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Susan Bottcher: Why Alachua County should vote YES on at-large districts

Letter to the editor

The disinformation campaign against the Yes on At Large Districts (ALD) referendum has begun! On the first day of Early Voting you likely got at least one if not two mailers saying vote No on the ALD referendum. 

They’re saying that it silences minority voices and will “only hurt the poor and people of color”. They quote the National NAACP from 2018 saying ALD “dilutes the voting power of minority groups”, implying Black candidates cannot get elected under the ALD system. This position was taken out of context. The national organization was not consulted about this Alachua County referendum in this election.  

The fact is the Alachua County Chapter of the NAACP firmly endorsed a YES vote on the ALD referendum. That chapter is local and knows the electoral landscape here. They oppose the restrictions of the Single Member Districts (SMD) scheme that was implemented in 2022. The non-partisan League of Women Voters of Alachua County also endorsed YES on ALD. 

To set the record straight, Black candidates have been elected to the following countywide offices: 8th Judicial Circuit judge; Property Appraiser; Supervisor of Elections; and Sheriff. We also have a proud history of electing and re-electing Black candidates to the Board of County Commissioners. 

Furthermore, in the other cities in Alachua County, the ALD model is used to elect their local commissioners, all of which have Black representation: Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, Micanopy, Newberry, Waldo. Gainesville has a hybrid system where Black commissioners have been elected under both models. 

The truth behind the anti-ALD effort: In September Senator Keith Perry filed a lawsuit to prevent ALD from being implemented, if it passes.

As reported by WCJB on October 1st, in a court of law when sworn to tell the truth Perry testified that “at large districts make it nearly impossible for Republican candidates to win.” There you have it. It’s not about the poor or minorities. It’s about partisan politics. 

But, Perry’s assertion is simple wrong. History shows Republican and conservative Democrats actually have been elected to the Board of County Commissioners. Admittedly, there have not been any in recent election cycles but there is good reason for that. 

Today’s Republican Party has veered far away from its traditional conservative roots. Now they stand for banning books, attacking the LGBTQ community, banning the use of the term “climate change”, blocking the teaching of Black history and critical race theory, denying the true outcome of the 2020 election, preventing women from making their own health care decisions, and loosening gun laws. 

These extremists know they cannot win on the merits of their increasingly radical ideology. They employ tactics that distort and obfuscate, that inflame emotions and play on people’s fears. Ironically, this further damages the Republican brand which results in traditional conservatives turning away from the GOP. That impacts local elections as well.

For an honest discussion about the real differences between ALD and SMD, let’s start with two facts: First, 60% of counties in Florida elect their commissioners using ALD since it is the default model per the Florida constitution. Second, with both models, candidates must live in the district they are running in and hope to represent. 

Under ALD you get to vote for all commission seats up for consideration in any election year. In presidential years that’s three seats; in midterm elections, its two seats. Over two election cycles, if all of your preferred candidates win, there will be up to five commissioners in office who represent your voice and your values. Even if only three of your preferred candidates win your voice and values will be the majority. This is a key point since it takes a majority of three of the five commissioners to pass any votes on any decisions of how your tax dollars are allocated.

By contrast, with SMD you vote for one candidate, only in the district where you live and only every four years (due to four year terms). Sure, if your candidate wins you have that person in your corner fighting for what’s important to you. But it’s a lone minority voice. The other four have no accountability to you since you have no ability to vote for or against them. Worse, if your preferred candidate loses, you have zero representation. You must wait four years for the next election and hope someone you like wins that seat.

In short, with SMD you have at best 1/5 representation. With ALD you can have up to 5/5 representation. The argument for ALD is simple: more representation and more accountability are better for democracy. 

People in our community are not stupid and when given the facts they reject attempts to be manipulated. They are smart enough to make the right decisions about who and what they vote for. 

Behind the pro-SMD group all we see is the partisan-focused Perry and two shadowy, dark money funded political committees.

