A.G. Gancarski Jacksonville Today Contributor email
A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly.
Featured image for “OPINION | What does Jacksonville need from the election? And what does DeSantis want from it?”
November 4, 2024

OPINION | What does Jacksonville need from the election? And what does DeSantis want from it?

Does Jacksonville benefit more from Harris or Trump? And whose victory benefits Ron DeSantis more?…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | We haven’t heard the last of Deegan’s ‘concentration camp’ gaffe ”
Mayor Donna Deegan during her interview with Times Radio in England. | Times Radio
October 21, 2024

OPINION | We haven’t heard the last of Deegan’s ‘concentration camp’ gaffe 

A.G. Gancarski predicts the blowback over Mayor Donna Deegan’s remarks will continue to dog her, both with imminent City Council…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Jacksonville’s approach to state homeless law will lead to court battles”
People sit outside tents on East Adams Street in Downtown Jacksonville, near North Liberty Street. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
October 7, 2024

OPINION | Jacksonville’s approach to state homeless law will lead to court battles

Residents and business owners who don’t think the city is doing its job will be able to sue starting Jan.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Will Jacksonville regret its stadium spend?”
Rain falls on an already flooded San Marco Boulevard on Sept. 5, 2024. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
September 22, 2024

OPINION | Will Jacksonville regret its stadium spend?

This month’s stress test on local drainage systems suggests money to help Shad Khan monetize his team may have been…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Democrats need to decide on Florida play”
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in New Hampshire last week. | AP Photo, Steven Senne
September 9, 2024

OPINION | Democrats need to decide on Florida play

The Harris campaign has an opportunity to make a statement in the Sunshine State and they could do it in…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Northeast Florida voters want authenticity in state legislative candidates ”
State Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, had the biggest primary victory margin, with 95% of the vote on Aug. 20.
August 26, 2024

OPINION | Northeast Florida voters want authenticity in state legislative candidates 

Primary voters made it clear yet again that they value authentic candidates, whether Democrats or Republicans.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | ‘The silly season nears a close! Will we be laughing in the end?’”
The Schell-Sweet Community Wellness Center on the campus of Edward Waters University is one of 24 early voting sites in Duval County in 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 12, 2024

OPINION | ‘The silly season nears a close! Will we be laughing in the end?’

Florida primary elections are a reminder that the most partisan and least moderate candidates often prevail and shape our laws.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | The presidential election is a #jaxpol proxy war and the stakes are high for both sides.”
Left: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan welcomes Vice President Kamala Harris | City of Jacksonville; Right: Former Mayor Lenny Curry posted this photo to X the day Donald Trump was inaugurated | Florida Politics
July 28, 2024

OPINION | The presidential election is a #jaxpol proxy war and the stakes are high for both sides.

Much is at stake in this election, not least of which for local political figures, many of whom have a…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | What Jacksonville City Council Republicans expect from Mayor Deegan’s budget”
Ron Salem and Donna Deegan at her 2023 budget presentation | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
July 12, 2024

OPINION | What Jacksonville City Council Republicans expect from Mayor Deegan’s budget

Mayor Donna Deegan is set to present her second year’s budget proposal on Monday.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Why is Tom Leek all over your TV when you probably can’t vote for him?”
A screenshot from a Tom Leek ad
June 30, 2024

OPINION | Why is Tom Leek all over your TV when you probably can’t vote for him?

Tom Leek’s establishment cred and big spending haven’t helped him in what’s now a three-way primary battle.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Duval Democrats, Republicans take different paths to August primaries”
The Florida Capitol Complex is viewed, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
June 16, 2024

OPINION | Duval Democrats, Republicans take different paths to August primaries

Ultimately, it’s all but certain that Duval will be represented by two Democrats and five Republicans after the fall elections.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | The art of the deal: Donna Deegan’s stadium triumph”
Jaguars owner Shad Khan and Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan celebrated the opening of the Miller Electric Center in July of 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 3, 2024

OPINION | The art of the deal: Donna Deegan’s stadium triumph

Part of the reason the stadium deal sold itself locally is that Jacksonville leadership tethers so much importance to being…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Let the sunshine in: Local government’s transparency problem”
May 20, 2024

OPINION | Let the sunshine in: Local government’s transparency problem

Government is at a low ebb when it comes to accessibility, and in Jacksonville, you can find support for that…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Remedial education: It’s time for an elected superintendent”
May 5, 2024

OPINION | Remedial education: It’s time for an elected superintendent

It’s time for Jacksonville to consider a strong, elected superintendent model such as most counties in the state have. …

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Bob Graham’s legacy and its lessons for today”
Sen. Bob Graham, right, speaks during the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill and Offshore Drilling meeting on Sept. 27, 2010 | AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
April 17, 2024

OPINION | Bob Graham’s legacy and its lessons for today

Graham was arguably the last of the great governors of the state, one who could talk to “old Florida” and…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Jacksonville deserves a stadium referendum”
The Jacksonville Jaguars have proposed renovating EverBank Stadium into the "Stadium of the Future."
April 7, 2024

OPINION | Jacksonville deserves a stadium referendum

Why can’t Jacksonville taxpayers weigh in on the biggest capital obligation in local history?…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Why the Deegan-Biden dynamic matters to Jacksonville this November”
Mayor Donna Deegan welcomes Vice President Kamala Harris to Jacksonville on July 21, 2023. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
March 25, 2024

OPINION | Why the Deegan-Biden dynamic matters to Jacksonville this November

Mayor Deegan – who often talks about working across party lines – is going to be incentivized to be a…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | A look back at a bad legislative session for Northeast Florida”
The Florida Capitol Complex is viewed, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
March 10, 2024

OPINION | A look back at a bad legislative session for Northeast Florida

What do we make of the 2024 Florida legislative session that just wrapped up? And how did Jacksonville fare?…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | The reality of divided government”
Ron Salem and Donna Deegan at her 2023 budget presentation | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 25, 2024

OPINION | The reality of divided government

For Mayor Donna Deegan and this City Council, it will take negotiation and the time-honored principle of “getting to yes”…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Did white supremacists kill the Confederate monument bill?”
February 11, 2024

OPINION | Did white supremacists kill the Confederate monument bill?

If the bill is dead, thank the loud-mouthed racists who got it through the Senate’s head what monument-protection bills are…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Will Donald Trump unite Jacksonville Republicans?”
Former President Donald Trump stands on stage at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit on Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee. | Phelan M. Ebenhack, AP
January 29, 2024

OPINION | Will Donald Trump unite Jacksonville Republicans?

Republicans, led by the chair of the Duval County party, are being compelled to unite behind Trump weeks before the…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Where is the stadium deal?”
January 15, 2024

OPINION | Where is the stadium deal?

The set-up couldn’t have been better for stadium negotiations. Now, it’s the same old Jagwires, bumbling on the field and making…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | The monument is gone! What happens next?”
The Women of the Confederacy monument is lifted off its base at Springfield Park on Dec. 27, 2023. | Dan Scanlan, WJCT News 89.9
January 3, 2024

OPINION | The monument is gone! What happens next?

After Mayor Donna Deegan’s removal of the Springfield Park Confederate monument, it’s clear there will be political ramifications for years…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Donna Deegan needs a political machine”
Donna Deegan celebrates with supporters at Estrella Cocina after winning the Jacksonville mayoral election Tuesday, May 16, 2023. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
December 18, 2023

OPINION | Donna Deegan needs a political machine

With three-and-a-half years to go in Deegan’s administration, it’s apparent that she could use more political cover on the City…

By A.G. Gancarski