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A weekly, local news podcast for Gainesville, FL and Alachua County, covering business, government, education and events. StreetSmart is produced by Mainstreet Daily News, the source for local news that matters to you.
Hello from Gainesville, Florida. It's Monday, August 24, and you're listening to StreetSmart. I'm Seth Johnson. StreetSmart is a weekly podcast from Mainstreet Daily News, where we cover local news that informs, engages, and inspires listeners like you. A big thanks to our sponsor, Forest Meadows Funeral Home, where compassion meets experience.
Seth Johnson:Check out their beautiful gardens, funeral home, and tribute center. With exceptional care and personal attention, Forest Meadows is here to honor every life with care. Here's the top headlines we're following. Glanzer Realty sold its historic Newberry offices to downsize, making room for a local State Farm agent. After seventeen years in the space, Glanzer said it was a bittersweet goodbye but made sense given the increasingly online direction of the real estate market.
Seth Johnson:The Rotary Club of Gainesville awarded Roy Hunt with the service above self award, the highest accolade given by the organization. Hunt taught at UF's Levin College of Law and later served as president of the Haarne Museum and Curtis Phillips Center. The fourteenth annual Red Shoe Affair at the O'dome raised $590,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida, a new fundraising record. The event included eight thirty guests and 102 sponsors. The School Board of Alachua County hired a search firm to begin looking for a permanent superintendent.
Seth Johnson:The search could potentially wrap up by the end of the year, The contract includes a second search if needed. Zion Lutheran Church in Gainesville held an open house this weekend for its new sanctuary off Northwest 34th Street. The project started in 2017 but ran into issues. Learn more about the project and the church at mainstreetdailynews.com. Thanks to our generous members, our journalism stays free for the whole community with no paywall.
Seth Johnson:Welcome to this episode of StreetSmart. I'm Seth Johnson, and we're happy to have a special cohost here this week. It's our publisher, JC Derrick.
J.C. Derrick:Hello, Seth. Thanks for having me.
Seth Johnson:Absolutely. It's been a while since you've been on. You jumped on to a StreetSmart episode at the beginning when we were launching, but you're still on the website as a cohost. So it's good to have you in studio.
J.C. Derrick:Thanks for counting me even though I'm a slacker, not coming on very often. But, yeah, you and Lillian and and Nick have been doing a great job, but I'm happy to be with you today.
Seth Johnson:Good to have you. Not gonna say you were a last minute addition or the only choice this week, but
J.C. Derrick:Don't don't don't say you were scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
Seth Johnson:We'll say you're a specialist in elections because that's what we're gonna be covering. Obviously, a big election week last week in Alachua County and throughout Florida.
J.C. Derrick:There you go. And I have been doing that for a few years, so I guess that makes me qualified.
Seth Johnson:Well, here in Alachua County, we had 27% voter turnout just two percentage points below four years ago, but still not too terribly bad.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. I mean, I know some people would see that as low, but I've certainly seen lower. So we'll be thankful that one in four people, registered voters did come out and and let their voices be heard on Tuesday.
Seth Johnson:And that percentage translates to 44,780 ballots cast. That's approximately everything has to get certified over the week after the election, but that's gonna be a pretty close number.
J.C. Derrick:Exactly. Yeah. That's that's what we have to work with so far. Supervisors of elections have been putting out all their numbers, and, that's what we got. It's it's unofficial, but it's what we have to work with right now.
J.C. Derrick:And so it's not certified. And, but as far as we know, there won't be any recounts. So these these numbers should be pretty close.
Seth Johnson:And before we get started on the city Gainesville level and then kind of working our way up to the state of Florida, were there any big surprises off the bat?