With the ALD referendum there are more than a dozen local organizations, elected officials and community leaders who have legitimately and transparently endorsed the YES on At Large Districts referendum (see OneAlachuaCounty.com). 

Knowing what ALD is about and understanding the motivations of the opposition, voters will choose to have more of a voice in local government. They will vote YES to restore their right to have that voice. 

Susan Bottcher, Gainesville


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.

  • You did such a good job illustrating the sensible point of your argument until you started bashing today’s “extreme republicans. Hard to see the other side as any less fanatical than how you see us. Hard to see the liberal brand as anything more than a joke that wants to exist outside reality. Glad I’m no longer on that side.

    All that said, I agree with you on this issue and will vote accordingly. Thanks for the article, sorry for how crazy the rest of your party is.

    • I’d rather have 1 person representing the 200 in my neighborhood than 5 representing the 65,000 in the middle of Gainesville.

      She’s just all kinds of botched up.

    • The GOP has gone extreme and fanatical: their nominee is a convicted felon, convicted rapist, admires Hitler’s generals and said he’d be America’s dictator.

        • But at least she’s consistent. According to democrats, every republican presidential candidate since Hitler’s death has been denigrated as the next Hitler.

          On the other hand, it was the democrats that actually used a coup to effectively unseat a sitting president of their own party. It is the democrats who use the courts to harass their political opponents. It is the democrats that abandon the fate of poor people in the inner cities to hoodlums and drugs by defunding the police and not enforcing criminal laws. It is the democrats that invited and facilitated a foreign invasion when they thought it would benefit their political ends.

      • And you’re still an brainless puppet of the liberal lunatics – that’ll never change.
        You’re botched up, they just haven’t told you yet.

      • Susan: you F’d us good with that biomass plant… you don’t have to put a haloween costume on either. You are my reverse barometer. Thanks and happy Halloween to the wicked witch of the east!
        🎃👻🧙

  • It is really simple to choose.

    Only those living in your District should vote for someone to represent your District.

    Vote No on this referendum. Keep outsiders from determining who represents your District.

  • People want individual representation. If you guys (including all of the current commissioners) weren’t all blathering, long-winded complete idiots who march backwards instead of forwards, things could be different. Cornball Cornell would and should have lost his last election. He is a toxic politician who needs to be flushed away for the good of everyone. And the same for the others, although Cornell is arguably the most toxic.

  • That lady is one of the people who promoted & voted for the Biomass plant which effectively ruined the financial future of our city. A good policy is to do the opposite of whatever she says.

    • You’re misremembering the facts. I was elected to the city commission a full two years after the vote for the biomass plant.

      • The facts are you purposely filter out certain charter amendment proposals that don’t fall in line with your left wingnut ideology.
        One of the best things that happened is you’re NOT on the City Commission now.

  • I notice Susan fails to address when 5 Commissioners are elected via ALD by the radical left Gainesville core, the entire rest of the County is disenfranchised.

    These areas ALL include minorities whose voices are completely shut out.

    But Susan’s slant on the issue is of no surprise.

  • This is why independents, like myself, are disgusted with the Democrat party:

    “Today’s Republican Party has veered far away from its traditional conservative roots. Now they stand for banning books, attacking the LGBTQ community, banning the use of the term “climate change”, blocking the teaching of Black history and critical race theory, denying the true outcome of the 2020 election, preventing women from making their own health care decisions, and loosening gun laws.”

    • Well said! She’s a political product of the work of Edward Bernays. She seems to truly believe her deceivers.

    • Dude, this Republican Party?

      “Donald J. Trump’s closing rally at Madison Square Garden on the second to last Sunday before the election was a release of rage…

      A comic kicked off the rally by dismissing Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” then mocked Hispanics as failing to use birth control, Jews as cheap and Palestinians as rock-throwers, and called out a Black man in the audience with a reference to watermelon.

