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<\/a>Brian Ballard backs John Rutherford at Washington fundraiser amid strong fundraising lead.<\/p>\nRutherford, a former three-term Jacksonville Sheriff, seeks his fifth term in Congress representing Florida\u2019s 5th Congressional District.<\/p>\n
He is by far leading the fundraising race<\/a>.<\/p>\n As of the first quarterly report of the year, Rutherford has raised nearly $530,000. He has eclipsed the $400,000 cash-on-hand mark, with nearly $180,000 brought in during the first three months of 2026. Political action committees related to business groups and corporations contributed $116,000 during the period.<\/p>\n Though the District, which includes portions of Duval and St. Johns Counties, is drawn with a Republican advantage, one Democrat is making a decent showing on her own.<\/p>\n Rachel Grage<\/a>, who previously ran for state House, closed the quarter with more than $180,000 raised and retained more than $95,000 cash on hand as of the filing.<\/p>\n Other candidates are struggling to keep pace. Democrat Mark Heggestad has raised a little more than $25,000 during the campaign. Republican media personality Mark Kaye has raised nearly $22,000.<\/p>\n Rutherford has never lost an election. And his network wants to ensure it continues in 2026.<\/p>\n Tweet, tweet: <\/p>\n The way we were.<\/p>\n While the congressional map being considered in Tallahassee this week makes no material changes to Northeast Florida\u2019s configuration, the process in 2022 that ended a minority-access seat running from Jacksonville to the Tallahassee area was on the Governor\u2019s Office\u2019s mind when they sent their proposed product to the Senate.<\/p>\n The executive branch argued that Florida districts historically have been \u201cdistorted by considerations of race\u201d because of the Fair Districts Amendments (FDA) to the Florida Constitution, which superseded \u201cthe requirement to maintain compactness and to utilize existing political and geographical boundaries\u201d with racial considerations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis requires the use of race in redistricting \u2014 something that the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled is unconstitutional,\u201d the Governor\u2019s Office opined, before recalling the Legislature\u2019s proposal that would have \u201cpacked the Black population of Duval County into one district.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven though the Black voting-age population was diminished relative to the benchmark district, the Legislature nevertheless believed that the Black population was large enough that Black voters could still elect candidates of their choice,\u201d the recollection continued, saying the district \u201cstretched over two hundred miles across the Florida\/Georgia border to encompass the Black populations in Duval County in the east and Lean and Gadsden Counties in the west.\u201d<\/p>\n The Governor vetoed that map, along with a more status-quo legislative attempt, invoking the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Legislature eventually enacted, and the Governor signed, the current congressional map with a race-neutral version of Congressional District 5,\u201d the narrative concluded.<\/p>\n The proposed map would create just four Democratic seats, including one that packs Orlando and surrounding areas into a district, and three South Florida districts.<\/p>\n In Senate Rules on Tuesday, Northeast Florida legislators questioned the process and the product.<\/p>\n Democratic Leader-designate Tracie Davis peppered representatives of the Governor\u2019s Office about the process by which the map was drawn.<\/p>\n Republican Jenn Bradley took issue with the lack of changes north of I-4, which contradicted the argument for reapportionment to reflect population changes in fast-growing areas.<\/p>\n Ultimately, both voted against the proposal, but it is moving forward anyway.<\/p>\n Tweet, tweet <\/p>\n Challenger emerges<\/p>\n With just over a year until the next countywide General Election in Jacksonville, a first-time Democratic candidate is launching a challenge to incumbent Mayor Donna Deegan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Marquita Valencia<\/a>, a 42-year-old third-generation native of Duval County who grew up in Brentwood, who still goes to Mt. Moriah Church, and who attended Mandarin High School, opened her campaign account Friday.<\/p>\n Valencia has been a mortgage loan processor for Deutsche Bank for the last five years and has spent her entire career in financial services, so she keeps an eye on the bottom line in all aspects of her campaign, including ballot qualification.<\/p>\n She tells Florida Politics she intends to do so by petition, which requires 7,500 signatures, to save on the filing fee.<\/p>\n Valencia learned frugality growing up, noting that her mother sometimes struggled with the cost of food, and those early struggles and the ongoing issues in her old neighborhood inspired her to run in part.<\/p>\n While she acknowledges progress has occurred in parts of the city, it hasn\u2019t reached places like Brentwood, which suffer from a lack of grocery stores and from infrastructure that gets overlooked as investment goes to other parts of town, many of which she has lived in over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see any progress in those areas,\u201d Valencia said.