J.C. Derrick:Well, I don't know about surprises, but I do know I was watching the district two county commission race just because there were a lot of candidates. We saw a lot of signs. You know, it it was a very competitive race. And so that was one I I definitely found of interest in that, you know, Tina Certain, who's been on the school board for a number of years, won that with 38% of the, of the vote.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. Interesting to see if voters would be behind her moving over to the county or not. Obviously, it's the exact same constituency since the school board is the entire county and the county is the entire county, and so she had to market to the exact same people.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. And she obviously was able to leverage her base and defeat those other candidates. We had Donna Bradbrook who came in with 31% of the vote, and then Charlie Ray Jackson and Byron Williams also ran. But, you know, Byron Williams himself was also an office holder, and so, you know, he had his own base that he brought to that. And so, that wasn't enough to take him to the top.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. So a preview there. But coming back to the city of Gainesville, I will say not very many surprises here for me. Mayor Harvey Ward easily cleared contender Evan Moon with 80% of the vote. I don't think that was a big surprise.
Seth Johnson:You had Casey Willitt's, another incumbent who garnered 54% of the vote and was able to clear two of his challengers, so no runoff needed this year. He had to go to a runoff four years ago to get that city seat.
J.C. Derrick:Against the same candidate?
Seth Johnson:Against Dejon Kane, yes, as well. What did surprise me about that District 3 race with Willits was he won with only 976 votes. Mhmm. And so he's on the city commission dealing with the budget of $150,000,000 each year and less than a thousand people to to get him there.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. That is a surprise. And, I mean, I think, this is gets it kind of why Mainstreet exists. You know? Basically, a plug for our work here.
J.C. Derrick:You know, we we want people to be informed and to get involved in their community. And, that means certainly more than just voting and city government, but not less than that. So we hope more people will, will get engaged in the local process here.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. And just to compare that to the district two race. Now this one was interesting because commissioner Ed Book decided to step down. So he had three challengers, none no incumbents. And Nathan Crabbe, Former Gainesville sign opinion editor, was able to win that pretty handily with 62% of the vote and avoid a runoff.
Seth Johnson:But he had 4,714 total votes. So compare that to Willits with less than a thousand, the same, you know, two different districts in Gainesville. One's Northwest Gainesville, and the other one's Southwest Gainesville, and you see a very different turnout.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. That that was super surprising. I agree with you. And, I I mean, the power of the press? I don't know.
J.C. Derrick:Maybe is that what that shows?
Seth Johnson:It could be. It shows that there's hope if you wanna get into politics, JC.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. No. No. Thank you. I I will, anti announce right now.
J.C. Derrick:I'm not running for anything.
Seth Johnson:And commissioner Brian Eastman will also join them with a new term. They will be sworn in in January and start their four year terms. Eastman had no one run against him, so he's unopposed. And Mhmm. I asked mayor Harvey Ward what he thought about kind of the strong support for incumbents and if he's thought, you know, it was a sign that people like where the city's headed.
Seth Johnson:And he said yes and looked back to those two GRU referendums that happened in the last four years and, you know, over 70% support for those, and those were commission led efforts. And so he says voters think they're on the right trajectory, and they're gonna try and keep it up for the next, four years.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. I mean, I I I would have to say I think that's a fair interpretation of the results just looking at not not just who was elected, but also the size of the field. You know, Evan Moon was a a political newcomer. And what was it? Nine candidates we had in 2022, I believe, in the mayoral race.
J.C. Derrick:So very competitive. And, you know, there was just the two this time, and some of the other races as well didn't draw as many candidates as some of the the elections we've seen in the past, which I think is something of a a vote of confidence from the community about the direction of the city.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. The City Of Gainesville voters were really unhappy with some of the incumbent decisions. You would have seen somebody run against Eastman, surely, in a little bit more competition against the mayor. Mhmm.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. I think you're right. Okay. Let's turn our attention to the school board. Nick is now with us today.
J.C. Derrick:So, Seth, you get to fill in for Nick and on the education beat. He wrote about this
Seth Johnson:for me. I'm not good with impressions. I'll tell you right
J.C. Derrick:now. Yeah. You can use your voice. It's fine. It's fine.