      Another speaker likened Vice President Kamala Harris to a prostitute with “pimp handlers.” A third called her “the Antichrist.” And the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked Ms. Harris — the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father — with a made-up ethnicity, saying she was vying to become “the first Samoan-Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.”

      By the time the former president himself took the stage, an event billed as delivering the closing message of his campaign, with nine days left in a tossup race, had instead become a carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism….”

      https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/us/trump-msg-rally.html

      • Have you not keep up with the news in Puerto Rico for the past few years. They do have a extreme garbage problem. Their landfill was mismanaged. There is literally garbage being dumped into the water. The U.S. EPA is very having a hussy fit over it. You are reading to much into a comedian’s act. God forbid he hurt your politically correct feelings. Explain the difference when black comedians cut down other ethical group. Remember when David Lopez made fun of Mexicans stealing pieces of the border wall construction materials in his act? Stop pushing DUM-DUM’s and Elmer Fudd’s last ditch efforts to win. It doesn’t work anymore.

  • I voted NO and very glad I did. At large takes away voices. And STOP your race baiting stuff. That is the problem with democrats, everything is about race. So sick of it.

    • The GOP campaign against At Large brought up race and lied about it. A 2018 national issues comment bt the National NAACP does not necessarily represent the 2024 situation in Alachua County, or the opinions of the local NAACO.

  • Wow, some people have no shame. Bankrupting GRU and the City of Wokesville was not enough ??? Just look at all the City’s and Counties that have single member districts? How about Wokesville? Loser Dems keep losing but we all pay for their force fed agenda .Now that and her Biomess is extreme.

    • GRU’s credit rating was the same as FPL when taken over by the state GOP. IT wasn’t and isn’t bankrupt.

  • Democrats cannot stop digging their own grave. Her rant is just a bunch of garbage party line talking points. I’m not even a Republican and I want to punch people like her in the face…so damn dishonest!

  • If you want a person to represent you and the space you live in locally the last thing you want is at large districts. The person representing you should live in the same spaces you live in, have the same neighbors you have, the same challenges the same roads to travel, the same access to shops so that they have the same lived experience that you do. Those are the people that will be able to relate to you, your needs, your challenges because they are in the same space you are. The fact that this author thinks people are so stupid they were “tricked” and it is not possible they voted correctly because they are so easily manipulated says a lot. The fact that she says League of women voters(or any other group) in Alachua county is bipartisan is hilarious. She wants people to think they will be better represented if they can vote for all the commissioners. She left out that means everyone else gets to vote for all of them as well meaning those that live in million dollar mansions with no clue what it is like to live in a poor neighborhood can vote on who represents those neighborhoods and vice versa. Instead of ending up with each district having single representation and forcing communication on the dais and from the community it would be more of the same. At large districts (IMO) open the door wide for the special interest groups to continue to dictate and run our county. Single member districts also can help bring people together, neighborhoods/communities coming together to talk about who would be the best and strongest candidate to represent the communities because they live there. It also reduces the influence of the special organizations being able to put the candidate they want on the dais because the whole county isn’t voting on the commissioner that is supposed to represent YOUR community not who the special interest groups want representing you

  • Sure Susan…as if we need things to be more Botched up than they are.
    You’re PART of THE problem now. Screening things for those you’ve pledged fealty to.
    You’re a cancerous lesion on the community.

  • Nobody has taken the NAACP out of context. Their 2018 Resolution on voting rights is unequivocal. So is the Fact Check that the NAACP Legal Defense Fund created. I would encourage you to read both of those, for yourself. They are 100% clear.

    Susan Bottcher is just flat out lying about this.

    Another thing that Susan Bottcher is lying about is that only Republicans support staying with Single-Member Districts. Sure, the League of Women Voters and the Alachua County Branch of the NAACP support it, but they are doing so only in service to a single political ideology. Evelyn Foxx is probably one of the most partisan people in Alachua County.

