Northwest Gainesville voters met at the polls Monday for the first day of the District 2 City Commission runoff election's early voting week.
Those living in the district will be able to cast their ballots for candidates Bonnie Mott or Lauren Poe from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Friday, Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter said. Polls will also be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend.
Carpenter's office, located downtown at the County Administration Building at 12 SE First St., is the only open site for early voting. Other locations will open for the election on Feb. 19.
The candidates have been afforded no breaks as the runoff vote nears.
Poe, a SFCC professor, said he and his supporters have kept busy these past few weeks knocking on doors and calling prospective voters.
He's also gained support from an unlikely source: his former opponent, Bryan Harman, who since his third-place finish in the previous election has chosen to endorse Poe's campaign.
"Having grown kind of attached to the district," Harman said, "I want to make sure it goes to someone who has a superb knowledge of the issues and someone who has been working hard for a long, long time."
Mott did not respond to phone calls by press time.
