On May 15, the Gainesville City Commission voted 6-1 to hold a special election in November. This election will retry a referendum to return control of Gainesville Regional Utilities to the city.
Citizens and organizers from groups like Gainesville Residents United, the Alachua County Labor Coalition and the Alachua County NAACP branch offered public comments at the meeting. They repeatedly urged the commission to draft a new, improved referendum and hold a special election.
In 2014 and 2015, Republican lawmaker Keith Perry proposed bills to change GRU’s governance to a new authority board, but none advanced past committee. One bill cleared committee in 2016, but former Gov. Rick Scott vetoed it.
Former Rep. Chuck Clemons sponsored a ballot measure in 2018 that would have appointed an authority board to control GRU. Voters rejected the measure, with 60% voting against it.
In April 2023, Clemons filed House Bill 1645, which would turn control of GRU over to a governor-appointed authority board. The bill passed, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law, forming the GRU Authority.
After hearing complaints from Gainesville residents, the city commission placed a referendum on the November 2024 ballot to allow voters to decide whether to return control to the city.
Gainesville residents voted in favor of city control with a 72% majority — an even stronger margin than in 2018.
Despite its passing, the authority board continued to fight in court. Judge George M. Wright of the Eighth Judicial Circuit nullified the referendum in April.
Wright ruled the referendum’s wording was misleading. The term “elected,” not “appointed,” was used to refer to a charter officer who would help manage GRU. Wright took issue because the
Gainesville charter officer would be appointed by the commission, not elected like the commissioners themselves.
The GRU Authority has remained in control of GRU since.
The city commission and local organizations like Gainesville Residents United have pushed to restore city control since the governor-appointed board was formed. One of the group’s members is Susan Bottcher, a 67-year-old former city commissioner.
The board has slowly cut off the flow of money to the city, Bottcher said. The money lost will lead to a tradeoff, whether it’s by increasing property taxes, decreasing services or both, she said. The uncertainty makes it more difficult for the city to properly budget, she said.
“The profit the GRU made… went to things like funding our fire department, police department, road maintenance, parks,” Bottcher said. “It helped to fund the City of Gainesville.”
In a public hearing with Chuck Clemons in Tallahassee, attendees asked if any referendum drafted includes all GRU customers, even if they were outside city limits. Bottcher said Clemons decided to go a different direction. She pointed out that GRU customers outside city limits also have no voice under the current authority structure.
Not all GRU customers support the idea of returning control to the city. Among them is 49-year-old Angela Casteel, an active member of the Facebook group “Customers for a Better GRU.”
Casteel took issue with how the vote took place, she said. GRU covers customers outside of Gainesville, but only Gainesville residents could vote on the November referendum.
Casteel said she also doesn’t trust the commission to control the utility, citing its past debt.
“They would have to change everything they’re doing,” Casteel said. “They’re wanting to raise rates every single year.”
Janice Garry, a 72-year-old Gainesville resident, said the GRU Authority made decisions that undermine long-term planning for energy, water reliability and climate action.
“We have spoken loudly and clearly innumerable times,” Garry said. “We will not succumb, we will not give up our local public utilities that belong to us.”
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @LoganDMcBride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and the Summer 2025 city commission reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