<\/p>\n Places like the Northside and Eastside need \u201cchange and progress to lower crime, to lower homelessness,\u201d Valencia said. But city leaders prioritize Downtown over the neighborhoods that border it.<\/p>\n She questions one of Deegan\u2019s signature projects specifically.<\/p>\n Valencia doesn\u2019t believe the city\u2019s $775 million investment<\/a> into refurbishing the Jaguars<\/a>\u2018 stadium, which comes at the expense of deferring paying off a now-closed pension plan five more years until sometime in the 2050s, benefits the Northside or the Eastside by bringing \u201chealthy food\u201d to those areas or making it \u201csafe to walk\u201d the streets.<\/p>\n To be sure, this first-time candidate will face a challenge in trying to make Deegan a one-term Mayor, as the former newscaster launched her campaign last week to become the first Democratic Jacksonville Mayor re-elected since Jake Godbold<\/a> in 1983.<\/p>\n Though the formal re-election campaign is just beginning, Deegan has already begun fundraising<\/a>. The aligned Duval for All<\/a> political committee has raised more than $1.62 million and has spent less than $177,000.<\/p>\n Link, link<\/p>\n Numbers racket<\/p>\n Jacksonville\u2019s Inspector General says the city\u2019s Housing Authority allowed nine workers to double dip, collecting full salaries and benefits while also drawing tax-free workers\u2019 comp payments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe issue stemmed from a misclassified payroll code that treated \u2018workers comp\u2019 entries as a payout code, causing the system to issue full salary regardless of an employee\u2019s work status. Based on JHA records, the OIG identified overpayments totaling $73,204.51. JHA was unable to locate documentation showing that any indemnity checks were submitted to payroll as required by its Standard Operating Procedures,\u201d the OIG explained.<\/p>\n One person got nearly $19,000 in overpayment due to the error.<\/p>\n JHA axed its HR team and is now working to recover funds, with more than $10,000 clawed back as of last week.<\/p>\n Tweet, tweet <\/p>\n Brothers in arms<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be in Dire Straits if you break a new law and pass stopped school buses starting May 1.<\/p>\n And it won\u2019t be Money for Nothing. You\u2019ll be fined $225 if you decide to drive around one of them with its stop arm extended, the Duval County School District warns.Jacksonville Housing Authority overpays workers due to payroll error, triggering Inspector General probe and ongoing recovery of misallocated public funds.Jacksonville Housing Authority overpays workers due to payroll error, triggering Inspector General probe and ongoing recovery of misallocated public funds.<\/p>\n \u201cEarlier this month, the District announced the launch of this safety initiative, which is aimed at protecting students as they enter and exit the bus. District buses are now equipped with stop-arm camera technology that captures the license plate information of vehicles that violate Florida law by passing a stopped school bus,\u201d the District notes.<\/p>\n We assume most of our readers are already following this law.<\/p>\n Tweet, tweet<\/p>\n Word is bond<\/p>\n The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is celebrating solid bond ratings for its $230 million Concourse B construction project.<\/p>\n Moody\u2019s Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC (KBRA), assigned JAA ratings of A1, A+ and AA. All three rated the independent Authority\u2019s finances as stable.<\/p>\n \u201cThese ratings signify the strong financial position of the JAA,\u201d JAA CEO Mark VanLoh said. \u201cThis allows us to finance projects that matter to the Northeast Florida community, such as the construction of Concourse B. Not only will it bring additional gates which are desperately needed, but new customer service amenities and great dining options for travelers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe strength of management, the current status of the Concourse B project and the Authority\u2019s strong financial metrics are likely factors these agencies considered while issuing their guidance. We look forward to going out to the bond market and securing financing for the completion of our largest construction project in the last 20 years,\u201d said JAA Chief Financial Officer Ross Jones.<\/p>\n Tweet, tweet<\/p>\n JAXPORT pickup<\/p>\n Earth Day for JAXPORT<\/a> employees was very productive, as they helped clean up a major thoroughfare near some of the port\u2019s more prominent operations.<\/p>\n Those workers focused on a 2-mile stretch of Heckscher Drive on April 24, the official Earth Day celebration. The roadway runs along the northern shore of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. The workers focused on that stretch of Heckscher<\/a> because JAXPORT adopted that area four years ago through the Florida Department of Transportation\u2019s Adopt-A-Highway program<\/a>. The roadway is near the organization\u2019s Blount Island Marine Terminal.