by Joe Courter
Note, to vote in the Democratic primaries on Aug. 18, (county commission, governor, senators, and representatives) you must be registered as a Democrat. If you are not, you must make that change by July 20, through the supervisor of elections office. Otherwise, you only get to vote in the non-partisan primary races (city, school board, etc.)
We will have one more Iguana after this one before the primary election voting in August. The actual election day is Aug. 18, with early voting and mail-in voting in the weeks before. This is important if you are going to be out of town in that period, as classes will not be resuming for another week, and you will need to arrange for voting by mail with the VERY helpful folks at the Supervisor of Elections office: 352-374-5252.
As the deadline to file to run for office does not end until early June after we print, there may be changes, some may not need a primary and move right to the November ballot.
We’ll know more in August when we print again. But this is where we are now, and our feelings.
Three City Commission races:
District 2 (NW): Nathan Crabbe would be a great addition to the Commission.
District 3 (SW): Casey Willits has been solid.
District 4 (N-NW): Bryan Eastman likewise very good.
Gainesville Mayor: Harvey Ward has been very good in a tough, can’t-please-everybody job.
Group 5 County Judge: Eric Atria would be great to have on the bench.
School Board (county-wide voting for all districts):
District 1: Hunter Miller is a good choice to beat the DeSantis-appointed current Board member Plavic.
District 3: Sarah Rockwell should be returned to the Board.
District 5: Annie Muscato and Jancie Vinson are candidates, no preference at this time.
Alachua County Commission (county-wide voting for all districts):
District 2: Tough race; multiple candidates. Two strong women stand out: Donna Bradbrook, a very well-regarded just-retired long-time County employee, and Tina Certain, a strong independent voice, who is just stepping down from the School Board.
District 4: Ken Cornell has been great and ought to be kept on the job.
There are three Florida House races in our area:
District 10 (NW): Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson is an awesome voice for the environment and things sensible, co-owner of Rum 138. A brave jump into the race.
District 21 (S): The very capable Yvonne Hayes Hinson is stepping down, and there is a very competitive race to succeed her, which includes Malik Moore (former staffer of Hayes Hinson), Antione Fields (strong labor and organizing background), and Xavier Monroe (young, energetic newcomer to politics). Definitely leaning towards Fields.
District 22 (SW): Amy Trask is a real doer, rock solid, and already has made her mark getting the Haven Act passed and signed. Support!!
State Senate District 6 (NE): Jason Bellamy-Fultz is jumping in to give incumbent Jennifer Bradley an overdue opponent. This is a huge challenge but Jason is an awesome organizer and needs our support to make this happen. D