Editor’s note: This is the fifth part of a series that profiles candidates running in the 2013 mayoral race.
For Donald Shepherd Sr., running for local office doesn’t require a thick wallet. He believes the best way to represent ordinary Gainesville citizens is to be one.
Shepherd, 59, will be running for mayor in Tuesday’s Gainesville city elections on a platform of representing low-income groups, improving city infrastructure and fighting homelessness.
“People are first with me,” he said. “When I become mayor, I’m going to address the people’s problems.”
If elected, Shepherd said one of his first priorities is to work toward permanently fixing the city’s homelessness problem. He said he would speak one-on-one with homeless people to find out exactly what they need to better themselves.
“I want to find a more permanent solution,” he said.
Shepherd has lived in Gainesville since 1997 and worked as a groundskeeper for UF’s Physical Plant Division until 2011. While he worked for the university, Shepherd said he contributed design plans for the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville on Southwest 34th Street as well as the UF sign on the corner of West University Avenue and Southwest 13th Street.
Shepherd’s experience motivated him to focus his plans on improving city buildings and infrastructure. One of his initiatives includes revamping Bo Diddley Community Plaza to be a cleaner, more efficient gathering space.
Shepherd said he also wants to bring more tourism to the city by building an amusement park somewhere along U.S. Route 441, he said.
To pay for these improvements, Shepherd said he will make sure money from the city’s budget is being allocated efficiently.
Nancy Shepherd, Shepherd’s wife and campaign manager, said she believes her husband understands what needs to be changed in Gainesville, especially for its low-income citizens.
“He would make a great mayor because you would call him anytime, and he would answer the phone and talk to you,” she said. “I think he would serve Gainesville very well.”
Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.
Mayoral candidate Donald Shepherd Sr., 59, believes the best way to represent ordinary Gainesville citizens is to be one.