<\/p>\n JAXPORT employees gathered an estimated 2,260 pounds of refuse from the areas along the road. Those workers were able to collect trash, tires, large signs, metal debris, house siding and various car parts among the refuse.<\/p>\n \u201cOur annual Earth Day cleanup reflects our ongoing commitment to being a good neighbor and responsible steward of the environment,\u201d said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. \u201cAs the main thoroughfare to two of our major cargo terminals, this corridor is vital to our operations. Each year, our employees help keep it clean while protecting natural resources and preventing debris from reaching nearby waterways.\u201d<\/p>\n Biz boom<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s large cities are the best in the nation to start a business.<\/p>\n That\u2019s according to a new study published by WalletHub<\/a>, which found that the Sunshine State\u2019s biggest cities are so business-friendly that there\u2019s little room for any other states in the top tier<\/a>.<\/p>\n The firm compared 100 large cities across the country using 19 factors, including the five-year business survival rate, labor costs and the affordability of office space. Jacksonville was among the best, coming in third in the nation behind Orlando. Jacksonville\u2019s startup business score was 62.08.<\/p>\n WalletHub analysts raved about Jacksonville\u2019s business environment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city has some of the lowest corporate taxes in the country, which can provide a boost to new businesses by allowing them to reinvest more of their capital. Businesses that are currently in Jacksonville are thriving, as the city has a very high number of startup firms per capita, indicating a strong environment for launching new businesses,\u201d the analysis said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also has some of the highest rates of growth in business revenues in the country, which suggests that companies in the city have strong potential to expand and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Hall of Famers<\/p>\n Junior Achievement of North Florida will host its Hall of Fame event on May 13 at the University of North Florida.<\/p>\n The ceremony runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Adam W. Herbert University Center, recognizing leaders in business, education and community service.<\/p>\n Andy Allen, founder and CEO of Corner Lot Development, will receive the Thompson S. Baker Award, the organization\u2019s top honor for impact and leadership.<\/p>\n Other honorees include Pam Coleman as Educator of the Year, FIS as Company of the Year, and Evan Satterwhite of Bank OZK as Volunteer of the Year, highlighting contributions across sectors.<\/p>\n MOCA maven<\/p>\n Jacksonville hometown artist is being celebrated at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA<\/a>) beginning Thursday.<\/p>\n MOCA is featuring an exhibit of Amer Kobaslija, a Jacksonville-based painter whose work has gained international recognition. \u201cOutside Looking In: The Paintings of Amer Kobaslija\u201d begins its run at MOCA with a free Community Opening Celebration from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday. The exhibit will run through Sept. 20.<\/p>\n Kobaslija\u2019s work focuses on his surroundings \u201cwith virtuosity and wit,\u201d according to a MOCA news release. The Outside Looking In exhibit will highlight his work from early in his career. That will also include works featuring his elements from The Florida Diaries, a continuing series of paintings detailing Florida landscapes.<\/p>\n Kobaslija was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and became a refugee fleeing to Germany in 1993 amid the Serbo-Croatian war. He eventually moved to Jacksonville in 1997, where his career took off.<\/p>\n Tweet, tweet<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Northeast Florida sees no changes for seats held by Republicans Aaron Bean, Kat Cammack, Randy Fine and John Rutherford. Image via EOG.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>A new candidate for Jacksonville Mayor emerges.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Jacksonville Housing Authority overpays workers due to payroll error, triggering Inspector General probe and ongoing recovery of misallocated public funds.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Duval schools warn drivers: \u2018Dire Straits\u2019 fines hit $225 for illegally passing stopped school buses starting May 1.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Jacksonville Aviation Authority earns strong bond ratings, advancing $230M Concourse B expansion at Jacksonville International Airport. Image via Jacksonville Business Journal.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>JAXPORT employees remove more than 2,200 pounds of debris during Earth Day cleanup along Heckscher Drive near the Blount Island terminal.<\/p>\n<\/a>Jacksonville ranks among top U.S. cities for startups, driven by low taxes, strong growth and a thriving small business environment.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>MOCA Jacksonville debuts Amer Kobaslija exhibit, showcasing internationally recognized paintings and Florida landscapes through September. Image via The Florida Times-Union.<\/p>\n