Alachua County voters reelected incumbent District 3 County Commissioner Anna Prizzia on Tuesday night in a hard-fought race against Jenn Garrett.
Prizzia won by a margin of 2,364 votes — roughly nine percentage points. It's a smaller margin than her 2020 win over Republican candidate Joy Glanzer, in which she received 60.4% of votes.
This election marks the first time voters elected county commissioners via single-member districts instead of at-large.
That didn’t prevent Democrats from securing the District 3 spot, despite there being more registered Republicans within the district. Prizzia's and fellow commissioner Mary Alford’s victories maintain an all-Democrat Alachua County Commission, which has been the case since 2014, save for a six-month appointment of Republican Raemi Eagle-Glenn by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022.
Prizzia celebrated her victory at a watch party hosted by Gainesville Women for Harris at Heartwood Soundstage Tuesday night. She took to the stage as the final precinct results trickled in just after 9 p.m., to thank her supporters.
“I cannot tell you how happy I am to get to continue doing this job,” Prizzia said, “and I really couldn't have done it without all of you. Because I had so many volunteers that stepped up, that went and knocked on doors with me, that made phone calls with me, that even just made me dinner.
“Please reach out,” she added, “please call me because we need you all the time, not just when elections happen.”
Prizzia holds an undergraduate degree in marine biology and a master’s from the University of Florida in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. She was previously the campus food systems coordinator at the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, where she developed the Field and Fork program.
The Gainesville resident was first elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2020, replacing Robert Hutchinson, who did not seek reelection.
While the pair didn’t agree on every aspect of policy, “when it comes to natural resources protection and around the way that our comprehensive plan is developed for wise growth in our community, I think we were very aligned. And I was excited to be able to fill his shoes and continue working on those things,” Prizzia said.
Garrett was a newcomer to the political scene this year. A sculptor by training, she received her master’s degree in design from the University of Florida.
Under the single-member district system, Prizzia changed her campaign strategy, calling her outreach “much more focused.” Instead of county-wide Zoom events (the standard in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Prizzia went door-to-door in her district to canvas.
“It’s been my district all along, so I’ve gotten to know it really well. It made it easier as a commissioner to get out,” she said.
Alachua County voters overwhelmingly decided to return to at-large county commissioner elections. The charter amendment passed with 71.61%, though it is unclear whether it will have a legal effect. In October, a judge said it wouldn’t, calling the referendum ‘unlawful’, a decision the Alachua County Commission later appealed.
Garrett beat out Prizzia in campaign finances, spending $86,965 to Prizzia’s $52,423 in the second costliest race in the county.
The republican candidate and her supporters monitored the District 3 results from a watch party in Tioga Tuesday night, “Gators for Garrett” stickers adorning their shirt fronts. Despite Garrett’s loss, the crowd cheered as she took the stage.
“We gave it all we had and it wasn’t enough,” she said. “I’m disappointed. I came to win.”
Asked if she would have done anything differently along the campaign trail, Garrett responded: “No. I did all I could possibly do,” adding that she’d use the lessons learned along the way to continue to advocate for District 3.
Commissioners Anna Prizzia and Mary Alford will be sworn in on Nov. 12 at 10 a.m.
