January 16, 2008
At-Large: Robert Agrusa, Thomas Hawkins District 2: Bryan Harman, Bonnie Mott, Lauren Poe District 3: Jack Donovan, Armando Grundy
BIOGRAPHY Robert Agrusa is originally from Tampa, FL, and has lived in Gainesville for more than four years. He is a graduate from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and minors in history and leadership. Before moving to Gainesville, Agrusa was actively involved in the community of his hometown. He spent time refurbishing churches and cleaning up parks, roads and beaches in his area. Donating his time to the people of the Dominican Republic while on a mission trip had a great impact on his life. While in the Dominican Republic, Agrusa rebuilt medical clinics, hospitals and homes, teaching him how gratifying it can be to serve others and rebuild a community. As a Gainesville resident, Agrusa worked on a variety of projects related to improving the quality of life within the city. Working with the University of Florida’s Student Government, he brought back the Sunday bus service for students in the fall of 2005. As UF’s senate president, Agrusa had the opportunity to serve those on campus and in the Gainesville community. During his term, he wrote a bill requiring student senators to attend all city commission meetings to better connect them to the city of Gainesville and its needs. In the summer of 2007, Agrusa graduated from class IX of the College Leadership Florida program. He also served as a member of the Academic Policy Council, an opportunity that allowed him to work closely with and understand the needs of UF faculty and administration. Working with the city as the chairman of the Local Community Issues Taskforce for over a year, Agrusa gained better insight about city issues. He believes that community service is an important part of giving back to Gainesville, and continues to participate in projects such as Keep Alachua Beautiful and Habitat for Humanity. Agrusa also participates in GatorWalk benefiting the March of Dimes with Gainesville residents and UF students each year. TOP ISSUES/GOALS “It is my goal to lead Gainesville in the necessary direction. To achieve this goal, the residents of Gainesville need to elect a forward-thinking candidate, like myself, who is passionate and committed. I encourage anyone in our community to join my campaign, because your support is what this community needs,” said Robert Agrusa. • Public Safety He will work to protect the neighborhoods and to ensure the highest quality of life throughout the city of Gainesville and all of its residents by advocating for public safety. First responders continually put their lives on the line everyday to protect the community from danger and crime. He will ensure that they are able to operate efficiently in an effort to protect neighborhoods. In addition, he encourages every neighborhood to establish a Neighborhood Watch program to keep communities free of crime by partnering with Gainesville Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit. • Transportation Gainesville has a growing need for an improved transportation infrastructure. He will work to develop practical solutions that maximize its effectiveness and meet the increasing demand, even while resources are limited. Solutions include continuing the traffic light synchronization program, ensuring proper maintenance of the roadways where necessary, and making Regional Transit System more convenient for Gainesville citizens. • Redevelopment He will also direct the city’s attention to redevelopment. Being responsible in building a positive future for Gainesville, while preserving historic resources and investments is extremely important. Redevelopment will strengthen the economic opportunities and improve the quality of life of places such as Downtown, Fifth Avenue, Pleasant Street and the Eastside District without encroaching upon the identity of historic areas. CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 672-1104 robert@voteagrusa08.com Vote Agrusa 08 Campaign P.O. Box 14441 Gainesville, FL 32604
BIOGRAPHY Thomas Hawkins, Jr.’s family has called Gainesville home for five generations. His family’s roots in the community have given Hawkins an appreciation for how Gainesville has grown and changed since the city’s founding. Hawkins’ family, including his three brothers and sister-in-law, currently live in Gainesville. His home is in the historic Pleasant Street Neighborhood. Hawkins is an alumnus of local schools including Littlewood Elementary School, Westwood Middle School, and Eastside High School. He attended the University of Florida and Emory University School of Law, where he worked in the Turner Environmental Law Clinic and earned his law degree. Today, Hawkins volunteers to serve the Gainesville community and to act on his interest in issues facing local government. As a member of the Advisory Board to the Fifth Avenue Pleasant Street CRA, Hawkins advises local government on issues important to his neighborhood. As a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee to the MTPO, Hawkins works with other residents to advise both the city and Alachua County on local transportation issues. Professionally, Hawkins is an attorney in the law firm of C. David Coffey, P.A., which has a specialized practice representing local governments, neighborhood residents, property owners and developers on growth management and local government issues. Hawkins is a member of the Florida Bar and a member of the Environmental and Land Use section and the Local Government section of the Florida Bar. TOP ISSUES/GOALS A lifetime resident of the City of Gainesville, Thomas Hawkins, Jr. pledges to work to maintain and improve the city’s quality of life. As a city commissioner, Hawkins believes he can help Gainesville by focusing on the following issues: • Public Safety The right kind of development in the right places will allow Gainesville to enjoy the benefits of growth without losing the city’s natural beauty or single family neighborhoods. Using his background in land use and local government law, Hawkins will encourage urban development in Gainesville’s downtown and existing commercial areas. • Local Economy A growing local economy will give Gainesville a broader tax base, more employment opportunities and a more vibrant downtown. Hawkins will work for policies that encourage clean technology industries growing out of the University of Florida to be a part of the community. • Community Programs Hawkins is proud that Gainesville focuses on community through programs like the Reichert House and the strong anti-discrimination ordinance. Hawkins will continue to show that Gainesville is serious about investing in its citizens by continuing such programs and strengthening recreation programs for youth in public parks. CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 377-3141 thomas@hawkins4gainesville.org
