Peter Schorsch - page 475

James Madison is often considered one of the fathers of modern American conservatism. He is also closely and oddly connected to the issue of the day: gerrymandered congressional districts. As Thomas Jefferson’s closest ally and most loyal student, Madison championed the ideals of a restrained government with diffuse power and a utopian society that was blind to partisanship and “factionalism” as he called it. In making his case for the new republic, he and (his soon-to-be arch rival) Alexander Hamilton…

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John Sebree may not be a household name in Florida, but he is in state politics and the latest personnel note about him is a big deal to those involved in the process. Sebree is currently the Vice President of Public Policy for the Florida Association of Realtors. In this position, Sebree directs all public policy activities, programs, product and services. He sets the direction of current and future public policy proposal and activities and he is responsible for RPAC fundraising.…

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At noon on Friday, June 20, when 46 state legislative candidates – 38 in the House, eight in the Senate – were elected without opposition, their respective campaign treasurers were faced with an interesting quandary: what to do with all of the money in the candidates’ bank accounts. According to the most recent campaign finance reports, the lucky 46 candidates running for the State House or Senate had approximately $3,402,340 in their campaign coffers. Combined, the 30 candidates for the Florida House…

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A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. Today’s Rise and Shine Fact-iversary is brought to you by Sachs Media Group, the state’s dominant public affairs PR firm: Happy 153rd birthday, federal income tax!!! Well, maybe not so happy for the tens of millions of Americans who “donate” a portion of their earnings to support such necessary functions as the nation’s defense, highways and education. Floridians can take comfort in knowing that our state is one of only seven with no state-level…

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Thousands of Volusia County mail-in ballots in the Aug. 26 primary election have been returned as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service. “In the primary, we have a little over three thousand, so far,” Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall told News 13 reporter Saul Saenz. “And there isn’t that much of a turnout in the primaries. So we’re going through each and every one of the 3,000 we’ve gotten undeliverable and make sure they truly are.” Nearly 3,500 absentee ballots were…

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The latest on #Mapageddon… Here’s the official proclamation. Senator Bill Gilvano and Rep. Richard Corcoran are the chairs of the Select Committee on Redistricting. Jason Poreda is the committee staff director. The schedule of the special session is taking shape, reports Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of Florida: Legislative leaders Monday laid out the fullest blueprint yet for a special session aimed at crafting new congressional districts, even as they continued a push for a Leon County judge to limit the…

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The Florida Medical Association has announced its opposition to Amendment 2, the proposed constitutional amendment that would authorize doctors to use marijuana to treat patients. The medical association representing 20,000 physicians had opposed the amendment’s language when it was challenged in the Florida Supreme Court, took a neutral position after the Court approved the language and then during a July conference the FMA House of Delegates unanimously adopted a resolution to oppose the ballot initiative. “We believe the unintended consequences…

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