J.C. Derrick:He does have a distinct accent that we'll we'll leave to him.
Seth Johnson:So you had Sarah Rockwell, the incumbent for District 3. She was able to easily overcome Gregory Pelham. She had 57% of the vote, and so she will move on for another term on the school board.
J.C. Derrick:About 6,000 votes, I think, separated them.
Seth Johnson:Right. And then for District 1, this one had three candidates, and Hunter Miller came in first. He had 45% of vote with around 19,000 votes total. And Janine Plavik was followed behind by about 10 percentage points. They're going to head to a runoff in November for that District 1C, and that's the one that Tina Certain vacated in order to run for Electric County Commission.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. So this is where the rules are very interesting here because we had some candidates who didn't get to 50%, and they won. And some candidates who got to 50%, and they're headed to a runoff. So let's let's talk about the rules here in Alantra County and how how this election worked. You're the expert.
J.C. Derrick:So, enlighten us, Seth.
Seth Johnson:So the school board has nonpartisan races, and so you need to get to that 50% mark. It's the magic number in order to hold office. And so when you have three candidates, chances are you might not get to that 50% mark. Obviously, Casey Willets did in the city race that we were just talking about, so he avoids the runoff. But, you know, four years ago, there were also three people running for that Gainesville race and, you know, he got 49% of the vote, so he didn't quite hit that 50% mark and you have to do it all over again in November with the top two vote getters.
Seth Johnson:So that's what the school board has to do here. Now what Tina Certain faced in the county election, we can just move on to that. Sure. It's something that the Electra County Supervisor of Elections calls a universal primary. So you have four candidates, but all of them are part of the Democratic Party.
Seth Johnson:And so that election gets decided at the primaries, but instead of it being just, you know, registered Democrats voting for that race, it's open to everyone because it essentially takes the place of a normal general election. Except the rules are a little different because it's a universal primary. It's just the person who gets the most votes. They don't need to hit that special 50% mark. So Tina Certain was able to get the seat with 38% of the vote.
J.C. Derrick:And because of that, even though, you know, largely Florida is a closed primary state, you did have Republicans who were able to vote in that universal primary. And in fact, I think you even said there was an endorsement to that effect. Correct?
Seth Johnson:So there was an endorsement in the House District 21 race. I'm not sure if Tina Certain got any endorsements from Republicans. I do know I mean, Republican Tim Martin, who's the mayor of Newberry and kind of helps lead the local electric county Republican Party did endorse Donna Bradbrook. So there's an endorsement, you know, of Republicans for someone who's, you know, a Democrat because there's no Republican running in the race. And some people were saying perhaps, you know, Tina certain has had some controversy on the school board and certainly a lot of that has come from that Newbury direction.
J.C. Derrick:Mhmm.
Seth Johnson:And so some people said, you know, perhaps all the anti Tina Certain people split their votes between the other three candidates, letting her kind of take that lead there. Who knows? It's kind of an odd election format, and perhaps if people aren't paying attention, they think it's the primaries. I don't need to vote in this one, but it's already decided. Well, and here's the
J.C. Derrick:other interesting thing about the the county commission is that while she is elected, she will be the representative for District 2, she's not taking office yet until after November. And in fact, there is a county commission seat on the November ballot.
Seth Johnson:Right. So the other county seat is incumbent Ken Cornell, who's a registered Democrat against a no party affiliation candidate. And so that one wasn't on the primary election and said it gets pushed to November. So kind of had to pay attention. There's some nuances in the different races.
Seth Johnson:But, yes, Tina Certain will be taking over that District 2 seat for Mary Helen Wheeler, but Wheeler still serves, I guess, as a lame duck until November until that, swearing it happens.
J.C. Derrick:No offense, commissioner Wheeler, if you're listening.
Seth Johnson:Yes. I use that, through the strict definition of lame duck.