    The African American Accountability alliance, however, a group headed by people like Rodney Long, Ed Jennings Jr, Larry McDaniel and Kevin Thorpe actually had a forum and the attendees VOTED to reject at-large voting and to stay with Single-Member Districts. But you know this because you went and gave the pro-at-large argument and fell completely flat.

    Since 2010, white population in Alachua County has decreased, as a percentage of total population, from 70% to 60%

    African American population has decreased, as a total percentage of population from 20% to 18%.

    Despite the fact the fact black population decreased by a smaller percentage than white population, black representation on the county commission decreased by half and white representation increased from 60% to 80%. Until about 12 to 15 years ago, there were consistently two people of color on the Alachua County Commission. Hasn’t been that way in a while.

    Had there been Single-member districts a number of years ago, there would be at least two people of color on the county commission, right now.

    In 2026, it is highly possible that a black Democrat could supplant a sitting county commissioner, in a primary. Also, a black Republican is filed to run for county commission in an SMD that could be won by a Republican. But, I guess a black Republican doesn’t count.

    Point being, not only is it not impossible, but the odds greatly favor finishing 2026 with THREE people of color on the county commission.

    Now, is my goal to elect people of color to the county commission? No. I literally don’t care what their color is. I want qualified people that aren’t an ideological monolithic group elected only by the liberal block between the duck pond and 34th and 16th.

    And, Susan’s argument seems to be that, “we’ve elected a bunch of black people, at school board, property appraiser and a few other, so we don’t need any more.” Well, Susan, those are very different offices with very different dynamics than County Commission. Most of what you mentioned are offices with specialty missions. I don’t care that a judge is black. I care that he graduated law school. I don’t care if a Sheriff is black. I care that he is a certified law enforcement officer. County Commission is much different. Its from the ordinary people, and it should be representative of the ordinary people and from the areas in which they live.

    Everything about your argument is a grotesque false equivalency.

    • Stafford, is there some part of this you don’t understand?

      The fact is the Alachua County Chapter of the NAACP firmly endorsed a YES vote on the ALD referendum.

      It’s great that you explained Stafford Jones position on what blacks should vote for, but not the issue for most.

      • Actually which part don’t you understand? The NAACP voting rights resolution doesn’t say that it endorses SMD, except when it is a political inconvenience for the Democrat party. In addition, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund has NEVER fought for at-large voting, ANYWHERE.

        The language of the NAACP and the NAACP LDF are very specific and clear. In fact, the charter rules of the NAACP would seem to indicate that the local NAACP is in violation of their charter by taking a position different than the parent organization, but that’s between them.

        So, do I care what Evelyn Foxx thinks? No. She’s a political hack who has no real interest in an equitable method of election FOR ALL as long as she gets to be a big shot in the D party.

        So, while you guys are saying that we are lying, the fact is, even after 2022 the REAL NAACP did not take down their resolution or scrub the LDF site of their Q&A on your racist at-large voting scheme, and they didn’t adjust the language to give you guys an out. And, they didn’t sue me, either, because, well, they couldn’t since we actually told the truth.

        In the meantime, did the local NAACP hold a forum and the attendees get to vote on at-large or SMD? No. The 4A’s did. Susan Bottcher botched her performance, and the 4A’s went the other way.

        • Stafford, the local NAACP has endorsed at-large districts. Cut the crap.

          By the way, I just received a mailer which was all about the lie you’re peddling, so race is the card you are playing and local blacks and other leaders are just trying to melt this snow job you created – by lying.

  • So SMD proponents claim a black person or a Republican cannot get elected in Alachua County.

    It looks highly certain that a black Republican is going to get elected in county wide voting.

    On November 6, if Gainey gets elected sheriff, I invite County Republican Chair Tim Marden to write an op-ed and post it here on the Chronicle explaining how this happened, because according to the Republican operatives, THIS CANNOT HAPPEN.

