City Commission Runoff–In Their Words
Given how important we feel it is to vote in the Gainesville City Commission At Large run-off race (that’s a mouthful!), we thought we owed our readers some more information.
We went right to the source. Lauren Poe and Nathan Skop are the candidates in question, and both responded promptly to an e-mail we sent to them. In our e-mail, we simply asked what they each wanted our site followers to know about them.
We present their responses to you in alphabetical order, and hope you take the time to read through their responses. We learned some new things . . . Some positive new things.
Thank you, Mr. Poe and Mr. Skop, for attending the Think Local Civic Forum last month and for working and supporting the indiegainesville community.
Without further ado, we present their responses:
Lauren Poe, in his words:
Gainesville: Humble Origins to Civic Exceptionalism
Gainesville and her residents come from a humble past. How we started as a railroad town and ended up as host to the University of Florida is a story of civic exceptionalism. That story demonstrates why Gainesville will become one of our nation’s most extraordinary communities.
Gainesvillager (or Gainesvilleians) are a hard-working and resolute bunch and have always adapted to take advantage of economic opportunity. When railroads were expanding, we secured a line. When agriculture was booming, we became a transportation hub. And when the University of Florida was up for grabs in 1905, we reached out and secured it. Those actions have made Gainesville a city steeped in creativity, curiosity, diversity and innovation. It is this tradition that will guide our city into her future.
Gainesville’s advantage lies in our people. We are fortunate to have such an abundance of creative and innovative minds. Our city must nurture the environment that fosters their growth. We must bring our community together towards a common goal of growing the Innovation Economy and extending economic opportunity to all of our residents. If we are successful, Gainesville is poised to become a premier city of our nation.
But how do we get there? We must first invest in our community. Some of Gainesville’s proudest and oldest neighborhoods have suffered from neglect. Some of the city’s first neighborhoods to receive water, electricity, sewer and paved roads have been forgotten. We need to reinvest in these core areas and spark an urban renaissance in our core neighborhoods. This type of investment from our city will prove to private enterprise that we are serious about our mission and their partnership is welcomed.
We also must make Gainesville a safe and welcoming and user-friendly city in which to live. This means supporting our community-oriented policing programs and our exceptional fire services. It means investing in high-quality public spaces, great passive and active parks and diverse cultural opportunities for our families, students and young professionals alike. It means investing in our transportation infrastructure. We must not only properly maintain our current roads, but ensure that our residents of the future have transportations options including mass transit, safe bicycle corridors and good pedestrian access.
The Gainesville of the future will have its roots in the past, but evolve into something much greater.
We need to make planning decisions that will maximize people’s choices about where they live, work and play. We need policies that facilitate physical connectivity throughout our city. But we must also connect to each other, diminishing barriers and increasing the creative dialogue so necessary to a prosperous future Gainesville.
I believe in the promise of Gainesville. I believe that the Gainesville in which my daughter is raised holds unlimited possibilities. But this is a shared mission. Please join me in taking that giant leap into what will be an extraordinary future.
Nathan Skop, in his words:
A Bright Future Requires Change
Gainesville’s bright future requires a change in leadership on the City Commission. Therunoff election on February 28th is a referendum on change versus the status quo. Change requires restoring the public trust and confidence in local government and bringing representative government back to the citizens of Gainesville.
I am proud to have earnedthe endorsement of four of the six candidates in the at-large race, andextremely proud to have the endorsement of James Thompson who worked on JamesIngle’s campaign. His endorsement letter entitled “A Progressive Vote for Skop” ” a great commentary worthy of publication.
Like many other citizens in Gainesville, I am tired of the wasteful spending, the lack of accountability, and the lack of transparency from our elected officials who blatantly disregard the citizens that they were elected to represent. Ignoring the citizens of Gainesville is not representative government.
I support renewable energy, but the biomass contract is a financial disaster of the City Commission’s own making. The Gainesville City Commission, including Lauren Poe, speculatively gambled with 3.1 billion dollars of ratepayer money on future energy prices. They bet big, they guessed wrong, and now it is time to fix this problem before it is too late.
Our utility rates wil lsky rocket without new leadership at City Hall. Having the highest electric rates in the state will destroy our local economy. Businesses and jobs will go elsewhere. Ensuring a bright future demands that we take immediate action to reconsider the economics of the biomass contract.
As your next City Commissioner I will bring the following core valuesback to City Hall:
- Openness of Local Government
- Responsiveness of Local Government
- Accountability of Local Government
My priorities include:
- Fiscal Responsibility / Open Government
- Public Safety
- Protecting our Neighborhoods
- Managing GRU to minimize your utility rate increases
- Economic Investment
- Koppers Remediation and Environmental Issues
The wasteful spending practices, failed policies, and lack of transparency from the Gainesville CityCommission represent the failed leadership at City Hall.
The majority of our elected officials have consistently demonstrated that they are completely out of touch with the mainstream views of Gainesvillecitizens, and ill equipped to spend taxpayer money in a fiscally responsible manner.
But for the Mayor’s questionable hiring of an unnecessary research assistant (his former campaign manager) at $45,000/yr, an additional uniformed police officer could now be patrolling the streets of Gainesville enhancing public safety.
Taxpayer money must be prioritized and allocated in a manner to maximize the value to the citizens of Gainesville.
As your Florida Public Service Commissioner, every major newspaper endorsed my service to the people of the State of Florida.
With your vote we can bring representative government back to the citizens of Gainesville.
I would be honored and privileged to serve the citizens of Gainesville as your next Gainesville City Commissioner.
Happy voting, indiegainesville!
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