Alachua County voters reelected Mary Alford (D) as District 1 County Commissioner on Tuesday night. Alford won by a margin of 5,586 votes, winning 63.63% of votes.
This is a larger margin than her 2022 victory over then-candidate Raemi Eagle-Glenn (R), when Alford received 58.72% of votes.
Alford’s election maintains an all-Democrat commission, which has existed in Alachua County for 10 years, excluding a short stint by Eagle-Glenn in 2022 when she was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
She spent election night dishing out homemade food to watch-party attendees at Heartwood Soundstage. A self-proclaimed introvert, Alford said she preferred to serve behind-the-scenes than to be in the spotlight.
“I’m relieved. It’s been a long year,” she said. “I think I told someone else recently, I don’t think I ever want to be chair and running for office at the same time again. It’s a lot to try to do at one time. But it’s been an amazing year. I’ve had amazing support. This community has been really supportive, and I just want to thank everyone that has helped me get to where I am.”
Only voters residing in District 1 voted in this election for the commissioner, as single-member districts were approved by voters in November 2022.
Alachua County voted against single-member districts this election, 71.61% to 28.39%. The measure first passed in November 2022 by a margin of 2.9% but was put back on the ballot in May due to concerns over voter misinformation.
Communications director Mark Sexton said the county would appeal a judge’s ruling that deemed the referendum “unlawful” in October.
Alford’s stance on single-member districts was that the voters should decide without interference, which she said plagued the last election.
An engineer by trade, Alford got her start in politics through volunteering for nonprofit organizations and advisory boards on topics like code enforcement and environmental protection. She decided to run after becoming frustrated with what she believed was poor decision making and inefficiency on the part of the county.
"I didn't expect to win, and I did,” she said of her first race. “I didn't expect to like it so much, but I do."
She first ran in 2020, defeating incumbent Mike Byerly (D), who served five consecutive terms beginning in 2000. She resigned in 2022 after a Gainesville Sun investigation found she didn’t live in her district, which she considered an administrative failure due to the chaos of taking care of her sick mother who lives out of district.
Alford’s platform was broad, including roads, fire protection, public safety, an effective and efficient jail, emergency management, parks and recreation, public health, affordable housing and childcare access.
Another goal of hers is sustainability. Alford ran a carbon-neutral campaign, opting out of sending mailers and producing only a small number of yard signs.
As the incumbent, Alford plans to begin work immediately.
“We just finished, this past summer, our climate vulnerability analysis. So, over the next couple of weeks we’re rolling out our climate action plan and taking that and adopting it into policy,” she said.
She raised more than double the amount in campaign finances as Doebler, reaching $24,000 to Doebler’s $11,000.
Doebler said she had no hard feelings toward Alford and wished her all the best after the election results came in.
"I just hope she starts listening to the people in District 1. Because the people in District 1 really need help,” she said.
Alford and other commissioners will be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 11:30 a.m.