A senior manager in the City of St. Petersburg’s Housing Department tells Saint Petersblog that Deputy Mayor will be demoted, err, “reassigned” to head the city’s Housing and Community Development Department. Developing…

An anonymous source sent me a series of e-mails between political consultant Mitch Kates and Patrick Wheeler, the publisher of the East Lake Blister. At first glance, these e-mails look like small potatoes, but taken together they reinforce some of the perceptions about how Kates operates; how he works to gain earned media for his [...]

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler, Safety Harbor Mayor Andy Steingold, and Oldsmar Mayor Jim Ronecker today joined St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker in endorsing Jack Latvala for the Florida Senate, District 16. “Every day I can look around my city and see evidence of the accomplishments of Jack Latvala when he [...]

Two blurbs about the local newspapers come as no surprise. First, The St. Petersburg Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Politifact project is reportedly about to announce a syndication deal with several newspapers. Politico.com reports that the fact-checking site, which drew accolades for its work during the 2008 campaign — as well as the 2009 Pulitzer for national [...]

Gov. Charlie Crist just called a special election to replace Democratic Rep. Michael Scionti of Tampa, who accepted a post at the U.S. Department of Defense. Scionti, who represents parts of Hillsborough County, including West Tampa, Town ‘N Country and Seminole Heights, was first elected in 2006. The primary election for the seat will be [...]

The Pinellas County Chapter of the Florida Nurses Association will be hosting a public forum to discuss the healthcare reform legislation that Congress is presently considering. The discussion will focus on the impact of the proposed legislation on health care delivery, access to healthcare and nursing. The forum will be a panel discussion, moderated by [...]

As primary battles go, this one’s pretty ugly. The intra-party Republican fight in Florida between Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is full of fireworks… Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, said, “The Republican Party’s long had different wings on cultural issues, but that’s a very [...]

The Florida Elections Commission has decided that Internet ads used by mayoral candidate Scott Wagman this summer didn’t violate election rules, though the group is recommending that lawmakers clarify how old campaign laws should apply to new media. A complaint had been filed with the commission claiming Wagman’s ads violated elections law because they didn’t [...]

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