Category Archives: August 2024

By Stefanie Gadalean, UF League of Women Voters Founder & President  

In the recent months, two things have become increasingly apparent to me. The first is a generalized sense of hopelessness for the upcoming four years. The second is young people’s increased polarization between political apathy and extreme partisanship. The amalgamation of hopelessness, apathy, and unforgiving partisanship has led many young people to leave their ballots blank. I am writing to plead to my fellow Gen-Zs that not voting will only perpetuate their political grievances. 

by the Gainesville Radical Reproductive Rights Network

In the November 5 general election, Floridians will have the chance to enshrine abortion rights into the Constitution of the State of Florida by voting yes on Amendment 4. The government should not interfere with anyone’s right to access health care and abortion is health care. 

by Susan Bottcher

Here we go. Again.

Once more we are fighting to protect home rule: We want GRU, our local public  utility, to be governed by the people it serves. 

Your November ballot will be long and towards the bottom will be several local referenda. Among them, for Gainesville voters, will be titled “Local Public Utilities.” We urge you to vote YES. Why do we need to vote for YES on Local Public Utilities?  Read on for a bit of background.

by Jewish Voice for Peace

More than nine months into Israel’s unrelenting bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip, more and more Americans are acknowledging our governments’complicity in these atrocities. Human rights groups, national and local governments, international agencies, and grassroots activists have banded together to demand an end to Israel’s siege and to our governments’ support of it.

To protest the violence, cities and counties across the country have divested from war-profiteering corporations involved with Israel. 

by Vivian Filer, Executive Director, Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center

Historical markers, also known as commemorative plaques, are important because they educate, commemorate, and create community history by sharing stories of significant places, people, and events in a tangible way. 

Erecting historical markers is also a crucial step in helping to tell a more complete story of our nation’s history as individuals and communities petition states to honor many omitted by traditional history books. The more than 195,000 historical markers in the United States today offer a glimpse into the past, marking a moment or place of significance worth remembering. The historic Cotton Club building, located at 837 S. E. 7th Avenue here in Gainesville, is such a place.

by Sarah Rockwell

Alachua County School Board member

In a recent press release, Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) announced significant improvements in student performance on state assessments and in school grades. However, school grades offer just a glimpse of a very complex and nuanced picture. A closer examination of the data suggests deeper systemic issues that urgently need to be addressed.

by Joe Courter

In the July 22 issue of the New Yorker, Jonathan Blitzer profiles the Center for Renewing America, one of about two dozen new right-wing groups that are extremely well-funded and networked by the organization that helped bring them into being, the Heritage Foundation. HF was formerly just a think tank like many others in DC, but has now metastasized into varied organizations geared to implementing the goals of Project 2025.

by Joe Courter

What a relief to have the “will he or won’t he” settled! Boom, that quick, and Biden drops into the background and Kamala Harris hits center stage. I am happy, enthused; I feel really good about better chances to be able to set back the authoritarian MAGA movement. 

Coming after the RNC, with Trump-Vance locked together in a bro-fest, there is Kamala Harris ready to pounce, with a, for now, united Democratic party. There seems to be a recognition of the over-riding necessity of defeating Trump, and her rollout has been really inspiring!

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.

by Joe Courter

Here’s your Primary election guide for the August 20 voting. I will ignore the Republican ballot, don’t expect too many of you are reading this; this is the Democratic side. These races will include some that are not on every ballot, due to districts in the city, county, and state. I’ll just list most of the Alachua County area ones.

The August issue of the Iguana is now available, and you can access it here! If you want to get your hands on a hard copy, check out our distro locations here.

Biden to pardon vets discharged for same-sex relationships
by Ashley Murray ~ Florida Phoenix ~ June 26 ~ tinyurl.com/Iguana2005
President Joe Biden will pardon U.S. military veterans who were discharged or convicted under military law for consensual same-sex relations, the administration announced. They estimate thousands were convicted over several decades and may be eligible. The convictions were enforced under a military law that prohibited certain types of sex from May 1951 to December 2013. 

‘Challenges our authority’: School board in Florida bans book about book bans
by Douglas Soule ~ USA Today Network – Florida ~ June 11 ~ tinyurl.com/Iguana2030
School officials in Indian River County have banned a book about book banning.  The book, “Ban this Book” by Alan Gratz, is a children’s novel about a fourth grader who creates a secret banned books locker library after her school board pulled a multitude of titles off the shelves. Board members said they disliked how it referenced other books that already had been removed from schools and accused it of “teaching rebellion of school board authority.”