County commission candidates line up

Election Day is more than a year away, but already candidates are lining up to race for seats on the Alachua County Commission.

Three spots on the local governing board will be on the Nov. 3, 2020 ballot, including District 1, 3 and 5. Five people have filed for the races.

The qualifying deadline is noon on June 12, 2020.

District 1

One candidate has filed to enter the commissioner race in District 1, which extends south at the corner of Southwest Eighth Avenue and Southwest 75th Street and encompasses Archer and Micanopy. Mary Alford, 58, is the owner of a Gainesville engineering and architectural consulting firm Sustainable Design Group.

Alford, a Democrat, was born in Gainesville and studied environmental engineering at the University of Florida. She has served on the Gainesville Regional Utilities Advisory board, as well as the county’s Code Enforcement board. The race is her first time running for office.

Alford said she has three main priorities on her platform: Ensuring that Alachua County is prepared for climate disruption, fixing infrastructure and roads and ensuring sustainability.

“I am well versed on many issues,” she said. “But my technical expertise is what sets me apart.”

Incumbent Commissioner Mike Byerly has not yet filed.

District 3

Three people have filed as Democrats to run in the District 3 seat, a district with boundaries that extend west of Southwest 13th Street and covers much of Newberry. The seat is held by Robert Hutchinson, who has not filed yet.

Trisha Roy, 48, is a real estate broker and owner of the Open Spaces International agency in Newberry. She was born in India and moved to Newberry in 2005. The race is Roy’s first time running for political office, though she serves on both the county’s Code Enforcement Board and the Economic Development Committee.

Roy said her priorities include encouraging sustainable growth in the county, a belief she says comes from her experience as a small business owner and her educational background in ecology.

“We need our cities to grow because we need better services,” she said. “This we can do this and not have it come at the cost of the environment.”

William Jason Stanford, 43, is a history teacher at Hawthorne Middle/High School who previously worked within state and federal government offices for 20 years.

His stint in government includes working at the Division of Public Health in Georgia, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. This is his first time running for office.

Stanford, a native to Alachua County, said climate change is his priority. More specifically, how North Central Florida can prepare for its effects.

“North Florida is in a unique position in that climate change is going to affect us in ways we may not think about,” he said. Human migration being one of them, he noted.

“I have a sense for how we prepare for that since I’ve worked in state and federal government, and we used to give resources to local governments.”

Anna Prizzia, 42, is the founder and director of the Field & Fork Program at the University of Florida. She worked for 15 years in food system efforts and co-founded the nonprofit Working Food, based in North Central Florida.

She said her main focus will be on improving local water quality, regional planning and supporting the local economy.

“I’ve seen how important our local governments are so that our community has access to resources,” she said.

District 5

Chuck Chestnut, who currently holds the District 5 seat, is the only candidate who has filed for the race.

District 5 extends north of University Avenue of Gainesville, into the cities of Waldo and LaCrosse.

Chestnut was reportedly unavailable to comment on Wednesday. He has served on the County Commission since 2012, and also worked previously as a Gainesville City Commissioner and State Representative.

He helped develop the "Truth and Reconciliation for Alachua County’s History Initiative of Racial Injustice," which examines the county's role and compliance with Jim Crow-era rules.

He works at his family's business, the Chestnut Funeral Home, which was founded in 1914.

The Nov. 3 ballot will be a full one, topped by a vote for president. Several county and state offices, along with state and local referendums, also will be decided.