Their yard signs may be down, their support stickers thrown away, but the three Gainesville mayoral candidates who didn’t make the runoff election aren’t calling it quits.
After losing the election to candidates Craig Lowe and Don Marsh, Ozzy Angulo, Monica Leadon Cooper and Richard Selwach are still looking out for the best interests of their community.
Angulo, who secured 1.51 percent of the votes, is working as a server for the Waffle House on Newberry Road.
Since finishing last place in the mayoral election, Angulo has been gearing up for a run at the District 3 city commissioner seat when it’s up for election.
“The election has definitely opened a lot of doors for me,” Angulo said.
He said he is endorsing Lowe in the runoff election because he supports rights for gays and immigrants.
Rather than buying signs or bumper stickers to promote his bid for mayor, Angulo used business cards, spending $58.49 of his total $415.80.
“I made this as an outlet to demonstrate the kind of person I am,” he said.
Cooper, who received 24.89 percent of the votes, said she would not have changed anything about her campaign.
Remnants of the election remain in her own backyard — she’s using the campaign stakes signs to hold up tomato plants in her garden.
She said that aside from running her local nutrition business, Shaklee Health and Nutrition, she is remaining active in local government. She spoke out at a City Commission meeting Thursday night, criticizing the proposed biomass plant.
Her largest campaign expenditure, $4,006.94, went to the U.S. Postal Service to send out fliers.
Selwach, who finished the race in fourth place, is still at his business, Best Jewelry & Loan Pawnbrokers.
Securing 4.35 percent of the vote, he said he may run again next year, but for now, he’s endorsing Marsh in the runoff.
Selwach blames his loss on a tight campaign budget of $10,300, all of which he raised himself. He said most of his would-be supporters did not take him seriously because of his refusal to accept donations, which he referred to as “payment for other favors.”
