Gainesville City Commission Election on March 11

Early voting has already begun for this year's Gainesville City Commission races.  They total three in number: one at-large seat for which the entire city gets to vote and two by districts.  Mine is District Two, a seat currently held by conservative Republican Todd Chase.  Chase, by all accounts as far as I see it, seems to be doing a reasonably good job on the commission, so I'll probably vote for his reelection when I get myself to the polls on Election Day, which is March 11.  The at-large seat is open, however, since incumbent Thomas Hawkins has to vacate it due to term limits.  The two chief candidates, both Democrats, are Annie Orlando and Helen Warren.  Orlando seems more business-oriented while Warren is more into public service.  However, in spite of this and the fact that I want my city to be more pro-business, I think that Warren seems more reasonable when it comes to balancing environmental concerns with development.  I think the Sierra Club is probably a fine, worthy organization but I don't think that they should be dictating my city's growth policy...and their strong support of Orlando bothers me.  Both candidates seem to want to repair the streets, which to me is MY main issue...

So in the two races I'm going to vote on I will support a conservative Republican and a liberal Democrat.   I want Gainesville to be pro-business and bullish on economic development while working hard to maintain its roads and develop a top-quality public transit system.  Naturally, I don't expect Chase and Warren to see eye-to-eye on everything, but I do hope that, should they win their respective elections, they would work together to make Gainesville a better city for its residents.  If you are someone registered to vote here in Gainesville, please look at where the candidates stand on the issues that matter most to you, make an educated choice...and VOTE!