Letter: The Board of County Commissioners should do the right thing
Letter to the editor
The recent ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal (upholding the results of a referendum to restore at-large districts for County Commissioners) may make sense in some counties/scenarios, but Alachua County isn’t one of them.
County leaders have praised the controversial ruling as aligning with the voters’ wishes. However, it essentially returns us to the original issue that prompted lawmakers to interfere in the County’s business in the first place: voting practices in Alachua County.
I know House Bill 1493 was controversial and upset many people; however, there was no practical alternative, considering the strict control the ruling party has over the county.
As of October 2025, only one Florida county, Alachua County, has a board of county commissioners composed entirely of Democrats.
Alachua County Commission members (as of October 2025):
- Mary Alford, Democrat
- Marihelen Wheeler, Democrat
- Anna Prizzia, Democrat
- Ken Cornell, Democrat
- Charles “Chuck” Chestnut, IV, Democrat
In Florida, fourteen counties are governed by all-Republican County Commissioners, which isn’t unusual for a red state. Among these, nine counties implement single-member district voting (A = at-large, S = single-member).
- Baker – A
- Calhoun – S
- Citrus – A
- Clay – S
- Gilchrist – S
- Gulf – S
- Lafayette – S
- Liberty – A
- Madison – S
- Okaloosa – S
- Suwannee – S
- Union – S
- Walton – A
- Washington – A
Counties choose At-large or Single-member systems to enhance democracy and fairness for their citizens, based on the characteristics of the county. Neither was intended to be used as a blunt instrument against the voters.
Fifty-two Florida counties don’t have issues with mixed-party rule on county commission boards. I strongly believe that mixed-party rule is healthier for a county than a dictatorship.
Single-member districts enable voters to express their concerns effectively regarding how the County is handling issues that affect them personally. At-large takes that power away from the voters.
In its simplest form, HB1493 simply asked Alachua County citizens if they were concerned about 50,000 temporary students constantly voting to affect the county’s future.
The recent ruling shouldn’t have to be taken to a higher court
There is no need to spend any more time or money trying to get to the bottom of what the citizens of Alachua County truly want. The results of two attempted referendums regarding single-member versus at-large voting, held in 2022 and 2024, have faced criticism.
In 2022, when the voters spoke, the single-member issue should have been final.
Before the ink had dried on all the 2022 ballots, the BoCC argued that many poor Black voters were not adequately informed about what they were voting for and were misled, suggesting the referendum should get a do-over for their sake.
That was merely a red herring, created from fear by local elites who believed the sky was falling.
In a rush, the BoCC disregarded all legal counsel regarding appropriate ballot language and hired an expensive consultant to phrase the 2024 referendum to achieve their desired outcome. The scheme had seemingly worked until the courts reviewed it and determined that the BoCC had indeed violated the state’s guidelines for referendum language, resulting in the nullification of the referendum’s result.
The 1st DCA’s ruling focused strictly on semantics and didn’t consider the nuances surrounding the case.
The 1st DCA should have just punted the appeal back to the BoCC by requiring them to revise the language of the 2024 ballot measure to comply with state statutes if they want to overturn the voters’ decision from 2022. Once the language is corrected, they can resubmit the measure for the ballot in 2026.
Their ruling paved the way for this case go to the Florida Supreme Court.
Do what is best for the county
Commissioners Alford and Prizzia were elected under single-member implementation; Chestnut ran unopposed in the same election. The voters in their districts (unbeknownst to me) approved of their job performance, so it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks about them.
Those three have a chance to put to bed the suggestions that the BoCC is being controlled by some secret cabal that gives them marching orders.
They can call for a third referendum — a straightforward vote that is fair and transparent, focusing on single-member versus at-large representation with no hanky-panky.
I believe most of the citizens of the county will accept the election outcome of a third referendum as being the true will of the voters.
Under the current single-member implementation, the BoCC has signaled that they may be open to governing the entire county fairly, which is a positive development.
Three years of single-member implementation may have provided a sufficient period of sobriety for the BoCC to start going straight. The trend should continue for the county’s sake.
The only thing left for the BoCC to get the county out of this lurch is to propose a motion for a third referendum. The path to success for the county should be grounded in optimism, forward-thinking, and governmental integrity.
There is no better way for BoCC to begin this new journey than by judiciously closing the chapter on the debate between single-member and at-large representation. Doing the right thing would demonstrate integrity and transparency to all the voters, thereby earning their trust and support in the days ahead.
Anthony Johnson, Eastern Unincorporated Area of Alachua County
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
The writer is woefully illinformed regarding the court ruling. It also seems that it is ok if you have a complete republican board, but not if you have a complete democratic board.
“The only thing left for the BoCC to get the county out of this lurch is to propose a motion for a third referendum. The path to success for the county should be grounded in optimism, forward-thinking, and governmental integrity.”
Those 3 characteristics are barely visible in government – at any level.
Hoping for it to magically appear, or the BoCC to propose a motion for a new referendum – that’s a pipe dream.
Dude, you are against democracy and voters deciding their future, so why would anyone care what you think?
Given your never-ending pretext in support of the GRU referendum, it’s a logical conclusion that you support abused children remaining under the parenthood of their alleged abusers until further evidence can be determined whether the abuse actually exists.
That’s a stupid idea too, but I’m guessing you’re not one of those you refer to in Alachua or Leon Counties a little further down the page.
We think a 71.6% vote is unambiguous.
A 100% vote against 95% of most right leaning ideas is pretty unambiguous as well.