    Even if Gainey loses, a black person will be elected sheriff, and according to the dark money funded mud slinging flyers, THIS CANNOT HAPPEN in a county wide election.

    • If you read my comment, I think I already did.

      First, nobody said it couldn’t happen.

      Second, there has been no mud slinging flyers. Educating voters on an issue isn’t mud slinging, unless you are on the wrong side of that issue.

      Third, county commission is very different than specialized offices requiring specialized skills. In any governmental subdivision, voters have shown they are more willing to shed partisanship when electing people to such offices.

      • Someone told me you ran a campaign in Sarasota to return to At-Large districts to support the all republican county commission. So, is this really about electing Republicans?

        • I did not run a campaign. The voters in Sarasota wanted to have that debate. I told them I thought it would lose, but it was their community, and if they wanted to have the debate, I would give them the platform.

          • Ah, just a crusader for the will of the people. Yeah, that’s you alright, even if that means spewing one lie after another.

            Stafford gets paid for this but only works for Republicans, and he doesn’t care what he has to say to get paid.

          • Hmmmm. Let me get this straight: you are deeply concerned about African Americans getting elected in Democrat majority Alachua County and, therefore, a proponent of single-member districts. However, was it okay to push at-large districts in Sarasota where Republicans have the majority? This is obviously about doing what’s best for Republicans. And you have no issue saying whatever is required to do that, even if it is completely contradictory. Got it.

  • I disagree with your opening sentence so here is my edit: “The disinformation campaign for, or against, the Yes on At Large Districts (ALD) referendum has begun! On the first day of Early Voting you likely got at least one if not two mailers saying vote No on the ALD referendum.”

    Yesterday, I received a mailer from “OneAlachuaCounty.com”, with all the current Democratic placeholders professing their support of ALD! Of course, they claim to work for “all” the taxpayers but all but the totally blind know they make that claim only during election time! Personally, I have contacted the AC BOCC numerous times during the past 5 years and only received a response from them one time, and that member is no longer serving.

    As for “OneAlachuaCounty.com”, when you go to the website, you have choices to “Volunteer”, or “Donate.” Too ashamed to identify themselves? It is not hard to imagine the list of leading members mirrors those on the flyer I received.

    Your opinion is just that, your opinion, but then, as a paid political activist for the Democratic Party, it is your job to automatically oppose anything that is contrary to the guidance you receive from your handlers.

  • At large districts means that the heavy population center gets representation and everyone else doesn’t.

    If the lower population areas were democrat I expect SB would be pushing for single member districts.

    This isn’t about SMD vs ALMD.

    It’s about ensuring that the democrat party and the left in alachua county can continue being control freaks over everyone that’s not like them.

    • tph, if you look at the ACC district map, every one of the SMDs are anchored in the center of the City of Gainesville. It’s arguable how much more voice small town and rural voters will have. It’s not like a donut.

      chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.votealachua.com/portals/alachua/documents/maps/County_Commission_Districts.pdf

  • “With ALD you can have up to 5/5 representation. The argument for ALD is simple: more representation and more accountability are better for democracy.”

    Here she says the quiet part out loud: Democrats believe that 5/5 ideologically-aligned commissioners are “better for democracy”.

    Better for Democrats, maybe. Not better for the rest of us.

  • I agree 100% with Susan. All county citizens should vote for all the county commissioners, just like they do in every other county in Florida.

    The fascist republicans don’t want that because their aim is to dilute the vote so the minority has a better chance of winning.

    Get it through your freaking heads, this is a liberal democratic county. We don’t want republicans in our government. Accept it. Embrace it. And move on.

    @ JT
    I’m sorry for how crazy your fanatical fascist republican party is.

    • But they don’t, in EVERY county in Florida. Counties have switched from at-large to SMD, but none have gone the other direction.

