Christopher Weaver isn’t new to the political scene.
The former UF senator will be running for Gainesville city commissioner of District 1. If he wins the March 17 election, he will be the first enrolled UF student elected to the City Commission.
“I learned about the many different organizations on campus and the issues affecting students in Gainesville,” he said.
The 28-year-old was elected into UF Senate in Fall 2014 with prior experience working with government finances. He entered UF in 2012 to pursue his Ph.D. in public administration and public property and has spent the past eight months working for Alachua County in budget and finance.
Weaver spent two years in the mayor’s office in Tallahassee in budgeting and financing while working toward his master’s degree at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.
District 1 is the largest of the remaining four districts, with a population of 50,759, according to Alachua County records. The district runs east of 13th Street around Biven’s Arm, Archer Road, Hull Road and the Micanopy area.
“It encompasses students as well as a big portion of the African-American community,” Weaver said.
He spent his time in Senate learning about problems such as towing fees and off-campus living.
“One of the first issues that I tried to tackle while being a student senator was GRU raising water rates for students living in apartments,” he said.
Weaver attended many meetings held by the city commission but said he felt students were not represented.
“The City Commission was not listening to the 50,000 students that make up the 120,000 residents in Gainesville,” he said.
The four other candidates running are Charles Edward Goston, Scherwin Henry, Lucas A. Jewell and incumbent Yvonne Hinson-Rawls.
UF Student Senate President Joseph Michaels said he hopes students learn about each candidate in the race and make an educated decision while voting.
“I think student participation and engagement in any election is important,” he wrote in an email.
Weaver also served in the army under a two-year contract. He was stationed in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
“The military and definitely being in infantry has given me a mindset that you can do anything that you put your mind and time into,” he said.
He decided to run for city commissioner because he wanted to serve his community, he said.
“As an American, it’s your duty to serve your country as best you can,” he said.
