Both Gainesville city commissioners who were up for re-election will serve another term, voters decided in Tuesday's citywide election.
At-Large Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa and District 1 Commissioner Scherwin Henry will both serve their second three-year term.
"I wasn't fully expecting this big of a win, but I'm delighted to have it," Mastrodicasa said. Mastrodicasa gained a clear majority of the At-Large votes at 58.13 percent.
Entering the room where candidates, their supporters and a bevy of anti-Amendment 1 volunteers waited for the results, Mastrodicasa was greeted with a celebratory uproar.
"Whoa," she said, looking at at the results on the projector screen."Whoa."
Sitting nearby was At-Large candidate Robert Krames, who came in second place with 25.08 percent of the vote.
Krames, somber-faced in a blue-collared shirt and tie, stared at the screen as his wife gripped his index finger.
"I worked really hard to get my name out there," Krames said in an interview a few moments later.
Tom Cunilio, another of the five At-Large candidates, also looked unhappy as he watched the election results.
Cunilio received 6.27 percent of the vote.
"I quite frankly didn't expect such a strong trend toward Mastrodicasa, he said. "It just reflects how powerful she is with the university and having that base."
Richard Selwach, another At-Large candidate, came in fourth with 6.19 percent of the vote - which was quite unexpected, he said.
"I thought for sure it was going to be a runoff," Selwach said. "I thought it was going to be a toss-up between Krames, Mastrodicasa and myself."
While other candidates met with supporters or congregated at the Supervisor of Elections Office to watch results, Selwach was at Mark's Prime Steakhouse, where basketball was on TV.
Selwach attributed his loss to Gainesville's "liberal democratic" constituency, he said. However, Selwach said he's not ready to retire from politics.
"You haven't seen the last of me," he said, wiping sweat off his forehead with a white cloth napkin. "I'll take District 4 or I'll take the mayor's seat."
James Schlacta, the remaining At-Large candidate, garnered the least votes at 4.34 percent. Schlacta was not at the Supervisor of Elections Office to watch the results come in.
Celebrations were also in order for Commissioner Scherwin Henry, who held a reception at the Matheson Museum.
Henry won the District 1 seat with 68.21 percent of the vote. However, Henry said the most important thing is that his constituents are satisfied and want him to remain their commissioner for another term.
Henry's challenger, Marcia Wimberly, lost with 31.79 percent.
However, much of the attention surrounding the election focused on Charter Amendment 1. About 61 percent of the voters opposed the amendment, which would have eliminated Chapter 8 of the Gainesville Code of Ordinances, titled "Discrimination."
As election results rolled in at Brophy's Irish Pub, anti-Amendment 1 advocate Daniel Roberts "had his fingers crossed" for a "no" vote.
"My faith in Gainesville has been restored," he said after the final precinct reported that Charter Amendment 1 had failed.
Its passage would have removed protected status for transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual residents.
Roberts feels that the amendment's failure sends a message to the rest of the country.
"Perhaps, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are equal citizens of this nation," he said.
Citizens for Good Public Policy, the pro-amendment group, stated their disappointment in the results in an e-mail sent Tuesday night.
"We remain mindful of the tens of thousands of women and children whose privacy and safety have been compromised by the substandard legislative work of the Gainesville City Commission," Mark Minck, Citizen's chairman wrote.
At Brophy's Pub, about 150 Anti-Amendment 1 supporters crowded around televisions during an address from President Barack Obama, who spoke on the economic crisis, but they seemed more focused on the bottom of the screen, where news tickers showed updated election results.
Cheers and raised glasses greeted each precinct as it became clear that Amendment 1 would fail.
Chris Ott, who volunteered with anti-amendment group Equality is Gainesville's Business, said he canvassed, made phone calls and cut down the wire from about 400 Obama signs to fit the smaller "No on 1" signs.
"I'm just glad that it's over," he said.
Ott had praise for student voters of Gainesville. "The student vote was amazing," he said. "They have open minds, not closed ones."
Speaking from a barstool amidst the crowd gathered at Brophy's, Joe Saunders, Equality's campaign manager, gave a victory speech.
"We have set a model here in Gainesville," he said.
Charter Amendment 2, which will require a state referendum vote to convert city-owned land used for conservation, recreation or cultural purposes to another use, passed with 81.05 percent of the vote.