J.C. Derrick:Okay. And then we've got county judge group five. How did that one turn out?
Seth Johnson:Yes. So Eric Atria won that with 10,000 votes to spare, and he said that really kind of gives credit to the fact that if you get momentum behind the race, people will care about these local county judge races. He says a lot of times they fail to make an impression on voters. They're not partisan. It's kind of weird campaigning because it's just talking about your history.
Seth Johnson:They can't talk about issues that people want to talk about.
J.C. Derrick:Right.
Seth Johnson:But was able to get some traction and beat out a bronze martin who is kind of a perennial contender he's run for that judge seat several times now and he said he hoped that that would show his commitment to the seat his commitment to serving past just you know getting the office, but, was not able to make it happen this time.
J.C. Derrick:Well, I will say that was one of the stories that a lot of our election previews, the Q and As that we run with the candidates, got a lot of really good traction and traffic, including even on Tuesday, voting day, you know, which was really encouraging for us to see. And that included too that judge race because there's not a lot of information out there a lot of times about those candidates.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. It was an interesting race. Two public defenders who have over twenty years in the Alachua County, circuit, both running. And so it's hard to really distinguish one candidate from the other sometimes unless you have somebody who knows them or to inform you on that vote.
J.C. Derrick:Treat everybody with dignity and respect. That's, like, the that's the line all the judge candidates use.
Seth Johnson:Yes. And, yeah, we were watching people go to our site on a lot of the different election stories in the middle of Tuesday's voting last week. And so I imagine some people got in there, saw their ballot, and said, who is on this race and started doing some googling and saw Mainstreet's articles.
J.C. Derrick:Yes. That's that's the the role we seek to serve, help people out, and so I'm glad we were able to do that. So this leaves us now with a couple of races we wanna touch on with in for the state legislature and then a couple of the statewide races that folks are watching. So let's start with state rep District 10 for the legislature.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. Marshall Rawson was able to win that by just over 2,000 votes against Chase Brannan, the son of the current incumbent. I'll say I know some people were a bit surprised by that. They thought Brannan would be able to take it, but Marshall ran a really, big grassroots campaign throughout some of those rural districts, had a lot of social media marketing, and they raised nearly the same on campaign finances.
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. That that was a bit of a surprise and, the the, the fact that it was pretty close, but, ultimately, Rawson won each of the counties and and even was close in Baker County, which is Brandon's home.
Seth Johnson:Yes. So Rawson will face a democratic challenger in November for that seat. Obviously, I think he will be, the big favorite to win it. That's a big Republican territory. Right.
Seth Johnson:Right. Now for the District 21 race, we had another universal primary, this time with five Democratic challengers hoping to replace state representative Yevon Hayes Henson.
J.C. Derrick:Mhmm. Right. And were you surprised with the outcome there?
Seth Johnson:I wasn't surprised because I really didn't have an expectation. You had five pretty strong candidates. And so I knew it was gonna be split a lot of ways. I mean, no one really seemed to have a lead heading into it, and so I was surprised by just how close it was that Randall won by one percentage point.
J.C. Derrick:And she is the current mayor and or former mayor in Hawthorne. Correct?
Seth Johnson:Former mayor in Hawthorne. She stepped down in order to run for the seat. But, I mean, she only started in politics back in 2019 when she was elected to the Hawthorne City Commission. Mhmm. I actually met her in 2021 when I first came to Mainstreet and did a story about her taking over as mayor.
Seth Johnson:So that's a pretty quick, you know, change from a town of a thousand people all the way up to now Tallahassee. Right. Right. And then, JC, you were covering a lot more of these state level races, sending people to DC, things like that. What were the big takeaways?
J.C. Derrick:Well, yeah, I mean, I I think the, the two two biggies that folks are watching the most in terms of statewide races were, of course, governor. And as expected, Byron Donald's went to victory on the Republican side. I think he had about 48% of the vote. And then on the Democratic side, again, not really a surprise that David Jolley won that. Former Republican turned independent turned Democrat.
