Reintroduction
Well, it is time to start covering local elections again. The next big one is in Gainesville, and it will coincide with the Presidential primary on January 29, 2008. Yes, this is much sooner than usual. Gainesville elections are traditionally in the spring. The last time we had a city election during a primary, in 2004, there was a whopping 29% turnout. That is more than double the turnout we are used to in a city election.
So far, there are 4 candidates registered for the 3 seats that are up for election. City District 2, currently held by Ed Braddy, will be getting a new commissioner because of term limits. This is the only contested seat so far, pitting two local activists against each other: Bryan Harmon and Lauren Poe. More opponents still have until December 31, 2007 to enter into the race. Only registered voters living in City District 2 can vote in this race.
In City District 3, the incumbent Jack Donovan is the only one in the race Only registered voters living in City District 3 can vote in this race.
The At-large seat #2 is also up for grabs. It is not yet certain that the incumbent, Rick Bryant, will be seeking re-election. He is rumored to be considering running for a different office in 2008. However, there is a candidate who has already stepped up, and that is local attorney Thomas Hawkins, Jr.
I will be contacting these candidates and inviting them to post here. I will also be contacting other active citizens and recruiting them to post articles on local issues and elections. When I say “post”, I do not mean anonymous comments. They will get a username and password and post under their real names.
Anonymous comments will be allowed, but there will be one moderation hurdle: you can post and it will show up right away ONLY after your first comment has been approved. This is done to prevent spam bots from hitting us over and over again.
