Submitted by Abel Harding on December 23, 2010 - 2:17pm

In print: December 24, 2010

The battle over redistricting has begun.

Florida will pick up two U.S. House seats and Republicans, who will hold 19 of the state’s 25 seats in the new Congress, will look to strengthen swing districts and capitalize on the new ones. Democrats, rendered powerless in the Legislature, will likely have to turn to the courts to lodge complaints.

Some refer to it as the once-in-a-decade moment when members of Congress bother to learn the names of state lawmakers. Tallahassee holds the cards and the calendar is on their side.

Boundaries of Florida’s 27 new districts won’t have to be finalized until June 18, 2012 — the first day of qualifying for federal and state races. That timing is part Florida Constitution and part Legislative calendar, but it leaves outsiders at a distinct disadvantage.

How do you challenge an incumbent without even knowing which district you’ll end up in?

Take Flagler County, for example. A newcomer looking to challenge Rep. John Mica, an 18-year incumbent, could be drawn out of Mica’s district and into Rep. Cliff Stearns’. Or Rep. Ander Crenshaw’s. Or Rep. Corrine Brown’s.

A challenger could spend months fund-raising and recruiting volunteers, only to learn, perhaps the day of qualifying, that he no longer lived in the district.

The power of incumbency is alive and well.

Party politics

Donald Foy, a candidate for City Council At-Large Group 5, garnered press when he left the Duval GOP nearly three years ago, but he’s not the only council hopeful who’s switched parties. In all, 10 candidates have changed their affiliation since January 2008, according to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections. Three of them — Foy, “Big Jim” Breland and Dave Siebert — left the GOP for the Independent Party of Florida. Foy and Breland are running with no party affiliation, while Siebert filed under the auspices of the Independent Party. The others — Linsey Brock, Firtz VanVolkenburgh, Paul Martinez, Juan Diaz, Dane Grey, Jim Robinson and Ron Petts —  became Republicans.

Insider
If you somehow thought pensions wouldn’t be the issue of the 2011 Jacksonville mayor’s race, think again. After Rick Mullaney penned a letter outlining his reasons for not seeking union endorsement, Fraternal Order of Police President Nelson Cuba fired back. “[Y]ou enjoy the second highest city pension … yet have the audacity to call upon everyone else to sacrifice.” Mullaney lamented Cuba’s response, calling it a “personal attack.” … City Council President Jack Webb was named a partner at Brennan, Manna & Diamond. … Times-Union columnist Ron Littlepage earned a spate of media attention this week after a lawsuit threat from Rep. Corrine Brown. T-U attorney George Gabel responded with: “Lawsuits by public officials … challenging critisicm … chills free speech and freedom of the press.”  … Hundreds turned out last week with ideas to turn around four struggling Duval County schools, but political candidates were in short supply. In fact, state Rep. Mia Jones was the only elected official (other than School Board members) spotted in the crowd. … Attorney David Taylor is out of the City Council District 12 race. He’s now backing former Councilman Doyle Carter. Said Taylor: "A lot of the people on the Westside were torn between the two of us." Voters will still have an opportunity to vote for Taylor - he's now in the race for At-Large Group 1, a countywide Council seat.