up for Democrats in 2014
By Dr. Rachel Sutz Pienta The annual fundraising event formerly known as the Florida Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner, now re-branded as Leadership Blue, was this past Saturday night. Throughout the weekend, discussions of Democratic voter turnout in off election years dominated workshops and earned a mention from former President Bill Clinton during the dinner program. […]
Rethinking Rural Campaign Strategies for Progressives
I spent Wednesday afternoon driving through rural counties on the way to Tallahassee and I noticed the different types of political advertisements on the way which made me once again begin to ponder rural Florida politics. There were several colorful anti-Obama signs, lots of local election signs in various colors and forms, and even a […]
Ellyn Bogdanoff’s candidacy and the statewide ripple effect
TFS Editor-In-Chief Kartik Krishnaiyer contributed to this story The long anticipated announcement came yesterday from former Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Fort Lauderdale), who formally declared that she would challenge Senator Maria Sachs (D-Delray Beach) in a rematch of a race she lost two years ago. Ramifications are far and wide for Democrats especially, whose resources are […]
The Reality of Term Limits in Florida and Unintended Consequences
This session, my very own Representative Keith Perry (R) introduced a little bill to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would change term limits for the state legislature. It would change the length of terms for both houses – from four to six years in the senate and from two to four years […]
How does the FEA Endorsement of Crist Impact Legislative Races and Behavior?
When the Florida Education Association (FEA) endorsed Charlie Crist for Governor a few weeks ago despite his checkered record on public education issues, many liberals lamented how this impacted his primary opposition Senator Nan Rich who has a positive record on public schools and education. I however had viewed the FEA endorsement of Crist as […]
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