Alachua Voter Guide

It is easy to forget our small towns and their elections. Gainesville casts a big shadow, but local politics in close quarters can get pretty nasty. All you have to do is look at Alachua, a city of 6,000 people. Its elections are preceded and followed by accusations, demonstrations, and lawsuits. Their next election will be in the spring, so it is too soon to cover them. Maybe.

I was riding through High Springs today and I saw a lot of fresh political signs! I have just gotten back from vacation, so I really felt out of the loop with High Springs politics. Fortunately, one of the candidates for a city commission seat has a web address! This proved to be very informative and interesting, unlike most candidate websites.

Meet Gene Levine. His website, GeneLevine.Org, tells you all about his past experience as a city official in Canton, Texas. It also tells us about his success as a management consultant, author, speaker, and business owner. It also alleges that there are a lot of lies and rumors being circulated about him. He even has a rumor-control page.

I have to admit that I love a lot of information and conflict that is out in the open. That is how it should be. I don’t have any web addresses for his opponents, Dick Williams and Bill Coughlin, but I would love to have their take on all of this.

Mr. Levine is very open and above board about what he wants to do as a city commissioner. At least that is my impression. If, however, there are any people in High Springs who want to go on the record refuting the things on his website, all I can say is “Bring it on”.