Placards of local history and a stone lion listened to conversations on local politics Friday evening in the Matheson History Museum. Around 70 people nibbled on Germain’s Chicken Sandwiches and chatted with local representatives to kick off Mayor Harvey Ward’s reelection campaign.
Ward announced his bid for reelection in a Feb. 6 Instagram post. While he can’t shrug off the election nerves altogether, Ward said he’s generally excited to kick things off.
“There's always little anxiety, a little trepidation at the beginning of the campaign,” Ward said, “but I believe that we have done a good job and delivered good value to the people of Gainesville, and I kind of enjoy campaigning.”
His favorite part, he said, is going door-to-door and having open, vulnerable conversations with voters. While canvassing, they’re unafraid to tell him the truth — be it good or bad, he said. Despite Ward having a current position in office, voters take on new attitudes when he’s a candidate once again, standing on peoples’ doorsteps to ask for their votes.
“People don't always have honest conversations once you're in office,” Ward said. “It's a very different relationship.”
One of Ward’s goals, if he were to be reelected, is to continue “canvassing” throughout his four-year term — his second and final due to term limits. Opportunities to sit down and chat with voters, such as through his past “lunch with the mayor” events, are important for him to understand their values, he said.
It’s a two-sided conversation, he added. By meeting with him in a “non-threatening environment,” such as a park, voters can ask anything they need to ask, and Ward said he can listen to everything there is to know.
To Ward, conversing with voters is easy. It’s the state and federal governments he’s found more difficult to work with.
Ward cited the ongoing legal battle with the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority Board as a point of high tension. The city commission controlled regional utilities until a state bill transferred power to the independent board in 2023. Since then, Gainesville residents have voted twice to request the authority be returned to the city. The first was nullified by a judge due to misleading ballot language, and the second is halted until a lawsuit brought on by the GRU board, claiming an overreach of power, is resolved.
At Thursday’s commission meeting, Ward expressed frustration over the rhetoric bouncing between the two entities. GRU attorney Samuel J. Salario claimed in a recent court hearing Gainesville engaged in an insurrection to supersede state power and “destroy” the governor-appointed board.
It’s hard to accomplish everything when the state and city are at odds, Ward said, but Gainesville has managed.
“We built parks, we built a clinic,” he said. “We did all these things with local partners while fighting the state. If we weren't fighting, just imagine what we could accomplish.”
Ward’s speech kicked off around 6 p.m., during which he spoke about the city’s accomplishments.
One he’s most proud of is the city’s investment into East Gainesville, which is home to several historically Black neighborhoods. He cited projects such as a UF Health Urgent Care Center on Southeast Hawthorne Road, which opened in 2024 to address gaps in health care, and ongoing affordable housing projects.
“We're almost at a quarter of a billion dollars of investment in the works in East Gainesville,” he said. “I told you we were going to invest in East Gainesville, and we're doing it right now.”
At Thursday’s commission meeting, Ward and commissioners discussed upcoming plans to construct a Gainesville Regional Transit System hub on Hawthorne Road and renovate the existing Gainesville Training, Entrepreneurship and Community Center to provide office space in East Gainesville.
Ward emphasized how much he values Gainesville residents and how he’s a “lucky guy” to bear the weight of the keys of the city. It’s a lot of work, he said, but the job of representing the city is an important one.
“You deserve a great experience and a great life in the community where you want to live,” he said, “and I am so glad that you all have chosen Gainesville to do this.”
Warren Nielsen, a former Gainesville city commissioner, attested to Ward’s relationship with city residents. Whenever he wants to get up to date on Gainesville issues, Nielsen said he refers to Ward.
“If I ever want to know anything about what Gainesville’s up to lately, whatever part of town, whatever neighborhood, whatever issue, Harvey's my go-to guy,” Nielsen said.
Ward has a “wealth of knowledge,” he said, about what residents of Gainesville want and need from their government — and he doesn’t hesitate to “dive head first” into issues of local importance.
“I think everybody in this room will agree that Harvey Ward is a good man,” he said, eliciting raucous applause from listeners.
Bobby Mermer, the coordinator of the Alachua County Labor Coalition, attended Friday’s event. While the organization doesn’t endorse candidates, Mermer said he’s personally in support of the mayor’s reelection bid.
“Mayor Ward has been a great partner with the labor coalition and has definitely had an open door policy and has treated us very well and really kept open ears and an open mind when we bring the concerns of the people we represent,” he said.
The city’s advancement of affordable housing projects and its inclusionary zoning policy, which aims to integrate lower-income residents with higher-income residents to ensure everyone has access to quality amenities, are two causes Mermer’s especially glad to see Ward support.
The ongoing legal battle with the GRU Authority has caused strain on relations between the state and local governments, he said, but Gainesville has done the best it can with what it has to work with.
“We have actually managed to thrive,” he said, “and I think it's largely due to the work of Mayor Ward, the rest of the commission and organizations like mine.”
Juan Osorio, a 20-year-old UF political science senior and president of UF College Democrats, is one of Ward’s campaign managers. He’s taken to calling Gainesville residents “Gainesvillagers,” a nickname the mayor uses when referring to the city’s population.
“He's consistently stood up for Gainesvillagers,” Osorio said. “We have exercised our voice on things like the GRU amendment, and he has always defended what the people want and stood by us.”
Osorio, who wants to work with campaigns as a career, expects Ward’s campaign to be a “beacon of light” for others. He’s working on seven campaigns for the upcoming 2026 election, including Amy Trask, who’s running to represent District 22 of the Florida House of Representatives.
She was at the Matheson Museum Friday with her two children, supporting Ward’s reelection bid and networking for her own run for office.
Trask’s kids have tagged along on the campaigning journey, including traveling to Tallahassee to meet with legislators, which she said gives them “probably the best civics education ever.”
If there’s one thing she wants her kids to learn from their early involvement in politics, it’s that their voice matters, she said.
“I hope they learn that you're never too small to make a difference,” Trask said. “I hope they learn that anyone can make a difference.”
Gainesville’s 2026 election will take place Aug. 18. The voter registration and party affiliation change deadline is July 20.
Contact Bailey Diem at bdiem@alligator.org. Follow her on X @BaileyDiem.
Bailey Diem is a journalism junior and The Alligator's Spring 2026 metro editor. She spent previous semesters as engagement managing editor and as part of the metro and university desks. In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar or getting lost in a good book.
