Editor’s note: This is the final part of a series that profiles candidates running in the 2013 mayoral race.
Mark Venzke has led a colorful life.
The Chicago native used to work as a conductor and tour guide on an antique railway near Orlando.
He was also a Gainesville cabdriver who conducted informal quiz shows with passengers, giving chocolate as prizes for correct answers.
He ran, unsuccessfully, for Gainesville city commissioner last year.
But with the campaign experience under his belt, Venzke said he’s ready to take it to the next level.
He’s running for mayor in Tuesday’s Gainesville city elections.
Venzke, 55, said his No. 1 issue is revamping the city’s proposed biomass plant contract to allow more resources for integrating renewable energy.
“We’ve put all of our eggs in one basket — a biomass basket,” he said.
“We don’t have any eggs left over that GRU — the City of Gainesville — can use to promote and to facilitate the installation of renewable energy systems. But we could do that if we renegotiate this contract.”
Venzke also criticized the city for information he said was withheld from the public during the negotiation stages of the contract.
He said citizens didn’t have a chance to discuss the contract with officials until a lawsuit settlement prescribed workshops.
“That’s wrong,” he said. “Our city leaders, and I, as mayor, would call workshops as often as we needed …to get a thorough airing of issues so that we can formulate good public policy based on good information.”
Making public records more accessible is another item Venzke said he would tackle if elected.
Under the city’s current model, he said, residents must often navigate a maze of agencies and red tape to find documents they’re looking for.
“It’s a rather Byzantine process,” he said. “Often, people don’t get the information they need because they have to work through the system.”
Venzke said he would look into deinstitutionalizing the process and using more efficient technology.
Reed Franklin, a 65-year-old combustion turbine technician at the Cogeneration Plant located on the UF campus has been friends with Venzke for about 10 years.
He said Venzke brings a personable dimension to politics.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Franklin said. “He’s very smart and very kind and caring — and honest. He’s not a politician. He’s just into making things better.”
Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
Mark Venzke, 55, is running for mayor. Venzke ran for a City Commission seat in 2012.
