Reporting on local and state politics, elections, legislation, and the leaders shaping policy in Jacksonville and Florida.
Featured image for “OPINION | Symptoms of a broken system”
Mourners outside Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo, N.Y., a day after the mass shooting there. | AP
May 23, 2022

OPINION | Symptoms of a broken system

Imagine for a moment it’s a Sunday afternoon. You’ve just left church or brunch or finished a morning run or…

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…

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Protesters rallied May 4 in Jacksonville in support of abortion rights. Will Brown | Jacksonville Today.
May 16, 2022

OPINION | First us, then you

Restricting access to abortion is about control. Restricting access to the ballot is about control. Gerrymandering districts at any level…

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Cord Byrd has served three terms in the Florida House | News Service of Florida
May 15, 2022

OPINION | Byrd’s the word

The great unanswered question of the 2022 election cycle for Northeast Florida Republicans was what Cord Byrd would end up…

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Rents are rising faster in Jacksonville than most places in the U.S. | AP
May 8, 2022

OPINION | ‘Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent’

Not too many years ago, it was possible to eke out a living on the fringes of society and maintain…

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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 | Al Ferraro is driving the narrative”
May 1, 2022

OPINION | Al Ferraro is driving the narrative

Al Ferraro knows how to read a room. People should finally realize that much and give him the credit he’s…

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Gov. Ron DeSantis | AP
April 24, 2022

OPINION | Can DeSantis overplay his hand?

In the week since my column last ran in Jacksonville Today, Gov. Ron DeSantis got everything he wanted from the…

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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…

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Mayor Lenny Curry and Gov. Ron DeSantis in Jacksonville
April 17, 2022

OPINION | Who wants to be a congressman?

There was no surprise, none at all, for readers of this column regarding what the Florida Legislature would do with…

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Mayoral candidate Al Ferraro is proposing a Confederate monument voter referendum | Photo: Al Ferraro for Mayor via Facebook
April 10, 2022

OPINION | Confederacy of dunces

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”  That’s a line from William Faulkner, but it’s also an apt…

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…

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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,…

Featured image for “OPINION | Fun and games in the Florida Legislature”
Members of the Florida House of Representatives give Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls a standing ovation after his farewell speech on Thursday, March 10, 2022. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
March 14, 2022

OPINION | Fun and games in the Florida Legislature

Florida has gotten a well-earned rep for being the country’s sideshow. “Florida Man” headlines alone illustrate why we’re considered America’s…

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A Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces member holds a flower during the wedding ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov during Russia-Ukraine war at a checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 6, 2022. | AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
March 6, 2022

OPINION | Ukraine war hits close to home

The narrative thrust of American war, at least as presented in mass media, has been remoteness. Our enemies never have…

Featured image for “OPINION | House redistricting map creates Jax-only CD5…lands with a thud”
The proposed Congressional District 5 would be entirely within Duval County | House of Representatives
February 27, 2022

OPINION | House redistricting map creates Jax-only CD5…lands with a thud

The intramural pissing match between Republicans in Tallahassee continues, and no clear resolution is at hand as they try to…

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Jacksonville's director of planning and development, Bill Killingsworth, and councilman Al Ferraro discussing proposed voting maps | Claire Heddles, WJCT News
February 21, 2022

OPINION | What are you so afraid of?

The definition of democracy is “government by the people.” It’s “a form of government in which the supreme power is…

Featured image for “OPINION | Drama on Florida House floor reflects Duval’s racial divide”
Reps. Cord Byrd and Angie Nixon | Photos: Florida House of Representatives
February 20, 2022

OPINION | Drama on Florida House floor reflects Duval’s racial divide

Duval County legislators were at the center of drama in the Florida Legislature last week, and the confrontation spoke to…

Featured image for “OPINION | Florida’s surgeon general fight is a preview of 2024”
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, left, speaks at a news conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Jan. 3, 2022, at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. | Wilfredo Lee, AP
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 “OPINION | Lawson for Lt. Gov?”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, poses during a ceremonial swearing-in with Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla., right, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019 in Washington, during the opening session of the 116th Congress. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
February 6, 2022

OPINION | Lawson for Lt. Gov?

Will Florida’s 5th Congressional District, which connects Jacksonville’s Urban Core to Gadsden County while hugging the Georgia border, become a…

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Raymon Troncoso, WJCT News | The Florida Channel livestream
January 10, 2022

OPINION | Rebirth of a nation, state

Today marks the first day of the Florida legislative session. A session where our elected legislators will tackle a myriad…

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A sheriff's deputy handcuffs Ben Frazier January 4, 2022. | Claire Heddles, WJCT News
January 9, 2022

OPINION | Ben Frazier makes his point

A week ago, the world hadn’t heard of Ben Frazier. The president of the Northside Coalition was known locally, but…

Featured image for “OPINION | GOP 2023 race: Death, taxes, and Lenny Curry”
Lenny Curry discusses his campaign on TV on May 12, 2015. | AP Photo/Brendan Farrington
December 17, 2021

OPINION | GOP 2023 race: Death, taxes, and Lenny Curry

What to make of last week’s 13-5 Jacksonville City Council repudiation of LeAnna Cumber’s attempt to turn back the gas…

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December 12, 2021

OPINION | Polson’s problem

The First Election of the Jacksonville City Council At Large Group 3 race is in the books, and nobody won.…