Alachua Voter Guide

This event drew about 1,000 Republicans to the outskirts of Newberry. That made it a good place for a local conservative candidate to be if he wanted to meet potential donors and volunteers for a local race. Incumbents Bill Cervone and Larry Cretul were both in attendance. Cervone is seeking re-election as state attorney for the 8th circuit and has his people gathering signatures to get him on the ballot, as opposed to paying the filing fee. Cretul is in the State House of Representatives, serving District 22.

Political newcomers Bryan Harman and Robert Agrusa are each running for Gainesville City Commission seats. Harman is trying to replace outgoing District 2 Commissioner Ed Braddy, who is prevented from running again by term limits. Agrusa is seeking the At-Large 2 seat that will be left by Rick Bryant at the end of this term. Bryant is rumored to be preparing a run for a bigger office.

Campaigns for the Fair Tax, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul were also represented. The Ron Paul fans, and they were many, were respectful during Sean Hannity’s speech. They only got vocal as he was trying to leave and they rushed to get him to weigh in on Ron Paul. Hannity declined to comment, as he was on his way to prepare for the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity and Colms”. He was going to be broadcasting his portion live from that night’s event location, Canterbury Equestrian Center, in an ad hoc studio.

This event was a triumph for Alachua County Republican Chairman Stafford Jones (left), who has taken the local party from disention and legal difficulties under the previous chairman, to prosperity and respectability over the past few years. Although this has not yet translated into more Republicans being elected locally in the majority Democrat county, it has made them very helpful to the state and national efforts.

I was at the Ann Coulter event 2 years ago. This one was much better. Sean Hannity is a much better speaker, more uplifting, and the sound quality was also much better. A bigger crowd meant more difficult parking situations, but I have to admit I got out pretty quickly, in spite of the fact that my car got blocked in by latecomers. At least they had the good grace to leave relatively early.