Election Day for Gainesville City Commission was on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Polls were open across Gainesville from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Two candidates held watch parties later in the evening. The special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Gail Johnson when she resigned. Matt Howland, Cynthia Chestnut, Scherwin Henry, Patrick Ingle and Gabe Kaimowitz faced off for the open seat, but none prevailed yet. Howland and Chestnut will face off in January during the runoff election.
Catherine McCarthy
Catherine is a first-year student pursuing a career in journalism. She previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Boone High School's Legend Yearbook staff and loved it immensely. You can always find her with a camera in hand, telling stories that matter to her and listening to Taylor Swift.
Alan Halaly
Alan Halaly is a third-year journalism major and the Spring 2023 Editor-in-Chief of The Alligator. He's previously served as Engagement Managing Editor, Metro Editor and Photo Editor. Alan has also held internships with the Miami New Times and The Daily Beast, and spent his first two semesters in college on The Alligator’s Metro desk covering city and county affairs.
Esha Nair
Esha is currently a second year Psychology student at the University of Florida. In the past, she worked as the Chief Editor at Delhi Public School, Bangalore North. In her free time, Esha loves to read and play video games.
Eli Nino
Eli is a fourth-year journalism student and photographer for the U.S Army. In the past Eli has covered stories for the U.S Army and been a photographer for several student organizations at UF. Eli loves to hang out with their dog, take black and white photos, and have dinner with friends.
Kiara Cline
Kiara is a UF student who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with a focus in photography. Although her background is in artistic photography, Kiara's passion for photojournalism has always been the most important to her. Kiara is also very passionate about music, and in her spare time collects records and attends as many live music events as she can.
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