Gainesville voters overwhelmingly approved a measure Tuesday to return control of the city’s utility to the City of Gainesville, a rejection of Republican efforts to install a GOP-appointed board from Tallahassee.
With all votes counted, more than 75% of voters agreed to abolish the state-appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority. That was a higher percentage than last year’s vote on the same subject, which was set aside due to legal challenges.
Just under 20% of eligible voters inside the city – or 14,478 people – cast ballots. The referendum on the utility was the only issue on the ballot in the off-year election.
Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward thanked voters for their support in a Facebook post.
“I believe I speak for all my colleagues at City Hall when I say that we hear your call for accountability and affordability,” he wrote.
The election asked voters whether to get rid of the state-appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority, established in 2023 by the Republican-led Legislature. The move took away control of the utility from the Gainesville commission, made up entirely of Democrats.
The GRU board – made up of five members appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis – controlled rates and how much money was sent from the utility to the city’s coffers. The Legislature took control of the utility after years of complaints about its mismanagement, excessive debt and high electrical rates, which have been among the highest in the state.
The move reduced the amount of money that flowed from the utility to the city, which cut its budget and raised property taxes. Republicans rarely win elections in the county and have sought for years to make inroads here. In DeSantis’ last election, in 2022, Alachua County was one of only five of Florida’s 67 counties to vote for his Democratic rival.
Democrats said slightly lower utility rates since 2023 were due to lower prices for natural gas, not improved management under the Republican-appointed board.
City voters last year overwhelmingly approved a similar measure by 72% of the vote to return control of the utility to the city, but a judge threw out that election in a challenge over the language on the ballot. That year, more than 54,000 people voted on the referendum during the 2024 general elections.
The GRU board chair, Ed Bielarski, said the organization would challenge the election results – no matter the outcome – and ask a state appeals court to maintain the current governance of GRU.
Ward warned residents about any action that might be taken in response to GRU’s loss.
“We will have more detail tomorrow about any further legal action that may be taken to keep your vote from counting,” he wrote on Facebook. “I am hopeful that everyone has heard your voice and will proceed with that in mind.”
Bielarski, who is registered as a voter not affiliated with any political party, sought to downplay concerns about the utility’s control outside Gainesville.
“There‘s no big, bad Tallahassee connection here folks. It‘s all a scare tactic,” he wrote on social media.
Mayor Harvey Ward said control over the utility should belong to the city, a progressive college town home to the University of Florida.
Local artist Kylie Munroe, 35, voted in person. She said she felt it necessary for city issues to lie in the hands of the city.
“It’s important for the community to have a say in what happens in our city versus the governor having a say,” she said to WUFT.
Anna Loraine Bigelow, a Republican voter, said she was worried about high electric prices returning under the city’s control.
“Are you willing to risk hundreds more in higher bills by giving it back to the city just because you don’t like the governor,” Bigelow wrote on social media.
Sherry Ann Roberts, a Democrat, urged voters to restore the city’s control over GRU.
“MAGA claimed two years ago that it will get better under the DeSantis government and I have not seen results,” she wrote on social media. She added, “Don't believe MAGA. They are the reason why Americans are suffering now, no matter how hard you work.”
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This is a breaking news story. Check back in case there are further developments. Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.