      • Most Florida counties are at large, yet the GOP controlled state legislature only went after flipping one of them, blue Alachua County, and then launched a campaign falsely claiming local black leaders favored that position. At least here, Stafford admits the black support is from a 2018 document on a the nationmal issue, not the particulars of Alachua County.

        If Stafford and the state GOP are so so concerned with fair representation, I suggest they move to make Florida another of the states which does their redistricting using a non-partisan commission instead of by the Governor in a losing campaign to be president, and while they are at it, making Florida one of the states which allots its electoral college electors representationally and not as winner take all. Until then, this is just partisan hot air for another tilting the table for who Stafford, Clemons, and Perry work for – the GOP.

        • To borrow your own comment…”tph, if you look at the ACC district map, every one of the SMDs are anchored in the center of the City of Gainesville. It’s arguable how much more voice small town and rural voters will have. It’s not like a donut.”

          Then why all the fuss?

  • Susan, you botched it up enough. old sea hags should just fade away. shut up and move on. enough of your stupidity.

  • Ms. B. is the Hillary of Gainesville. Ever bitter from past self-inflicted grievances. If she were anywhere else at any time, the Party would direct her to FAVOR single-member districts. But she’s so filled with her stunted political career and blaming the GOP, she cannot think straight anymore — and she controls the local Ds who still listen to her.

  • Go away Susan! You are old news. Just because something is not as you want it doesn’t make it right!
    I didn’t read slowly but your Black comments are illogical. Skin color is not a qualification!

  • Hear me out… Susan might– *might*, I say– might not be the most reliable source of information about what Republicans believe.

  • Susan Bottcher is an Establishment “activist” with a white-savior complex, who thinks that black people need her to make decisions for them.

    You would think she was black the way that she arrogantly purports to speak for the NAACP and black voters, but no, she is just another Democrat fossil with the legacy Democrat slave-master mentality.

    Get over it, Susan–you don’t own black people any more, or their votes. I know nothing fills you people with rage more than black people thinking for themselves and trying to leave the Democratic plantation.

    Voters–including black voters–made their will known during the last election, and we all decided that we wanted our representative to be someone that actually lives in our district, not someone maneuvered into power by a corrupt central party. We don’t care what they do elsewhere.

    Now you write this letter implying that black people were too stupid to understand what they were voting for, that they were somehow tricked because they can’t think for themselves? That is appallingly racist. I would normally never recommend racial bias therapy because it is largely a scam, but you are someone who might actually benefit from addressing your deep-seated issues.

    • Dad, voters in Alachua County when this state forced amendment passed were lied to by the pro-campaign and specifically blacks were targeted with billboards on Waldo Road misquoting the NAACP and local leaders.

      Get off your phony high horse, as if the state GOP wasn’t regularly targeting blacks with everything from this BS campaign to voter suppression to gerrymandering majority black and democratic congressional districts out of existence.

  • NO!! Vote No! A No vote will make sure that we elect as many African Americans as possible. That is so important.

    • Why, Alan? If people’s residential districts need representation, then the population of Alachua County needs correctly proportionally representation. The County is roughly 60% white, 20% black, and 20% Hispanic/Asian/other. Accordingly, the five member county commission should be three white, one black, and one other for proper “representation.”

      Federal civil rights rules came about because it was noticed that in the old Jim Crow South, rules prevented blacks from being elected and measures were taken to change this.

      If today there were no blacks on the BOCC, this would be called a problem. However, since I believe 1978 there has been at least one black county commissioner and often more than one. You cannot say that blacks have not been represented on the BOCC.

      However, your statement that is important “we elect as many African Americans as possible” is as racist a statement as I have seen in a while. Why should blacks get more than their 20% share” of the BOCC?

      If someone said “we need to elect five white KKK members to the BOCC to rule the rest of the county” you would be the first to scream RACISM. Your call to elect a highly black BOCC to rule the rest of the county residents is just as racist. And a sick political power grab.

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