While the weather continues to waver between chilly and cold, the race for District 3 City Commission is heating up as the candidates prepare to make their push toward City Hall.
The race for the commission seat is chock-full of candidates, each with varying backgrounds and political experiences. For the next month and a half, they will be making their case to voters as to why they are qualified to serve Gainesville.
The election, which will be March 15, will be a five-way contest among Susan Bottcher, Ozzy Angulo, Jimmy Harnsberger, Ramon Trujillo and Rob Zeller.
Bottcher, who graduated from UF with a degree in anthropology in 1979, said she decided to run because she saw certain political movements, such as the “Tea-publicans,” start to trickle into Gainesville. She said she doesn’t want those viewpoints to choke the spirit of the city.
“It’s all very negative. It’s not solution-based,” she said. “They’re backward-looking. The traditional character of Gainesville has been forward-looking.”
After graduating from college, Bottcher, 53, worked for Nationwide Insurance as a claims writer for about 10 years. Then, after marrying her husband, Del, she chose to be a stay-at-home mom.
She became involved with Littlewood Elementary School’s PTA and then joined the East Gainesville Development Task Force. Before long, she was president of a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing a childrens museum to Gainesville.
She’d volunteered in about eight educational and political organizations before she volunteered with the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee during the 2004 election.
Bottcher said the extent of her political involvement previously had been yelling at the TV during newscasts. She quickly learned the ins and outs of campaign planning, she said.
“That was kind of my political education,” she said.
Angulo, 30, is no stranger to political campaigns. Last year, he ran for city mayor, finishing fifth in a field of five.
While some may see Angulo’s performance as discouraging, he saw it as a learning experience.
“I’ve learned that solutions to a lot of the challenges that we face are within the community and in our city,” Angulo said. “The perception that it’s difficult for certain businesses to get established is actually a reality.”
Angulo has assembled a staff to assist him with his campaign.
“He likes to pick local businesses; he likes to have a feel of what Gainesville is,” said David Arreola, the media coordinator for Angulo’s campaign. “He’s very committed and has very strong convictions. From what I’ve seen, we have very intelligent staff members and we’re going to make sure the right man gets elected to the chair.”
In order to bolster his political presence, Angulo, a former U.S. Marine and a current theater student at Santa Fe College, is offering to do chores for Gainesville residents for political donations.
“I’m willing to work for campaign donations because that is what I intend to do as a commissioner — work,” Angulo said.
While Angulo is using mediums such as Craigslist to get his name out there, Harnsberger, 40, is taking a more “super” route. Across town, signs line yards that portray Harnsberger ripping his T-shirt to reveal a superhero-like “J” written underneath. The slogan: “We need Jimmy in the city.”
“I’m running now because I think we’ve got some very serious issues before the commission,” he said. “And I think we need a fresh perspective on how to tackle those problems.”
Harnsberger, who is an assistant professor in the linguistics department at UF, said he first became involved in politics when he and other residents in his neighborhood worked with the City Commission to close down a nearby drug house.
From there, he quickly became involved in other community efforts and became president of the University Park Neighborhood Association in 2006.
As the city faces budgetary problems and a tough economy, Harnsberger believes the answer isn’t more taxes but less spending. The city government, he believes, should focus on tightening its operation while still providing necessary public services, he said.
Harnsberger is also concerned with ensuring the city government supports urban neighborhoods and business districts.
“It’s all connected,” he said. “If we let our neighborhoods decline, the businesses don’t have customers [and] they close. Schools, businesses, neighborhoods — they all have to be healthy.”
For Trujillo, 44, the election represents an opportunity to provide a counterbalance to the “liberal establishment,” which he believes has taken over the City Commission.
Currently unemployed and living on disability insurance, Trujillo has previously worked in a ministry and with various marketing and advertising jobs in South Florida.
He said he wants to represent the people of Gainesville “on a values perspective.” He said he supports “innovated projects” and stands against Amendment 1, the equality for employment and anti-discriminatory law put in place in 2008 that gave protection to transgender, gay and lesbian people in Gainesville.
He lists two former presidents as his political idols: Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.
“They’re men of character,” he said.
While he may be considered a political neophyte, Rob Zeller is no stranger to Gainesville. Having received his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and MBA from UF, Zeller, 39, owns Grog House, Gator City Sports Grill, Copper Monkey and :08 Seconds.
With his background in business, Zeller said he wants to treat city government like a business while trying to lower regulation and going after what he sees as excessive fees.
In terms of finances raised, Zeller leads the pack with $11, 996.56. Bottcher is right behind him with $8,490, followed by Harnsberger at $1,395 and Angulo at $618.50. Currently, Trujillo shows no finances being raised.
