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#9 on list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians — Gus Bilirakis

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis took over his northern Tampa Bay 12th Congressional District after his father Mike stepped down in 2006, and has wasted little time establishing himself as a regional pillar ever since. Although an electoral favorite that year because of his prominent last name, Bilirakis withstood a strong challenge by Democrat Phyllis Busansky. His victory came in the same anti-incumbent wave election that saw the GOP lose 30 seats to Democrats. In January, Bilirakis announced that he would…

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#10 on list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians – Bob Gualtieri

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Although the Pinellas County sheriff declined the opportunity to run for higher office when the CD 13 seat become open in late 2013, Bob Gualtieri displayed major political skills in 2014. As the legislative chair of the Florida Sheriffs Association, his profile rose dramatically, as he became the face and voice of the FSA in opposing Amendment Two, the 2014 medical marijuana ballot initiative. “So I think this whole advocacy by the proponents is really subterfuge for general recreational legalization,”…

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Immigration activists say they should count in Rick Scott’s Florida

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In his State of the State address on Tuesday, Rick Scott hailed Florida’s diversity, featuring sentences in his speech that mentioned that “we are home to over 250 languages,” and “we are clearly the best melting pot in the world.” But in Ybor City’s Centennial Park in Tampa on Wednesday, a group of immigration activists said that the governor’s pride in the state’s multiculturalism clearly doesn’t extend to those fighting for comprehensive immigration reform. “What he failed to say is that he…

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Florida DEP says Legislature will get shot at state carbon plan

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Pressed by legislators, a state environmental official said Wednesday she doesn’t expect Florida to forward to federal officials a plan for reducing carbon dioxide emissions without getting approval by the Legislature. President Barack Obama in 2014 issued his Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels. Industry groups and some states have opposed the proposed rules with Murray Energy Corp. filing a lawsuit to block the action by the U.S. Environmental Protection…

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Florida Chamber poll shows voters bullish on state government, less so on feds

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A new poll released today by the Florida Chamber of Commerce suggests that while voters are growing more confident in the direction the state is going, they still have deep reservations about the federal government’s stewardship. “Our results show Floridians are more confident in Florida’s economy,” said Marian Johnson, senior vice president of political strategy at the Chamber. “These signs of optimism are good for our economy, for our families and for our small businesses. Despite the gridlock in Washington DC, this…

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Associated Industries of FL working group to discuss onshore oil and gas production

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Associated Industries of Florida announced Wednesday it’s forming a “Florida Mineral Rights Working Group” to focus on oil and gas production — with no mention of the even more controversial idea of offshore drilling. The announcement comes as legislation (SB 166/HB 169) has been filed to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which is a process of using sand, water and chemicals to produce oil and gas. The filing of the bills follows a public uproar in Southwest Florida after the…

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Hillsborough County now using elections officials to safeguard public comments on transit effort

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Score one for Sharon Calvert and the critics of Hillsborough County’s public information campaign that could lead to a transit tax referendum on the ballot a year from this November. In what is being described as an unprecedented move, the county is using members of the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) office to safeguard the written comments made by the public at one of the numerous public meetings being held over the next few months. What’s at stake is the possibility…

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