Gainesville residents voted Tuesday for the second consecutive year to abolish the state-appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority.
With only a single issue on the ballot, more than 75% of voters chose to return control of City of Gainesville utilities to the city government.
The results of this election came following a similar result during an election in 2024 with a similar issue on the ballot.
In the aftermath of the election, five questions remain as to what this result means for Gainesville residents, the utility, the context surrounding the referendum and how voters reached this consensus.
What changes will you see?
Voters chose to return control of utilities to the Gainesville City Commission. This comes following two years of a five-person board appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis overseeing the GRU.
Before the introduction of the GRU Authority, electric rates in Gainesville were among the highest in the state.
A major contention among those who voted no on the ballot involved fears the removal of the GRU Authority would cause electric rates to rise again. Terry Walters, a voter who opposed the dissolution of the GRU Authority, said Tuesday at his polling place that he did not want to see the lower electric rates of the past two years come to an end.
“Well, the city has been in debt for a long time, so when they turn it over the panel, they reduce the electric rates, or GRU rates which are the highest in the state,” he said, “so I'd like to leave it that way.”
What happens next?
Though residents chose to return control of utilities to the city, the GRU Authority quickly contested the result. On the morning after the election, GRU CEO Ed Bielarski gave the following statement to staff:
“The GRU Authority believes yesterday's vote has no legal consequence until the board receives a court order telling it otherwise or until the special legislative act that created the Authority in 2023 is repealed.
Until then, the board will continue its responsible governance of GRU, and I will continue as CEO.”
Mayor Harvey Ward quickly responded via a Facebook post, writing:
“I’ll keep you updated when there is more definitive news. In the meantime, I am confident that all the great people drawing a paycheck from the City of Gainesville (which includes utility workers) will keep delivering excellent value to you, just like they did before there was a governor-appointed board, and just like they will when this eventually comes back to your elected Gainesville City Commission.”
Immediately the Authority made a motion in court asking for the transition of power to be paused. They argued another court case on the legitimacy of the referendum was never finished, and the results of this election should only be respected after this initial case has been dismissed. The emergency motion was granted Thursday.
City of Gainesville Public Information Officer gave a statement on the court decision, writing:
“The City of Gainesville respects the District Court of Appeal’s decision to grant the emergency motion and will comply fully with the court’s direction. City and utility operations will continue as normal during the judicial process. In the meantime, City leaders are reviewing next steps and remain committed to ensuring stability, transparency and uninterrupted service for all residents and ratepayers.”
The GRU Authority similarly opposed last year’s result. They argued the ballot was poorly worded, leading to a judge nullifying it.
How has the GRU Authority impacted the city’s budget?
In a financial plan document for the 2026 fiscal year, City Manager Cynthia Curry estimated the GRU Authority would decrease annual fund transfers from GRU to the City of Gainesville to $7.2 million, approximately 81% lower than seven years prior. These decreases have come in the form of less funding for streetlights and litigation, among other services.
Additionally, during the 2024 fiscal year the GRU Authority disregarded a transfer formula for the Government Services Contribution. The Contribution is a funding transfer from the public utility and was formerly one of the City’s primary revenue sources. This led to an estimated loss of $17.8 million in revenue for the City, according to Curry.
What was the trend in voter turnout?
With this being the second year the issue was on the ballot, the already overwhelming vote in favor of removing the GRU Authority only further increased.
This election saw 14,474 eligible voters come to the polls. That is approximately 20% of the overall eligible voter population in the City of Gainesville, about 5 to 10% more than the turnout of recent votes when only city commission seats — as opposed to state or federal races — were on the ballot. Furthermore, the vote in favor of dissolving the GRU Authority increased from three points since last year.
Harvey Ward commented on this trend, writing on the same Facebook post, “Three elections, three identical results (but more emphatically each time.) Gainesville voters want to be able to hold the leadership of their utilities accountable.”
The three elections include a 2018 ballot question in which approximately 59% of votes were in favor of the Commission holding control of utilities.
Why did voters voice opposition to the GRU Authority?
Voters like Gina Genova supported the idea of putting city utilities back in the hands of Gainesville commissioners.
“I know the vote was for, like, the public utilities and whether or not there should be the GRU Authority, which is appointed by the governor, which is now Ron DeSantis,” she said. “So what is, like, him and the person he appoints going to necessarily care about Gainesville?”
This vote also ran along partisan lines. As the Republican governor had implemented the GRU Authority, residents of the Democrat-leaning city saw its dissolution as the liberal choice.
Though in retrospect Terry Walters’ vote would be in the minority, he kept an optimistic attitude for the future.
“I think things are moving in the right direction. Of course I guess everybody's got their own version of what right is.”