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 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, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
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

Featured image for “OPINION | Most compelling race of 2024? The Democratic primary in House District 13”
Former Jacksonville city council member Brenda Priestly Jackson, left, announced she will challenge state Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) in a Democratic primary next year. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
December 3, 2023

OPINION | Most compelling race of 2024? The Democratic primary in House District 13

Rep. Angie Nixon, who had close to 90% of the vote in her 2022 Democratic primary, will face off against…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Ron DeSantis picks and chooses his First Amendment battles”
Gov. Ron DeSantis decried the idea that he bore any responsibility for a white supremacist opening fire at a Dollar General in Jacksonville's New Town neighborhood on Aug. 26. He was confronted by a Black military veteran who claimed "the governor is scared of voices like mine."
November 20, 2023

OPINION | Ron DeSantis picks and chooses his First Amendment battles

It’s hard to see Ron DeSantis’ 11th hour cosplay as a free speech warrior as anything more than an attempt…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Selective outrage: The perils and self-deceptions of bringing a foreign war home”
November 6, 2023

OPINION | Selective outrage: The perils and self-deceptions of bringing a foreign war home

Our elected leaders would rather support Israel than denounce home-grown anti-Semitism.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | In defense of Ron Salem”
Ron Salem is a member of the Jacksonville City Council. He was reelected in March 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 23, 2023

OPINION | In defense of Ron Salem

Ron Salem, a Republican of Palestinian descent, is taking hits for his no vote on a City Council resolution offering…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Donna Deegan’s stadium conundrum”
EverBank Stadium has served as the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars since their inaugural season in 1995. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 9, 2023

OPINION | Donna Deegan’s stadium conundrum

The mayor isn’t going to be able to make everyone happy. Will anyone be smiling at the end?…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Where did Deegan go wrong? Lessons from the failed Ferraro and DeFoor nominations”
September 18, 2023

OPINION | Where did Deegan go wrong? Lessons from the failed Ferraro and DeFoor nominations

Two failed nominations reveal a surprising lack of understanding of how the City Council actually works and thinks.…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | The ultimate pragmatist: E. Denise Lee’s inclusive politics”
September 4, 2023

OPINION | The ultimate pragmatist: E. Denise Lee’s inclusive politics

We need Denise Lee’s clarity of vision to be actualized by a new generation, her ability to unify people who…

By A.G. Gancarski

Featured image for “OPINION | Jacksonville isn’t Ron DeSantis’ town anymore”
August 21, 2023

OPINION | Jacksonville isn’t Ron DeSantis’ town anymore

What’s clear is that Ron DeSantis has taken his eye off Jacksonville — like the rest of the state — and…

By A.G. Gancarski