SPECIAL
Feb 01, 2000 -
TDC change approved while PAC
plans voter drive -
By John Ledbetter, staff writer
Destin Log, The Okaloosa
County commission has endorsed
changing the bed tax law, while
TDC supporters want voters to
register. Commissioners passed a
resolution this week in favor of
liberalizing how TDC revenue can
be spent...
February, 2002 -
Not in My District You Don’t - By Mary Ellen Klas, Florida
Trends, Bickering and raw political ambition have already surfaced
as state legislators begin redrawing the state’s political boundaries.
Over the past decade, as political power in Florida shifted to Republicans,
the GOP carefully scripted a strategy to boost its membership in the
state Legislature and Congress. First, the party sought to dominate
the state legislative committees that control the once-a-decade reapportionment
of legislative districts. Then, Republicans planned to forge a reapportionment
plan that would maximize their strength by concentrating Democrats in
traditionally Democratic areas. One tactic: Increase the number of Democrats
in districts represented by African-American legislators, for example,
by diluting the number of Democrats in adjacent districts held by white
Democratic incumbents — leaving more districts in which Republicans
could dominate or be competitive. Some Republican incumbents would face
new district boundaries, but in the end the party expected to glean
three to eight more seats in the Legislature and Congress...
