Featured image for “OPINION | Jax’s next sheriff should build bridge with City Hall”
Photo: Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
September 14, 2022

OPINION | Jax’s next sheriff should build bridge with City Hall

It’s September in Jacksonville, which brings some potential relief from brutal summer heat, a heightened focus on tropical weather activity,…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | The 7 historic districts of Jacksonville”
September 13, 2022

THE JAXSON | The 7 historic districts of Jacksonville

Founded in 1822, Jacksonville is home to 107 properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Of…

Featured image for “OPINION | What we learned from the August elections”
April Carney, right, was among three local candidates who won primaries in Jacksonville after landing Gov. Ron DeSantis' endorsement. | Raymon Troncoso, WJCT News
August 28, 2022

OPINION | What we learned from the August elections

The 2022 primaries taught us a lot about how surprises are possible in local politics, even if some things stay…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY: Why wasn’t the school tax referendum during the general election when more people vote?”
The Duval County School Board voted Tuesday, March 1, 2022, to put a property tax increase referendum on the August primary ballot. Charlotte Joyce was the sole no vote.
August 26, 2022

#AskJAXTDY: Why wasn’t the school tax referendum during the general election when more people vote?

With the August primary in the books, and most races going to runoff elections November 8, the Jacksonville Today team…

Featured image for “OPINION | Advocating for humanity is not indoctrination”
Image: Screen shot from rondesantis.com
August 24, 2022

OPINION | Advocating for humanity is not indoctrination

As humans, we have an average of 6,000 thoughts per day. We are also flooded with as much as 34…

Featured image for “Rutherford, Cammack, Bean roll in Republican primaries; Holloway leads by tiny margin in D4 Dem contest”
Former state Sen. Aaron Bean celebrates winning the Republican primary for Congressional District 4. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 23, 2022

Rutherford, Cammack, Bean roll in Republican primaries; Holloway leads by tiny margin in D4 Dem contest

John Rutherford will return to Congress for a fourth term in the House of Representatives. The Jacksonville congressman defeated challengers…

Featured image for “Jax councilmen defeated in bids for Legislature, as House and Senate races all but decided in several local districts”
Several local House district races were essentially settled in Tuesday's primary or before.
August 23, 2022

Jax councilmen defeated in bids for Legislature, as House and Senate races all but decided in several local districts

Two Jacksonville City Council members fell short in their bids to springboard to seats in the state Legislature in Tuesday’s…

Featured image for “Waters, Burton advance to sheriff runoff; Clark-Murray clinches council seat; Gaffney Jr. favored in November race”
Lakesha Burton and T.K. Waters will face off for Jacksonville Sheriff on November 8.
August 23, 2022

Waters, Burton advance to sheriff runoff; Clark-Murray clinches council seat; Gaffney Jr. favored in November race

Tuesday’s municipal special elections narrowed the field in races for sheriff city council and decided another council seat.…

Featured image for “Duval voters approve higher tax for schools; DeSantis-endorsed School Board candidates win”
The Duval Citizens for Better Schools PAC, which is funding ads in favor of a school property tax referendum, raised more than $200,000 since May.
August 23, 2022

Duval voters approve higher tax for schools; DeSantis-endorsed School Board candidates win

The Duval school district is getting another financial boost from voters. With 53% of the vote, Duval voters on Tuesday…

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 | Expect status quo for JSO after ‘22 election”
All five Jacksonville sheriff's candidates attended a July 20th forum. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
August 14, 2022

OPINION | Expect status quo for JSO after ‘22 election

Is reform coming to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office during the post-Mike Williams era? Based on what we’ve seen thus far…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Duval School Board District 2”
Incumbent Elizabeth Andersen (left) and challenger April Carney (right) take part in a town hall forum hosted by Beaches Watch on Aug. 3. | Raymon Troncoso
August 4, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Duval School Board District 2

Two candidates are running in Duval County School Board District 2, a non-partisan race. The August race, which would normally…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Property tax increase for Duval Schools”
The Duval Schools administration building. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
August 3, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Property tax increase for Duval Schools

The Duval County School Board is asking property owners to pitch in more for public schools. All Duval voters are…

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 “Child sex-abuse allegation surfaces for Clay Commission candidate”
Dale Carter | Carter campaign
August 3, 2022

Child sex-abuse allegation surfaces for Clay Commission candidate

Local dirt hauler Dale Carter’s decision to run this year for the Clay Board of County Commissioners was met with…

Featured image for “OPINION | August is the cruelest month”
Photo: AP
July 31, 2022

OPINION | August is the cruelest month

T.S. Eliot famously posited that “April is the cruelest month.” This tells us that he didn’t follow primary politics in…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Jacksonville Sheriff”
All five Jacksonville sheriff's candidates joined a forum at the Istanbul Center on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
July 24, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Jacksonville Sheriff

Five candidates – four Democrats and one Republican – are vying to fill the Jacksonville sheriff’s seat, following Mike Williams’…

Featured image for “1-in-3 Duval mail-ballot voters are ineligible to vote unless they update their IDs. See where they live”
A Jacksonville Today analysis of voter data shows the percentage of each ZIP code's voters who need to update their ID info.
July 20, 2022

1-in-3 Duval mail-ballot voters are ineligible to vote unless they update their IDs. See where they live

With less than five weeks remaining until the August primaries, a third of the 97,999 Duval voters who requested vote-by-mail…

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 | Have Democrats already lost the governor’s race?”
Charlie Crist announced his candidacy for governor on May 4, 2021. | AP
June 5, 2022

OPINION | Have Democrats already lost the governor’s race?

Democrats are in a bad position vis-a-vis Ron DeSantis, and it seems to have them hamstrung as time starts to…

Featured image for “OPINION | Corrine Brown’s pyrrhic victory”
May 22, 2022

OPINION | Corrine Brown’s pyrrhic victory

Months back, I pleaded to the federal government in this column space to stop prosecuting Corrine Brown. Last week, they…

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 | The day Brian Kilmeade silenced Jacksonville’s political class”
This 2018 file photo shows co-host Brian Kilmeade on the set of "Fox & Friends" in New York. | AP Photo/Richard Drew
April 3, 2022

OPINION | The day Brian Kilmeade silenced Jacksonville’s political class

On Thursday morning, the Fox & Friends program began the 7 o’clock hour blasting the city of Jacksonville. The catalyst…

Featured image for “OPINION | Will Ron DeSantis pick a Jacksonville senator?”
State Sen. Clay Yarborough.
March 27, 2022

OPINION | Will Ron DeSantis pick a Jacksonville senator?

Imagine you’re Clay Yarborough, a current state representative who thought the next campaign was all set. A few months back,…