A County Commissioner represents their single-member district and overall countywide interests, as part of the legislative and policy-setting branch of county government. County government is typically responsible for: fire rescue; disaster relief; county jail; constructing and maintaining county buildings, roads, and bridges; providing programs for housing and land conservation, as well as approving the Comprehensive Plan (for development). A county commission candidate must live in the district where they are running for office and is elected by the voters in that district.
Campaign Phone
352-317-4480
The most important lesson that I have learned is to prioritize the the interests, needs, and well being of the citizens of Alachua County. This means asking, listening, and then addressing those needs as best I can. Sometimes there are competing interests, and that requires making tough decisions. I can't always make a decision that pleases everyone, but I can say that I think through decisions carefully and weigh the short and long term impacts on people, the budget and on our county itself. I've learned from experience to adapt. Finally, I have learned to remain humble, to be willing to learn, to ask questions, and to admit when I am wrong. I want to earn (and deserve) the trust of every Alachua County resident.
We need workforce housing, long term supportive housing for the elderly and people with mental illness, and affordable rental housing that is safe and energy efficient. We have many right answers and we need to do most of them.
40% of the inmates in our jail have a diagnosed mental illness and likely another 20% have an undiagnosed mental illness. The Central Receiving Facility being built at Meridian will help reduce this population by providing an alternative to jail for those undergoing a mental health crisis. We will need housing and wrap around services to keep these folks from returning to jail.
Literacy is the root cause of crime, truancy, homelessness, underemployment, even gun violence. We must prioritize reading skills.
I work hard to be accessible to all Alachua County residents. Residents email me, telephone me, respond to me on social media, and meet with me in person. My commissioner cell phone number is public (352-810-1731) as is my personal cell phone (352-317-4480). I welcome civil discussions with any citizen, and I have found that we all have things that we care about in common. Almost all want our tax dollars to be spent carefully, our roads to be maintained, our fire fighters to respond quickly and effectively, great playgrounds and parks, we want smoothly run emergencies. When we start with what we have in common, it is easier to address the things where we may disagree, and to listen to and respect others opinions. This is my goal.
Campaign Phone
786-351-6501
Most important thing is to LISTEN
Alachua is growing in leaps and bounds. Most of our county roads have not been repaved in more than twenty years. this is unacceptable. Personal property rights are very important and large corporations want to purchase our rural acreage to build multi family apartments. This affects our farm land our schools, and our police department. The third item is our water and its safety. Industrial runoff should be prohibited as well as cleaning up items that have been dumped illegally. However, anything that would harm our farmers should be considered very carefully regarding water safety.
I would communicate respectfully with clear reasoning and with ideas that all could agree on.
