Alachua Voter Guide

I will be the People's Mayor!

The Tea Party movement is evidence that government has gotten so bad that it has inspired Independent voters to organize. It is easy to see how Washington has so terrified its citizens by answering its own out-of-control spending with yet more of the same. But now we are seeing the same hammer-headed arrogance from our local officials. Instead of confining themselves to their mission of public safety, roads and sensible codes enforcement, they try to make a name for themselves in Copenhagen by forcing their ideology on the rest of us.

• The biomass plant. Our city commission became enamored with saving the planet (from something that seems more illusory every day) and decided that it would be far better to burn trees than coal. They began with giving people the option of signing up to have their electricity generated through wood-burning means. The only city commissioner who signed up for it was Rick Bryant! None of the others, including Craig Lowe, made the planet-saving choice! They had the option and decided that it was too expensive! We will not have the option once they shut down the coal plant. By the way, trees do not burn “cleaner” than coal.
• Koppers. When it comes time to oppose environmental hazards that are NOT figments of their imagination, Craig Lowe and the other commissioners have failed to take action. The city does not have to wait for the EPA to stop the Koppers plant from operating because the city has a legal inherent interest in preventing the spreading of poisonous fugitive dust into the Stephen Foster neighborhood. Yet, the city can do no more than wring its hands before turning away to fight against a nemesis they fear even more: Wal-Mart.
• Wal-Mart. In spite of the fact that it enjoys widespread public support from its customers, Wal-Mart seems to be the sum of all fears for a city commission that does not recognize the limitations of its own mission. After demonizing the Wal-Mart Supercenter as a polluting sweatshop and overall blight on the land, they finally agreed to let them build it in East Gainesville, where they must think a polluting sweatshop is a nice fit with that community.
• Stupid spending leads to higher taxes. When the city insists on staying in a losing golf course business, inexplicably buys real estate of questionable value (Mom’s Kitchen), loses your money in avoidable lawsuits, and is a revolving door of high-priced consultants who tell them how to spend more and more of your money, it is no surprise that your electric bill gets higher and higher. After all, GRU is a revenue source for the city, and if you were paying reasonable rates, they would be even deeper in the hole than they already are.

I am asking you to elect me to be your next mayor.  And I am asking you to help me get as many people to the polls as possible this March 16th. Our typical 9-12% turnouts have led our officials to believe that no one is watching them! If we have a resounding victory (which would not take a Herculean effort), the 2 commissioners who face re-election next year will become more attuned to the public mood. And that’s not all. Another one is resigning this year to run for the county commission. There will likely be a special election this year to fill that seat with another reasonable person. And this is going to be a very good year for reasonable people.