About 200 registered voters, including a large percentage of college-aged residents, filled an Emerson Alumni Hall auditorium Wednesday night for the Gainesville City Commission Candidates' Forum.
Organized by the local League of Women Voters and UF Student Government's Chomp the Vote, the event was unlike several other previous forums in that all eight candidates for the three open commission seats attended.
The candidates, who were brought on stage according to which seat they were campaigning for, had a few minutes each to answer questions, which had been predetermined by the league. Commission At-Large candidates Robert Agrusa, 22, and Thomas Hawkins Jr., 27, discussed early in the forum how the city could curb underage drinking.
Hawkins, a Gainesville attorney, spoke of a continued police presence downtown - an area, he said, sometimes only visited for its bars.
He also mentioned options like increasing education or closing bars earlier.
Agrusa, known primarily for his work as the UF Student Senate president, seemed to skirt the issue, instead choosing to focus on the problem of drunk driving.
After saying he has been working with Shands, the police and local fire rescue on the issue, he added that the Later Gator service and other methods of late-night transportation are lacking.
Both candidates are UF graduates, interested in law and in their 20s, although Agrusa highlighted his history in Student Government and Hawkins emphasized his family history in Gainesville as specific individual strengths. Hawkins in particular said that his local legacy as a fifth-generation Gainesville resident is a source of pride.
"If I could have the opportunity to work for the city professionally," he said, "I'd get out of bed every day with a smile on my face." The three candidates for northwest Gainesville's District 2 seat - Peaceful Paths board member Bryan Harman, 32, property business owner Bonnie Mott, 58, and SFCC professor Lauren Poe, 36 - followed Hawkins and Agrusa.
All three mentioned parks and recreation as one of the more important social services to focus on.
"Not everybody can join a private country club," Poe said. "Not everybody has a pool in their backyard."
Each candidate, however, brought up additional points to work toward: for Harman, college-student mentoring of younger kids "who need a good role model"; for Mott, a safety net for homeless citizens; and for Poe, rental assistance for struggling residents.
One question directed to the District 3 candidates - incumbent commissioner Jack Donovan, 63, army veteran Armando Grundy, 28, and SFCC student Christopher Salazar, 20 - was whether local towing companies' request for a price higher than the standard $76 was reasonable.
"We have actually put more strictures on the towers to prevent sort of a marauder approach," said Donovan, adding that tow companies had raised the issue too late in the year to be considered. "Our concern has been more at this point to keeping them responsible."
Another big issue of the night was giving tax-funded building incentives to upcoming developments. Candidates like Hawkins and Donovan said the rebates could end up saving the city money in the long run, while most of the other candidates responded the cuts only depleted the city's budget.
Grundy called the incentives "corporate welfare," adding, "We cannot take from Peter to pay Paul. We cannot afford Jack Donovan."
Most candidates referred to the vacant site of University Corners, the eight-story behemoth that was planned for 13th Street and University Avenue before the city froze its funding.
Poe seemed to sum up the city's frustrations when he said, "University Corners is problematic because there's nothing there. Earlier it was said it was an eyesore. We wish it was an eyesore. It's a no-sore."
