Looking at the state map of voting results for the president, we in Alachua County are a blue island surrounded by red.
All the candidates and issues the Iguana wanted to win did … in Alachua County. The problem was we are attached to a bunch of red state territory which overwhelmed our best intentions. Thank you gerrymandering; the drawing of voting districts lets the party in charge at the decade election, in this case republicans in 2010, pick their voters and dilute a progressive place like Alachua County. Thank you to all our Democrats who put themselves on the line. The only things our picks won statewide was the amendments, one of those “wins” being the defeat of the bogus solar amendment, and the other most notable Yes to Medical Marijuana.
What sets this great county apart is the approval of One Mill for Schools and Wild Spaces Public Places. We value education, parks and the environment enough that we passed two taxes on ourselves, and by substantial margins.
There were also four opportunities for write in candidates, and all got between 5.78 percent and 7.09 percent. The leader among them was Chloe Goldbach, who as an out trangendered woman boldly and bravely drew at least 6,851 votes.
City elections up next in March.