At a forum Monday night, a group made up of local black leaders and business owners questioned Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan and city commissioners on how effectively they have been serving the black community.
The group, the Alachua County's African American Accountability Alliance, questioned the leaders on issues like industry and crime in East Gainesville, charter schools, a Gainesville Regional Utilities appointment, equal opportunity and Hatchet Creek, a controversial development near the airport.
The group had endorsed Hanrahan and the two commissioners, Jeanna Mastrodicasa and Scherwin Henry, in recent elections.
Larry McDaniel, vice chairman of the alliance, said he thought officials were candid and the summit was a success.
"I hope we've given them some sort of direction of what our citizens want," McDaniel said.
Members filled out forms at the end of the evening on what they thought of the officials' performance. McDaniel said the commissioners will be sent their performance reviews in the coming weeks.
"To me, the greatest challenge this community has is the divide between the haves and the have-nots, and unfortunately that has broken down on race lines," Hanrahan said.
