The competition for the District 1 city commissioner seat is heating up with a Santa Fe College student throwing his hat in the ring.
Economics sophomore Lucas Jewell, 23, said he hopes to charm the residents of Gainesville with his winning smile, firm handshake and relaxed views on the legalization of all drugs. He officially registered July 29.
When he was 18, Lucas Jewell said he enlisted in the Navy as an air traffic controller and served until 2013 when he was honorably discharged. After he “learned some things” and “saw some things” during his time in the military, Jewell said he decided he didn’t want to be a part of the U.S. Military.
Jewell’s next stop was producing a Libertarian talk show with his friend called “Adam vs. The Man.”
His experience ended when the star of the show — noted pro-gun activist Adam Kokesh — was arrested. In July 2013, a SWAT team raided Kokesh’s home and charged him with possession of psychedelic mushrooms and a gun, according to the Washington Post.
Shortly after, when his step-father died in a car accident, Jewell moved down to Gainesville where he began studying economics at Santa Fe.
Jewell considers himself a philosophical Libertarian and believes strongly in stopping arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana. A self-proclaimed marijuana smoker since his late teens, Jewell says he is a strong advocate for the drug and would push for police to issue tickets instead.
“You go take them, lock them in a cage, they miss work … they get fired from their job. Now their wife is upset because
they got arrested, they can’t feed their family,” he said. “There’s bigger problems with just locking someone in a cage — you affect the whole economy. You affect the whole society.”
He hopes to work with local law enforcement to focus more on “crimes with actual victims,” he said.
Wallace Mazon, a 20-year-old Santa Fe philosophy sophomore and friend of Jewell, said what he thinks stands out about Jewell is his military service and his passion.
With such a progressive platform, Mazon said he believes Jewell’s young age is likely to give him a strong advantage in the upcoming election, as compared to a middle-aged man who’s “only going to talk to other middle-age people.”
But Cody Patton, the Santa Fe Student Government director of external affairs, said he thinks Jewell’s progressive views could go against him in a community with a large elderly population.
If he wants to win the upcoming elections, Patton said Jewell will need to “polish his speech” and “become more well-spoken.”
“If he can polish his appearance to where it is more of a politician and more of a public eye attire, then he would have a great chance” at being elected, he said.
Jewell is running against Christopher Weaver, Charles Edward Goston, Scherwin Henry and incumbent Yvonne Hinson-Rawls.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/13/2015 under the headline “Santa Fe College student runs for City Commission"]
