Gainesville voters overwhelmingly approve GRU governance change
November 4, 2025
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The referendum asking voters in the city of Gainesville to return control of Gainesville Regional Utilities to the City Commission has passed overwhelmingly, according to results posted on the Supervisor of Elections website.
- Yes – 10,882
- No – 3,592
75.18% of voters approved the referendum in a turnout of 19.04%.
Unless a court intervenes, control of the utility will return to the City Commission once the election is certified on November 6.
Would love to see the precinct counts. Maybe I can send my extra GRU bill to the people who voted yes
Until every legal challenge by the GRU Authority Board is ruled on it is not Harvey’s yet.
Harvey’s already licking his chops and his supporters are already kissing his ass.
DeSantis needs to remove the entire city commission next. Just for holding frivolous and undemocratic local referendums in an off cycle year. They knew it would only attract extremist and self-dealers filling in the Yes bubble 👹👿
Ah, poor baby JK wants to rule Gainesville but can’t win an election. Make his boo-boo go away Big Daddy Ron!
80% of eligible voters were too lazy to vote. They deserve whatever comes next.
And I bet 75% of those who voted to give GRU back to the City politicians don’t know why it was taken from these incompetents in the first place.
1) They stole $65 million dollars from GRU customers, taking that much from GRU, which was more than the utility even grossed. It is just another debt they have caused your electric bills to be the highest in the state under their control.
2) Just before having their toy taken away, these Democrat politicians voted to raise GRU’s rates 7% a year for the next 10 years. Don’t be surprised for this to resume.
3) They raised property taxes 19% to make up the loss of their piggy ban.? Wanna bet that tax will stay and the theft of GRU funds will resume funding their pet projects, will raise GRU rates even more?
And those morons still won’t care.
Until the Governor steps in and keeps the non-resident students from voting in local elections, we will be saddled with leftist local government.
What part of NO do you don’t understand?
The same part the City Commission did when they voted to raise utility rates annually several years ago; despite pleas and a petition from Gainesville residents not to.
I am ashamed of what the town I’ve lived in my entire 7 plus decades has become. It is no longer surprising to see that 75% of the voters are clueless.
They’re not clueless, they’re just doing what they’ve been told to do.
Just think how low crime rates may be and how school discipline could improve if they would put that much effort into raising children.
You’re absolutely right. The lady voter interviewed by TV-20 at the polls gushed with enthusiasm about how the city should have the utility AND that Ed B should run it because he’s doing a great job. Somehow Harvey and the six grifters forgot to tell her that she just voted Yes to having Ed B fired instantly. A perfect snapshot of the standard Gainesville voter.
Hopefully the court of appeals brings some sanity to the matter.
Steve, we just elected Trump to a 2nd term, so an anecdotal 1 voter survey shocks you?
On the other hand, what city in the real world would vote to give away their asset which they built starting over 100 years ago? Now that would be really dumb!
What’s really dumb are the people who voted to increase their own taxes and utility rates.
There’s at least 10,882 REALLY DUMB people.
Given your continued support, you can add your +1.
The idiocy of Gainesville voters is not shocking in the least.
And in the real world they were not voting for anything having to do with some abstract concept of ownership. The city already owns the utility regardless of who manages it.
If the utility board is allowed to continue its current efforts, the city’s investment will be significantly more profitable in the future. On the other hand, the city commission and the city manager show no inclination or ability to do anything other than spend GRU into the ground.
The sole intents of yesterday’s vote was to reestablish the city’s ability to tax county residents without representation and without limitation to fund city operations.
The idiocy of Gainesville voters is not shocking in the least.
And in the real world they were not voting for anything having to do with some abstract concept of ownership. The city already owns the utility regardless of who manages it.
If the utility board is allowed to continue its current efforts, the city’s investment will be significantly more profitable in the future. On the other hand, the city commission and the city manager show no inclination or ability to do anything other than spend GRU into the ground.
The sole intents of yesterday’s vote was to reestablish the city’s ability to tax county residents without representation and without limitation to fund city operations.
The assets and enormous liabilities [THANKS PEGEEN] still belong to the citizens (read property owners) of Gainesville. The only thing in play is control. Since the city commission cannot run a popcicle stand, I am in favor of appointing adults familiar with the operation of a utility and/or running a business.
Clay, somehow the supposed incompetent city of Gainesville created and operated GRU up to the last couple of years and besides having an A credit rating when the hostile takeover was enacted by partisans representing Newberry, Marion and Gilchrist county voters who could never win a vote in Alachua County, let alone the city, it was and is an excellent service company with fewer outages and much quicker reconnects than the previous electricity provider who serviced where I live.
Maybe you should take a more objective view of the situation which is not soley defined by the biomass purcahse overseen by the same guy running the “authority”.
And why was my property tax bill also higher than the TRIM notice? I can’t wait until Florida does away with property taxes so that all voters can directly pay for the city to operate with whatever is coming in lieu of property taxes.
How can 10,000+ voters be so IGNORANT?! Thanks so much for voting to INCREASE our utility bills and taxes! I’m getting out of this liberal hellhole!