Republicans do not have a voice in Alachua county. Can’t wait to sell and get out of this blue heavily biased city/county.
You have a voice here DLH, just like Democrats have a voice in state politics. I’m not going anywhere, but you be you and bon voyage.
The college students who come to UF are recruited to vote in Gainesville and Alachua County elections, rather than in their home communities. It’s discouraging to have to live under the policies imposed by these students, who will move on and not have to suffer the consequences of their votes. It might be technically legal, but it’s not right.
Just indicative of the education many are getting. No wonder it takes some more than 4 years to graduate with a bachelor’s.
So now you not only hate Gainesville and Alachua County, but UF as well. Maybe try Perry or Lake Butler.
Show us some stats on that Mom. People keep saying that but no one offers proof.
Every precinct in the County, including those in rural areas and small cities, voted for at-large. You could remove the precincts with heavy concentrations of students, and the outcome would be unchanged. Click here to see: https://enr.electionsfl.org/ALA/3721/Precincts/54109/
Well, that’s an inconvenient fact. But hey, what about all the UF students living in Waldo and Hawthorne?
50,000 students DO NOT vote in Alachua County. Track the numbers!!
Joe, you made the statement, so you should reveal the numbers and where they came from. If you claim the SOE, please advise how you separated the “students” from the rest of the voters.
Every precinct in the County, including those in rural areas and small cities, voted for at-large. You could remove the precincts with heavy concentrations of students, and the outcome would be unchanged. Click here to see: https://enr.electionsfl.org/ALA/3721/Precincts/54109/
Dem white liberals think they know what’s best for everybody. Despite having no evidence to show for it after 75 years. 👿👺👹🤡💩🏳️🌈
What a specious, purely partisan crock posing as logical analysis.
Here’s the facts dummy: Gainesville and Alachua county voters are primarliy democrats and have been for many decades going back to forever. Along with Leon county it is the most highly educated county in the state and higher education tracks with democratic registration across the nation, not just in Florida. Further, the writer glosses over the higher black vote for single member districts in the 1st vote forced by the state GOP – which owns the state legislature, another fact which doesn’t bother this supposed concern troll over single party rule – without mentioning the last minute onslaught of false GOP advertising about NAACP support. When that was exposed, the effort failed miserably in the next vote by a more informed public.
In short, get outta’ here with that BS!
What gets missed here is that Alachua is the only large county in the state that allows the citizens of the entire county to elect the supposed representative of THEIR district. At least two districts would have the ability to elect representatives not part of the controlling local Democrat machine. This long standing situation is certainly NOT democratic, despite the politicians who claim that title.
Actually, at-large voting takes place in many larger counties, such as Marion, Martin, Pasco, St. Johns, Seminole, Osceola, Hernando, Polk, and others.
Are you suggesting that there are other large/small counties other than Alachua in the state that have all Dem BoCCs and vote at-large?
What I was suggesting, in response to Rogers Corner’s comment, was that there were other counties as large or larger than Alachua County that used at-large voting. Interestingly, just to the south of us, Marion County has at-large voting and five republican commissioners. I have not heard of a push to use single-member districts in that county or any of the other counties in this situation.
“The Board of County Commissioners should do the right thing”
Unfortunately for us they’re likely to do the “Left” thing instead.
After experiencing a single-member district election in 2024, 71.6% of voters opted for at-large voting. This was a clear mandate by the voters. The vote in 2022 for single-member districts barely passed at 51%.
Voters chose to have five commissioners accountable to them, instead of one. This aligns Alachua County with the default in the Florida Constitution and the majority of counties in the state.
Interestingly, every precinct in the county approved the passage of at-large districts, including those in the smaller cities and the rural areas. This negates the argument that UF students swayed the outcome of the passage. See the precinct breakdown here: https://enr.electionsfl.org/ALA/3721/Precincts/54109/
2024 was a presidential election and that is what made the difference.
The county pulled out all the stops by making sure all their mions distributed cheat sheets to all those who are clueless when it comes to voting.
At-large will never pass in an off-year election because the county can’t drum up enough clueless participation.
NOW PROVE ME WRONG!
*minions
Are you suggesting it is better to put things on the ballot when there is a smaller voter turnout? In fact, in 2022, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on a paid lobbyist to conduct an aggressive and misleading campaign. The County did not mount a campaign for the 2024 ballot. It was a grassroots effort by residents.
Are you suggesting that the 2022 effort, which involved high-paid lobbyists, was acceptable, but the grassroots effort in 2024 was not?
The op-ed suggests that:
“Fifty-two Florida counties don’t have issues with mixed-party rule on county commission boards. I strongly believe that mixed-party rule is healthier for a county than a dictatorship.”
The reason these counties have mixed-party commissions is that it reflects the will of their voters, not because of trying to manipulate the voting method to elect candidates in the political minority. And to suggest that counties with all-red or all-blue commissions are dictatorships is quite a stretch.
Making comments on this matter while purportedly representing the official county government suggests the at-large campaign is simply an attempt by the county employees and elected officials to choose their own bosses.
All of the voters in the County get to choose all five commissioners, as is the case in most Florida Counties. County employees and elected officials each have only one vote.
To sum up, “Alachua County” offers clear evidence that the “UF students votes” argument, which is regularly touted here by Republicans but without evidence is BS, there is nothing unusual about how and who the county voters select as their leaders (given they are more highly educated than surrounding red counties) and the “letter” writer is just another whiner who wants more GOP control of Alachua County and doesn’t care how he gets it.