Alachua voters have something new on ballot this November

By Tami Stevenson

With the election fast approaching on November 8, a general vote on November’s ballot for residents in Alachua County has some concerned and others hopeful it will go through. If passed, the referendum will change how voters choose Alachua County’s commissioners. 

     Currently, they have an at-large election where all voters have the opportunity to vote for all five commissioners and all five commissioners represent the whole of Alachua County. If the referendum passes, each commissioner will represent his district and each voter will only be allowed to vote for the commission candidates running in the district they live in.

     In Suwannee County, Columbia County and many others, that is how residents vote. Each commissioner runs on a platform that best represents the voters in their particular district and they will come knocking on your door asking you to vote for them during the campaign process. They will give you reasons why they feel they passionately care more about your district than their opponent, because they live there as well.

     If a resident has an issue or question that pertains to their district, they would speak with the commissioner that represents their district. The pro in this is that he or she will be careful how they handle these concerns because if they want to be re-elected, they need to genuinely care about and address the concerns of the voters in their district. If every commissioner has an equal say in how each district is run, commissioners may not be as motivated to satisfy the cries of a certain district.

     Single-member districts were discussed within the commission in 2020, but they never acted on it as most commissioners do not approve of it.

     Alachua’s District 4 Commissioner Ken Cornell told WUFT recently that single-member districts would result in political horse-trading and a lack of cooperation at the county level. But is that always a negative thing? Going along to get along doesn’t always represent the people. Many residents feel Alachua County officials make their decisions for what best suits Gainesville instead of their individual districts, in places like Newberry and Alachua, for instance.

     This November 8, for the first time ever, Alachua County voters will be allowed to weigh in on this issue.