by Susan Bottcher
Notice anything different on your primary ballot? In previous Presidential election years, every Alachua County voter would have seen three County Commission contests on their ballots. This is because three commissioners are up for re-election every Presidential election year. But now, thanks to a new change to the county charter that moved us from At Large Districts (ALD) to Single Member Districts (SMD), there will be only one race for county commission for you to vote on. Or maybe none, depending on the district you live in.
A referendum on Single Member Districts was placed on the 2022 ballot by Republican Rep. Chuck Clemons. Thanks to a cleverly orchestrated disinformation campaign funded by dark money, it passed by a very narrow margin of 51 percent – 49 percent — or 2,557 votes.
This changed who can vote for which commissioners. As the name indicates, you now only vote for the one representing your single district.
And if you live in a county commission district where no seat is up (i.e., Districts 2 and 4 won’t be up for consideration until 2026), then you are not able to vote for anyone.
The intended effect of SMD is to mute your voice, to reduce your voting power for electing county commissioners from all five to just one. This reduction in representation is theft. 4/5s of your representation was stolen from you.
We are fighting back because we know more representation is better than less. This November will be your opportunity to overturn SMDs. Everyone’s ballot will have a referendum asking whether you want to return to electing county commissioners using the ALD model. We urge a YES vote on At Large Districts in November.
You can join the fight to restore ALD by visiting OneAlachuaCounty.com and supporting our campaign. You can donate online or by sending a check to: One Alachua County P.O. Box 358986, Gainesville, 32635
As with any campaign, we are raising funds for mailers, social media ads and yard signs. Any donation is greatly appreciated and will go a long way to return to ALD voting, reclaiming your voice and strengthening democracy!
Susan Bottcher is a community activist and has played a role in Gainesville, county, state, and national politics for over two decades, including a term as a city commissioner, work on the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee, and being elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.