Mitch Perry - page 514

Appearing before the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano entertained the centrist-to-liberal audience with his outspoken criticism of the way that business is conducted in Tallahassee, slamming on Governor Rick Scott for failing to speak out against Duke Energy and for Medicaid expansion during the recent gubernatorial election, and decrying the way that GOP rank and file legislators refuse to challenge party leadership. But he said he still believes in his…

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Finally. This morning St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman has scheduled a news conference with officials from the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field to discuss the details of an agreement reached between the city and the Rays. That agreement will allow the team to go outside the city to search for new stadium sites in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. We don’t have a clue, of course, about where the Rays may ultimately land, but even allowing them to negotiate with…

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In what is scheduled to be the last Suncoast Tiger Bay Club event of the year, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano makes an appearance at the St. Pete Yacht Club on Tuesday at noon. Generally Tiger Bay doesn’t usually feature tax collectors as their main speaker at one of their events. But Fasano isn’t your average bureaucrat. Until a year ago he was one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the Legislature, having initially been elected to the Florida House…

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Hillsborough County Democrats are scheduled to vote for new officers this Thursday night, but the man who looked likely to become the next chair of the party, Tim Heberlein, is dropping out of the race. The reason is because of a potential conflict of interest with his day job. Recently, Heberlein took on employment with the Sierra Club, working as their Beyond Coal Organizing Representative. “Because of the high profile nature of both roles, it could potentially lead to confusion…

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Opposition research generally involves a campaign gathering up as many facts as publicly (or privately) available on another candidate, preferably negative, in order to use against that candidate at an opportune time. Describing itself as “The Most Comprehensive Early Look Ever at a Presidential Field,” the D.C.-based Democratic Party group American Bridge 21st Century has released their own oppo research paper for the masses on Monday. It includes anything even remotely embarrassing about a number of the Republicans who may enter the presidential sweepstakes…

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Joe Citro really, really wants to serve on the Tampa City Council. The hair salon owner is running for the District 2 seat in next winter’s municipal elections in Tampa, the citywide seat that’s being vacated early next year by a term-limited Mary Mulhern. “I’m ready. I’m set. No on-the-job training. I’m ready. Give me the job!” he said with bravado while speaking to this reporter at a fundraiser in Hyde Park last week. If serving on a host of…

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Today in New York City, a group of 20 Democratic Party mayors from around the country are taking part in a one-day summit convened by Mayor Bill de Blasio to discuss immigration issues. Cities United for Immigration Action says that their mission is to “strengthen our cities by keeping families together, further growing our economies, and fostering additional community trust in law enforcement and government..” Due to scheduling conflicts, however, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is not meeting in Manhattan today,…

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