J.C. Derrick:So, he's he's had quite a journey, but I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot about that race over the next, couple of months as we lead up to the November election.
Seth Johnson:Probably more than we care
J.C. Derrick:Yeah. Maybe maybe a little bit, because I think a lot of people probably already know which one that they wanna vote for. On the Republican side, there's senator Ashley Moody, who's the the current officeholder there, and she won I think she had about 80% of the vote as well. On the Democratic side, there was a bit of a surprise. I mean, many would call it a stunner, actually, where the more progressive candidate came and really not just won, but won resoundingly, Angie Nixon.
J.C. Derrick:So she will be the nominee for Democrats, and she, you know, is associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. So, obviously, that's been a big topic of conversation, definitely the the left wing of the party. And she was going against a very well funded establishment backed candidate in Alex Vindeman, but she won by a 150,000 votes. So pretty pretty big flex there, and, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out in November.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. I know. I was at Hartwood Soundstage downtown at the Electrocan Democratic Party watch party. And when they announced that, it seemed to have some really big support in Gainesville. They were calling out Angie and cheering for her and calling for her to, win in November.
J.C. Derrick:And she did win in Gainesville, or Alachua County. You know, she she was the leading vote getter here in this county.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. So definitely, I know there were people talking, saying that they'd, you know, were calling around, you know, supporting her, and so it seems like she had that support all the way through here in Gainesville and Alachua County with a strong kind of blue base.
J.C. Derrick:Alright. Well, I think that is a wrap. Thanks for having me, Seth. And and to everyone listening out there, just be sure and stay tuned to mainstreetdailynews.com. We'll keep you updated on the all the comings and goings and twists and turns of these races as we head up to November.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. We'll definitely have more stories on the way to those primary elections. We're gonna take a quick break to hear from our sponsor before we get back to the news forecast and event segment.
Forest Meadows:At Forest Meadows, our commitment is simple. Exceptional care, personal attention, and respect for every family we serve. Forest Meadows offers every option in one trusted place. Visit our beautiful gardens and glass front niches or plan ahead for cremation, funerals, and memorials at our funeral home or tribute center located on our cemetery grounds. Forest Meadows, where compassion meets experience, and every life is honored with care.
Seth Johnson:Now for this week's news forecast, the city of Alachua will decide on several rezoning items at tonight's 6PM regular meeting. The commission is also set to vote on utility rate increases. The city of Newbury meets tonight at 7PM and will vote on a final fire assessment. The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners convenes tomorrow for a regular meeting. The City of Gainesville has a general policy committee on Thursday as well as a city plan board meeting.
Seth Johnson:The High Springs City Commission will also meet Thursday. The commissioners will vote on a final termination of the city manager along with a budget for the next fiscal year. Now for our event segment covering upcoming family friendly events this week. The city of Gainesville will have the Sousa Brass Band at Bo Diddley Plaza on Friday starting at 7PM. There's a ranger led tour of Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park on Saturday at 10AM.
Seth Johnson:The only cost is admission to the park, and the tour will happen each week through November. A book and art fair is popping up at the Auk Market in Gainesville off Northwest 6th Street. The fair will run from 10AM to 3PM and feature local authors and back to school swag. The Our Town Home and Garden Show will set up shop at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center in Celebration Point on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $5 per person with anyone 10 years and younger going in for free.
Seth Johnson:And that's all we've got for this week's StreetSmart podcast brought to you by Mainstreet Daily News and made possible by our generous members. You can access more free local news at mainstreetdailynews.com. We'll be back next week with more stories that matter to you because they take place right here in Alachua County. Take a minute to share Street Smart with a friend or coworker and help us continue the work. Our theme music is Sunset Sonata by Gainesville ska band, Now Leaving Space.
Seth Johnson:This episode is a production of MARC Media.