PerspectivesRob Bradley Jacksonville Today Contributor
Rob Bradley wrote his column for Jacksonville Today from 2021 to 2022. He is an attorney and chairman of the governing board of the St. Johns River Water Management District. Rob represented North Florida in the Florida Senate from 2012-2020, serving as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations from 2017-2020, where he crafted three state budgets, each in excess of $90 billion. Rob has been married to Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, for 26 years. They have three children, Connor, Stephanie and Caroline.
Featured image for “OPINION | Government can work. Here’s proof”
Photo: Morris B. Silas, special to Jacksonville Today
August 31, 2022

OPINION | Government can work. Here’s proof

Spend a lot of time browsing social media or watching Fox, CNN or MSNBC, and it would be easy to…

Featured image for “OPINION | DeSantis’ influence key in local GOP elections”
Image: DeSantis campaign via Twitter
August 17, 2022

OPINION | DeSantis’ influence key in local GOP elections

As the 2022 primary draws to a close, several storylines have emerged at the local, state and federal levels: Former…

Featured image for “OPINION | For candidates, public scrutiny is part of the process”
Photo: Bill Bortzfield, WJCT
August 3, 2022

OPINION | For candidates, public scrutiny is part of the process

The primary season in Florida politics is always brutal. Because primaries involve battles between members of the same political party,…

Featured image for “OPINION | Think you can’t fight City Hall? Remember the Red Shirts”
The St. Johns River Water Management District wants to collect water from this spot on Black Creek near the Florida 16 bridge. The water would be piped to Keystone Heights. | St. Johns Riverkeeper
July 20, 2022

OPINION | Think you can’t fight City Hall? Remember the Red Shirts

There is a lot of frustration with government these days. Inflation and the lingering effects of the pandemic have many…

Featured image for “OPINION | ‘Fair Districts’ vote wasn’t the last word”
The Florida Legislature passed this new congressional district map in April 2022 after Gov. DeSantis vetoed the previous attempt. | Florida Legislature
July 6, 2022

OPINION | ‘Fair Districts’ vote wasn’t the last word

After losing the governor’s mansion in 1998 and losing both chambers of the state Legislature a few years prior, Florida…

Featured image for “OPINION | Which candidate will be in sync with voters?”
Donald Trump speaking in Nashville | AP
June 22, 2022

OPINION | Which candidate will be in sync with voters?

You never really know when voters are done and ready to move on until, well, they move on. Take the…

Featured image for “OPINION | DeSantis’ vetoes gut Legislature’s priorities”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the American Legislative Exchange Council Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Salt Lake City. | AP
June 8, 2022

OPINION | DeSantis’ vetoes gut Legislature’s priorities

Two months ago in this column, I predicted that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto list for this year’s state budget would…

Featured image for “OPINION | To stabilize property insurance, focus on resilience”
Preserving wetlands and other resilience investment is the best way to keep property insurance rates down in Florida, Bradley says. | North Florida Land Trust
May 25, 2022

OPINION | To stabilize property insurance, focus on resilience

There is a reason why very few people lived in Florida until the middle of the 20th Century. It’s often…

Featured image for “SPORTS | Jags’ turnaround hinges on defense”
Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Travon Walker (44) takes a break during rookie minicamp on May 13th. | AP
May 18, 2022

SPORTS | Jags’ turnaround hinges on defense

Of all the statistics showing how bad the Jaguars franchise has been in the 21st Century, perhaps one data point…

Featured image for “OPINION | Roe leak changes politics as we know it”
An anti-abortion counterprotester attends a reproductive rights rally in Jacksonville on May 4, 2022. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 4, 2022

OPINION | Roe leak changes politics as we know it

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives…This is what…

Featured image for “OPINION | DeSantis Republicans run the show”
AP Photo/John Raoux
April 20, 2022

OPINION | DeSantis Republicans run the show

It’s pretty clear that much of the Tallahassee Establishment – the TE – still doesn’t get it. This detachment from…

Featured image for “OPINION | Dissolving Disney’s special district is complicated”
AP Photo/John Raoux, File
April 6, 2022

OPINION | Dissolving Disney’s special district is complicated

While the Reedy Creek Improvement District (“RCID”) may sound like an organization that handles trash pickup for your local neighborhood,…

Featured image for “OPINION | 6 takeaways from the 2022 legislative session”
You can start to see the influence of incoming Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, on budget items important to this region, Bradley says. | Florida House
March 23, 2022

OPINION | 6 takeaways from the 2022 legislative session

The 2022 Florida regular legislative session is in the books. The Legislature had four constitutionally mandated duties this year: pass…

Featured image for “OPINION | Feds’ Everglades slight means more toxic water dumped on Floridians”
A remaining part of the Old Tamiami Trail roadbed is shown, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Miami. The roadbed, which was being removed, acted as a dam preventing water to flow from the Central Everglades into Everglades National Park. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
March 9, 2022

OPINION | Feds’ Everglades slight means more toxic water dumped on Floridians

Lake Okeechobee, the massive water body north of the Everglades, is surrounded by a dike that was built by the…

Featured image for “OPINION | Leave university funding alone ”
The University of Florida (seen in this 2011 file photo) is now a top 5 public university. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
February 23, 2022

OPINION | Leave university funding alone 

In Florida’s state government, the Legislature is required to produce a balanced budget every year. This is very different than…

Featured image for “OPINION | Florida’s surgeon general fight is a preview of 2024”
Florida Surgeon Gen. Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, left, speaks at a news conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
February 9, 2022

OPINION | Florida’s surgeon general fight is a preview of 2024

Before the 2000 Bush/Gore election, Tim Russert, the late Meet the Press host, was asked what he would be watching…

Featured image for “SPORTS | What Trevor Lawrence needs from the Jags”
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence high fives fans as he leaves the field after defeating the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Jacksonville. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
January 19, 2022

SPORTS | What Trevor Lawrence needs from the Jags

Former NFL coach Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” Considering the Jaguars have the…

Featured image for “OPINION | 2022 will be a Republican rout in Florida”
Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters in 2018. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
January 5, 2022

OPINION | 2022 will be a Republican rout in Florida

In 2002, Jeb Bush was a runaway political freight train. His first four years in the Governor’s Mansion resulted in…

Featured image for “SPORTS | Urban Meyer couldn’t overcome his ‘trust issues’”
Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field. Credit: Heather Schatz, WJCT News
December 15, 2021

SPORTS | Urban Meyer couldn’t overcome his ‘trust issues’

There’s a difference between coach speak and dishonesty. Coach speak happens every week in news conferences at all levels of…

Featured image for “OPINION | Congress should get out of the marijuana business”
Credit CannabisMD TeleMed via Wikimedia Commons
December 1, 2021

OPINION | Congress should get out of the marijuana business

When Ron DeSantis was in Congress, he wasn’t a big fan of the institution. He criticized its ineptitude while he…

Featured image for “OPINION | Floridians want control of their life back”
Gov. Ron DeSantis | AP
November 17, 2021

OPINION | Floridians want control of their life back

For over a year now, our lives have been completely upended, and it all seems terribly unfair. Family and friends…