DeJeon Cain announces campaign for Gainesville City Commission, District 3
Press release from DeJeon Cain for Gainesville City Commission, District 3
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – DeJeon Cain, a lifelong Gainesville resident and community leader, today announced his candidacy for Gainesville City Commission, District 3.
“I’ve spent my whole life in this city. I’ve walked these streets, served on these boards, and listened to my neighbors,” Cain said. “I know what keeps families up at night. I know what our small business owners are struggling with. I know what our young people dream about — and why too many of them feel they have to leave to find opportunity. I’m running because I believe we can do better.”
Cain previously ran for the District 3 seat in 2022, falling short by a narrow margin against incumbent Casey Willits. He returns to the race with an even deeper record of service and a clear-eyed view of what the district needs.
“Four years ago, voters heard a lot of big ideas. I think we all did,” Cain said. “But turning ideas into results takes more than passion — it takes experience. It takes relationships. It takes someone who’s sat in the rooms where the work actually gets done. I’ve spent the last four years continuing to serve this community and build those relationships. I’m more ready than ever.”
Cain brings decades of public service to the race, including six years on Alachua County’s Wild Spaces & Public Places board, three years on the City of Gainesville Planning Board, and current service as Chairman of both the Alachua County Affordable Housing Board and the City of Gainesville Equal Opportunity Office. His background also includes five years as a Gainesville Police Explorer and five years on the Black on Black Crime Task Force. He is the owner of Fortitude Security.
“This isn’t a learning experience for me,” Cain said. “I’ve done the reading. I’ve sat through the meetings. I’ve made the tough calls. When I take my seat on the City Commission, I’ll be ready on Day One.”
Cain’s campaign centers on four priorities:
- A Citywide Vision: “District 3 residents don’t just live in their neighborhood — they work, shop, and enjoy amenities throughout Gainesville. When one neighborhood thrives, we all thrive. A rising tide lifts all boats.”
- Neighborhoods Worth Preserving: Smart growth in the right places — transit corridors, commercial centers, and infill sites — while protecting established neighborhoods and single-family zoning where communities want it preserved.
- Opportunity for Every Dreamer: Cutting red tape for small businesses and preparing Gainesville’s workforce for the economy of the future, including the coming AI revolution.
- Safety and Sustainability: Community-oriented policing, prevention programs, and protection of the natural spaces that make Alachua County special.
“We don’t build a great city by fighting each other,” Cain said. “We build it by lifting each other up. I’m asking for the chance to take everything I’ve learned — everything I’ve done — and bring it to the table where the biggest decisions get made. Not to make a name for myself. To serve. The way I’ve always served.”
The District 3 election will be held Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
To learn more, visit https://cainforgainesville.com
I agree that Cain can bring some ideas to the City Commission that are better then what they are doing now. My only criticism is the Community Oriented Policing. It does not work. Tony Jones efforts showed it failed. Cops can be nice but they must lock up the criminals to save the communities without exception. Communities need to band together and cooperate with law enforcement to rid neighborhoods of gangs and dope dealers.
Thank you — and I hear you. DeJeon has spent ten years in public safety work, so this isn’t theoretical for him. He’d be the first to tell you that community policing only works when it’s backed by real enforcement. His platform calls for adequate staffing and resources for GPD, and he’s been clear that officers need the support to do their jobs — including locking up the people who are terrorizing our neighborhoods.
Where DeJeon and Chief Jones would part ways is that DeJeon isn’t talking about replacing enforcement with dialogue. He’s talking about adding layers — prevention and intervention programs that stop the next generation from ending up in handcuffs, while making sure the current threats are dealt with. He saw this firsthand on the Black on Black Crime Task Force: you can’t arrest your way out of the problem, but you also can’t talk your way out of it. You need both.
And your point about communities banding together and cooperating with law enforcement is exactly what DeJeon means by “strong partnerships.” Not kumbaya sessions — real cooperation between neighborhoods and police to identify and remove the gangs and dealers who are destroying communities. That takes trust, and trust is built by officers who actually know the people they serve and who show up consistently, not just when something goes wrong.
DeJeon’s approach isn’t the version of community policing that failed. It’s enforcement backed by prevention, accountability backed by opportunity. We appreciate your support and your honesty.
Well said and important to know.
Interesting. The two biggest issues are the GRU management debate and the coming reduction in property taxes. He mentioned neither.
Maybe his campaign will share thoughts.
The people have spoken on the GRU management issue, this is not an election topic.
Thanks for asking about DeJeon’s position on GRU. Here’s where he stands:
The voters of Gainesville have spoken—three times, with overwhelming majorities—that they want local control of their utility. DeJeon respects that decision. Full stop. When the people speak that clearly, their leaders should listen.
He’s also honest about how we got here. The biomass deal was a disaster. And the city relied on GRU revenue to fund important services without a sustainable plan for the utility’s financial health. There were no guardrails and no formula. That lack of discipline created the debt ratepayers are still paying for today.
What he cares about most: your light bill and the people who keep your lights on. The workers who actually run GRU—the lineworkers, the engineers, the plant operators—they want local control too. The AFL-CIO and IBEW both campaigned for the referendum. These workers deserve a governance structure that protects their wages, their pensions, and their right to collectively bargain—one that’s accountable to the community, not insulated from it.
When control comes back to the Commission, DeJeon will push for: continued debt reduction, a clear published formula so the relationship between GRU and the city budget has real guardrails, competitive rates, protections for workers, and monthly public reporting on progress.
He wants a smooth transition that protects ratepayers and workers and gets to work.
Sorry but you lost me at “Community organizer” That is code for “progressive” politics, and this city can’t afford that any more. We need people who are willing to tighten the belt and get rid of the fluff like the “Office of Resiliency” which is code for green energy, something that has cost our community over a billion dollars for a woodburning stove that makes power. Or the Office of DEI which has been called out by the state government. We have people in charge of departments in this city that make more than most of the professors at UF! The grift in this city needs to stop!
So Republicans are community disorganizers, that’s on brand. Community organizer does not mean wasteful spending, it means uniting people to a cause, maybe yours, ours cause I agree with you.