For the first time, Alachua County commissioners this year will be elected only by voters who live in their district.
The switch from at-large to district voting may be especially significant in District 3, which includes half of Newberry and unincorporated areas south of State Road 26. The incumbent commissioner, Anna Prizzia, is a Democrat. Jenn Garrett is the Republican candidate. Much of District 3 leans Republican, which could impact the race.
Single-member districts versus at-large
Alachua County voters in 2022 approved district-level voting by a margin of 2.9%. After significant debate, the question is back on the ballot this year, though a court fight between the county and proponents of single-member districts is further complicating the future of the system.
Since Alachua County ballots have already been printed, the question will not be removed, but as a judge’s ruling on Oct. 9, votes will have no legal effect.
Campaign spending is usually lower for district-level than for at-large races because candidates focus on a smaller audience of voters. The District 3 race is an exception to that trend. Between both candidates, monetary contributions for the race are $145,036, nearly double the 2020 at-large race’s total: $77,222.
Garrett’s cash contributions comprise most of the total: $88,494 as of Oct. 8, including $20,150 from businesses and $2,500 from political groups. Her campaign received $1,000 from Childers Law, the attorney representing petitioners in favor of striking the district-level question from November’s ballot.
Prizzia’s campaign funding is lower: $56,542, nearly all from individual donors.
Jenn Garrett
Background
Garrett declined an interview with WUFT but provided responses to questions via email.
The Newberry resident is an artist with multiple sculpture installations throughout Alachua County. She holds a master’s degree in design from the University of Florida.
In her master’s research and work at a cultural resource management firm, Garrett analyzed how to maintain community character in the face of development. She collaborated with the Florida Department of Transportation to ensure compliance with historic preservation requirements.
“I value our history and the creative side of our community- two key aspects of the culture we share here,” she wrote to WUFT in an email. “I will take every opportunity to weave creativity into what we do as a commission. These will include highlighting creative businesses and local restaurants, promoting our history and creative culture, and being our County’s biggest culture supporter.”
Policy
In written responses to WUFT and Mainstreet Daily News surveys, Garrett listed roads and development as the two most important issues facing the county commission. She said progress on road repairs has been “painfully slow” and the county’s road-repair ranking software isn’t efficient.
She offered a similar critique for the county’s development process, saying slow approvals and high upfront costs push out local developers and drive up prices. Garrett suggested streamlining the development process and allowing more design flexibility in the Land Development Code.
“My first priority is to get back to the basics of local government,” Garrett wrote. She places special emphasis on “improving infrastructure such as roads, improving traffic, making sure that our sheriff's office has the support they need to keep all our communities safe, and improving our economic development to fight poverty.”
Garrett received endorsements from Alachua-based property rights group Preserving Rural Property Values, U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, state Sen. Keith Perry and state Rep. Chuck Clemons.
Anna Prizzia
Background
Prizzia's master’s degree in wildlife ecology and conservation initially led her to pursue water and wetland protections with the St. Johns Water Management District and Alachua County Environmental Protection Department.
Then, what started as volunteer work with food-focused community groups became a career. In 2009, Prizzia became director for the UF Office of Sustainability and in 2017, president of the non-profit Working Food. She held a variety of farm and agriculture-related positions with UF/IFAS before winning the District 3 county commission seat in 2020.
Her experience with food systems is “honestly, what led me to run for office,” Prizzia said. “I realized that policy making was a really important part of building an agricultural system that is resilient and based on our local values.”
Policy
Food and environment are the cornerstones of the Gainesville resident’s policy priorities.
Prizzia called farms “the frontline for development” in response to WUFT’s candidate survey. She developed a Plan for Agricultural Easements Program, passed by the commission in September, in an effort to protect farms from sprawl. “I'm excited about seeing that program come to fruition, and seeing the results of that,” she said.
Prizzia voted to keep the West End Golf Course recreational and opposed a development in the Mill Creek Watershed, prompting criticism from the developer (also represented by Childers Law) and support from environmental groups.
Prizzia is a strong proponent of the Alachua County Climate Action Plan, which is still under development.
“Prioritizing and strategizing around what we need to do in our county to be prepared to adapt and mitigate for the impacts of climate change is really, really important to me,” she said.
Prizzia’s endorsements include Ruth’s List, Vote Pro Choice, Alachua County Fire Rescue Union, Sierra Club and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.