As dozens of Gainesville residents, campaign volunteers and political enthusiasts poured into the United Church of Gainesville Sunday afternoon, armed to the teeth with yard signs and brochures, Don Marsh silently sat at the makeshift foldaway table and slightly adjusted his campaign button.
Bearing more resemblance to a pie graph than a political slogan, the button shows two wedges — one green, one red — swallowed up by a predominant shade of blue. The small wedges represent the narrow margin of defeat Marsh suffered in last year’s mayoral election with the overarching blue depicting the number of registered Gainesville voters who did not bother to show up to the polls.
These voters, along with the undecided masses, were the people Marsh and nine other candidates from three different contests hoped to win over at the campaign forum Sunday.
The candidates laid out their positions and political philosophies to the audience and answered questions regarding some of the city’s hot-button issues.
One of the main themes addressed at the forum was the city’s fiscal situation.
With the city projecting an $8.3 million shortfall for the 2011-2012 fiscal budgets, candidates were asked how they would tackle such a figure.
Incumbents Lauren Poe and Thomas Hawkins, campaigning for the District 2 and at-large seats respectively, acted as apologists for the city, pointing to the city’s commitment to balancing the budget in the face of “tough” cuts.
“We don’t have a lot of superfluous spending,” Hawkins said.
Other candidates, however, called for further re-examination of the city’s budget and the elimination of what they perceive as wasteful programs.
“We have to find a way to reduce government in the way we’ve had to reduce our budgets,” said Robert Krames, a candidate for District 2 who is challenging Poe.
Transparency was another point of discussion as candidates were questioned about their views on Gainesville Regional Utilities not releasing full details on the contract for a proposed biomass incinerator. Currently, portions of the contract are blacked out to the public.
“If it’s the people of Gainesville’s money, it’s the people of Gainesville’s information,” said James Ingle, a candidate for District 2.
Using a Florida statute to defend the nondisclosure, Hawkins reassured the audience of the contract’s legitimacy, stating that he had read it “word for word.”