I moved a few months ago and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.
Buh-by!
I really hope this does NOT go through. The city commissioners are horrific and corrupt. I guess democrats love corruption and the destruction of GRU.
More taxation without representation for those outside of the city that get their power from GRU. How is this even legal?
Ask the county to get you on another utility company.
2.1 billion dollar wood burner, 800 a week ambassador trash pick up, 8,000 dollar garbage cans, 20 million to fruit loop entities, 99% ride bus for free, rainbow sidewalks, etc, etc, etc
Would LOVE to have a decently run coop like Clay Electric.
I’ve had service from both Clay and GRU. GRU is much better with fewer outages and quick reconnects.
To those of you who voted to give control back to the city commissioners- soon when the utility bills are increased don’t complain to anyone but yourself. Look in the mirror and repeat these words…yes, I voted for this.
I would really like to hear some rank and file “yes” voters explain their thinking.
Have you ever heard them try to differentiate between a 🚹 & 🚺? They can’t, or they have difficulty in doing so.
Maybe their political affiliations won’t allow it. (Those same affiliations overrule any semblance of common sense). For many of us, their inability makes it quite clear who the idiots in society are.
I imagine a lot of YES voters were against DeSantis’s use of Trumpian-like power to put his own cronies on the board he created.
Bill, exactly right. Know many who fall in this category
11,000 votes is 6% of the city limits population, and doesn’t include the GRU ratepayers outside. That’s the worst kind of oligarchy, aka communism. 👹🤡💩👿👺🏳️🌈
College kids that are not long term residents could vote on this bill, but long term residents who pay a GRU outside city limits could not vote on this bill! That is a crime!
Well voters have spoken. Maybe the message is revenge politics don’t work and DeSantis needs to stay out of local issues where the state has no authority.
GRU will go back to clown management. Money will flow to weirdo entities, 8,000 garbage cans, free bus service, 30 million per year on wood burner debt, pride sidewalks, etc, etc, etc
This should read “Gainesville democrats bob their heads once again”.
This vote stifled the nearly 40% of those on GRU Utilites that live outside the City Limits and don’t get to vote in this mockery.
So, you know another utility company that will spend it’s profits in ways you approve? You understand I hope that they won’t GAF what you think either, but hey – ask the county to get you and your neighbors under another utility.
This is the fault of the 91% of Gainesville that did not vote. Well apathy, meet consequence……. I can only pray your wallet can sustain your apathy while your apathy financially hurts those who had no voice.
If you don’t like it, move! Stop giving them your money. Everyone who stays is supporting them. Spend every dime you can in other counties who hold your values.
Bielarski’s PAID RV trip after a long sabbatical, mass Authority Member resignations in response to a private nuisance suit, failure to timely challenge the initial referendum, and Bielarski as the face of GRU has left GRU WORKERS AND RATEPAYERS in legal limbo. The State of Florida will be constitutionally required to protect City creditors (including GRU) no matter what.
The vote in this and the previous election clearly demonstrates that over 70% of the voters do not want a non-elected, governor-appointed board to run the city-owned utility. This is essentially the same percentage that voted yes in the 2024 presidential election (over 54,000 votes), so arguments that this special election made the difference are not supported by the facts.
That is an actual mandate. The arguments have been laid out in exhaustive detail. The majority has spoken, and spoken loudly.
In America, we should be gracious to both winners and losers and move forward together.
The mandate is that 80% of the registered voters in Gainesville didn’t bother to vote. Gainesville has approx 86,000 registered voters and only around 11,600 voted for it. ~ 14%. This hardly qualifies as a mandate. It’s more of a mandate for apathy.
75% (Yes votes) of 60% (GRU city resident customers) is only 45% of GRU’s total customers. Hardly a mandate.
The city has consistently refused to give any voice to the 40% of the customers outside the city unless the legislature and courts force them to do so.
In America, we had a revolution to stop taxation without representation.
Sure Mark, Please tell that to the BOCC and other local entities before their next objections and legal filings against state legislation.
2024 had over 50k votes cast and the yes votes were still over 70%. Sorry Robert, but it is a clear mandate . . twice.
You doing a lot of defending.
Can’t help but wonder if you’re the same Mark who wrecked a county vehicle in South Florida several years back.
You’re avoiding the hard facts and subbing personal attacks based on your lame speculation.
Speaking of which, I can’t help but wonder if you’re the same “You voted” who was Jeffery Epstein’s go-fer.
The facts are rates have been lower, (with some exceptions), and profits of “our'” citizen- owned utility haven’t risen since the Authority has been in charge.
The other fact is you seem to have an attraction to those who did raise rates for years and wasted funds on their personal projects. The only reason being, you can’t stand an entity that falls to the right appointing anyone to anything. Your political prejudice is as evident as your hypocrisy.
An inquiry is not a personal attack, not like you’re still incapable of reading comprehension anyway. Even that’s more of an observation than an attack.
Where were all the (potential) voters in support of GRU? Couldn’t be bothered to vote?