HomeOpinionLetters to the editorLetter: City of Gainesville policies are making the city a less desirable place to live

Letter: City of Gainesville policies are making the city a less desirable place to live

September 2, 2022

Dear Editor,

The City of Gainesville wants to be a place where people want to live, but they continue to demonstrate the exact opposite through various forms of social engineering. Here are a few examples:

  • Single-family zoning is NOT exclusionary and exists so people can choose the type of neighborhood they prefer. It’s not racist or controversial – it’s people buying housing where they want to buy it.
  • The ordinance designed to “eliminate solid waste” is just a feel-good ordinance that puts unreasonable restrictions on businesses that will increase costs to consumers.
  • The City sent the mayor and a commissioner to their “sister city” in IRAQ a few months ago! This is the most ludicrous spending of money by a city that claims to want equality for women and the LGBTQ+ community, since Iraq continues to be an oppressive country to both groups! Why not have a sister city in the U.S.?
  • Violent crime is increasing, and the City’s answer is to hire “violence interrupters”? The idea of sending civilians to meet with potentially violent offenders is ridiculous. Instead, police officers should be heavily enforcing all laws regardless of the race or social status of the offender. Putting bad guys in jail reduces crime – period!

Ed Van Winkle, Alachua

  • I agree with the marvelous decision made to send them to Iraq. My problem is why in the world did you allow them to return ?

  • I’m surprised reading in this website how homeless people living at Grace Market are involved in all crimes, including homicide. If the local authorities don’t do anything regarding this matter, soon will look like Saint Francisco

  • The results of Harvey Wards decisions are rampant. Higher Utilities, Higher Crime and Lawlesness, Higher Taxes and Spending. What a clueless loser that party animals support.

      • It’s because these ultra liberals only get their biased news from the Gainesville Sun.

      • Just more proof the city commission is filled with liars. They’ve referred to Gainesville as a “highly intelligent” community.

        Why would a highly intelligent community continue to vote for people who invite crime into their backyard? Raise their utility rates? Increase their taxes?
        Stupid. That pretty much sums up most Gainesville voters.

    • Would be that simple except that when given the opportunity, hardcore DEC members get their super lib nuts out to vote and not enough folks for decent change back to a bit more conservative and sensible do not. As in recent election, sensible candidates Jo Beatty and Ed Bielarski should have won by landslide. Nope, another super lib commissioner just started new term and Ward of all imbeciles led votes for mayor. Things won’t change until the rest of us get mad, March in the streets and drag every like minded sensible voter to the polls.

  • Better days are coming, after the next commissioners are sworn in. Their first year will be spent undoing the bad left by their predecessors.

    Vote for Harvey Ward for Mayor, Ed Book for District 2, and Dejeon Cain for District 3.

    Ed Bielarski, James Ingle and Casey Willits spread disinformation and we don’t need that on the commission.

    • Please support your criticism with a factual basis on Ed and others. If it’s just your opinion then say so. If you don’t, it’s just more disinformation.

    • Harvey Ward as mayor would be like Biden as president with Obama telling him every move to make, except it would be former-mayor Poe telling Ward what to do at every meeting. Ward is part of the same mass insanity that infects Poe, Saco, Hayes-Santos, and Arreola (and Eastman, by all indications). He’s trying to act all friendly and compassionate now, but hopefully everyone remembers Angry Harvey who wants to squelch citizen comments at every opportunity and who voted to fire Ed Bielarski for standing up for his employees’ basic human rights. Ward seems to think Saco is the bee’s knees, which is another reason not to vote for him. If he wins the upcoming runoff election (God forbid), I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he “changes his mind” about not wanting to end single-family neighborhoods. Let’s pick ourselves a sane, competent mayor this time.

  • hate to say it but Gainesville will only get worse because republicans are far out numbered in the alachua co & city
    by left wing nuts that love high taxes, high utility bills, high
    crime, & and general squalor. best thing to do is vote with
    your feet and move out while you can.

    • Democrats are double Republican voters, I just retired and am thinking of moving out and to a red county.

  • On the Violence Interupter program… The past chair, Fareed Johnson, on the fake Police Advisory Committee (still on the board but stepped down as Chair) is a Violence Interupter on the city payroll. Conflict of interest? Of course it is. Harvey Ward wrote a letter to Governor DeSantis asking him to give Mr. Johnson “clemency” for a bank robbery he was adjudicated guilty on so that Mr. Johnson could vote and run for office. This is just the tip of the iceberg of corruption that Ward willingly supported during his time in office. Please don’t vote for more of the same come November.

    • Thank you James. I did not know this, however more disgusting actions involving Harvey Ward surface daily. People need to wake up!

  • Ed, your way too smart and logical, I am see why you live in Alachua. Good job.
    Gainesville suffers from poor election turnouts accumulating over decades.

  • FACT: City of Gainesville policies are making the city a less desirable place to live. ~ that should have been the title.

    The only people finding it desirable are the vagrants and vermin who find Poe and Ward’s incessant suction on one another too powerful to ignore. Harvey, “I like hiding behind skirts,” Ward; mayoral candidate to succeed the POS Lauren, “I really like Richard,” Poe.

    If Ward’s daughter were old enough, she wouldn’t even vote for that fat-@rsed loser sack of crap. She knows the coward he is and the harm he’s done to the community. She can’t go out and he won’t allow her for fear of the crime he continues to introduce to the community.

    All of you liberal voters who grace the pages of the Alachua Chronicle with your continued need to discover the real truth about those you keep electing to office, the authors thank you even if you’re incapable of comprehending what’s presented. It shows your real ignorance and unwavering fealty to your oppressive leaders.

    How much further are you willing to let the city many of us have called home for years, spiral down the cesspool you created?

  • Totally agree, also need prosecutors to do their job. Send all the city commissioners to Iraq and leave them there for a year (pay their own way, not on tax payers dime), maybe they will grow up and grow some commonsense. Gainesville wants to be like failed California.

  • Excellent summation of the City of Gainesville’s “woke” agenda being carried out at the expense of it’s citizens of course.

  • Not having police helicopters anymore is another incentive for criminals to come here vs. somewhere else. That should be on the list of things to hopefully rectify ASAP.

  • Thanks Ed! The COG absolutely sucks, thus we live in Newberry where the city government has balls!

  • Gainesville Florida is full of kkk police judges and state attorneys blacks should get out like I did

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