BIOGRAPHY Bryan Harman is a candidate for the Gainesville City Commission District 2 seat. Harman is active in many organizations and participates in several charities in the city. He is currently or has been involved with organizations such as United Way, Peaceful Paths, Rotary, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees and Alachua County Emerging Leaders. He wants to assist the citizens of Gainesville in living a better life by creating more opportunities to earn a good living, reducing the tax burden, giving more support to police and firefighters and protecting neighborhoods. TOP ISSUES/GOALS • Business Environment/Job Opportunities He will work to create a more business friendly environment by using a more convenient permitting process that will allow new, higher paying jobs into the city, especially in the downtown and east Gainesville areas. Harmon believes that by partnering with Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville will be able to offer better vocational training to prepare people for such jobs. • Public Safety He plans to protect our city's neighborhoods by better enforcement of city ordinances. Strengthening the police force will enable officers to better patrol neighborhoods and spend more time addressing the concerns of neighborhood residents. Harmon believes the Gainesville needs a city commission that is more responsive to the wants and needs of residents in the neighborhoods. • Transportation He will focus on maintaining roads and alleviating traffic congestion. Road narrowing is detrimental for public safety reasons and prevents citizens from being mobile. CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 359-4312 Bryan@VoteBryanHarman.com Bryan Harman PO Box 358704 Gainesville, Fl 32635
BIOGRAPHY Bonnie H. Mott, broker and president of Prudential Preferred Properties, founded Prudential in 1993. Bonnie has over 25 years of experience selling real estate in the Gainesville market and in 2001, was awarded “REALTOR® of the Year” by the Gainesville/Alachua County Association of REALTORS®. TOP ISSUES/GOALS • Economic Diversity to promote higher paying jobs. • Neighborhood preservation to preserve the quality of life. • Safety by giving the police and fire departments the support they need. CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 373-3132 Bonnie Mott Campaign 4915 N.W. 43rd Street Gainesville, FL 32606
BIOGRAPHY Lauren Poe has been a Gainesville resident since 1982 with parents that continue to live in the Gainesville area. He graduated from Gainesville High School in 1989 where he was senior class president, and received his Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Florida in 1993 and Master of Education in social sciences in 1998. He has held, and currently holds several positions and has been a member of many organizations: vice-chair of the School of Advisory Council at Ft. Clarke Middle School, Associate Professor of economics and American government at Sante Fe Community College, Phi Delta Kappa leadership society, National Council for the Social Studies, the Thomas Jefferson Institute awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Sante Fe senate executive council, Academic Continuity Committee, Contract Loading Committee. His community involvement includes being the vice- chairman for Citizens Advisory Committee for Community Development for the city of Gainesville, Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Gainesville class XXXII graduate, Leadership Gainesville Alumni Association and Alachua County Emerging Leaders. TOP ISSUES/GOALS • Economic growth A thriving local economy is the basis for a thriving community. Poe believes that small business is the cornerstone of the economy, and will benefit from a lower tax burden and a streamlined permitting process, the pursuit of policies that encourage the development of quality home-grown businesses as well as policies that help existing community businesses grow and thrive. Poe also wants to strengthen the relationship between local businesses, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Santa Fe Community College and the University of Florida. • Community and Neighborhoods Strong neighborhoods are the core of a strong community. Our neighborhoods are a major reason Gainesville is the nation’s #1 city. We need to protect the health and integrity of our neighborhoods by supporting strong law enforcement, code enforcement and neighborhood organizations. Poe is a strong advocate for responsible growth management. As your commissioner, he will encourage a comprehensive and deliberative planning process that brings all community stakeholders to the table. He supports promoting family-oriented community programs such as strong parks and recreation, family-friendly activities and diverse family-friendly cultural events. • More Efficient Government A smaller and more efficient government means valuable resources such as time and capital remain in the hands of the private sector. Poe believes the community need responsible development planning, including protecting the city’s comprehensive plan. A vital component of better government is improving the relationship between Gainesville, our surrounding municipalities, the county government and our school board. He will promote greater efficiency in government by streamlining departments and becoming more proactive in helping our community stakeholders interact with their government. He feels we need to work with our major local businesses and institutions to help create incentives that promote ride-sharing, carpooling, public transportation and other alternatives that will reduce the number of trips on our roads each day. CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 871-0895 VoteLaurenPoe@gmail.com 1019 NW 25th Avenue Gainesville, FL 32609
BIOGRAPHY Jack Donovan is serving in his third year on the Gainesville City Commission as commissioner from District 3. He is seeking re-election to another term in office, during which he expects to continue on our commission’s committees for regional utilities, economic and community development, public safety, transportation planning, and equal opportunity. He would also continue in his commission appointments to the County-oriented Juvenile Justice Coalition, Transportation Disadvantaged Board, Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee, Ending Homelessness Implementation Committee, Affordable Housing Coalition, Black on Black Crime Task Force, Community Coalition for Older Americans and UF President’s Community Council on alcohol abuse, as well as in varied Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce initiatives. During his first term of service, he received the 2007 Women for Wise Growth’s Doris Bardon Leadership Award, the 2006 Alachua County Democratic Elected Official of the Year Award and the 2006 Gainesville Association of Social Workers’ Elected Official of the Year Award. In this campaign to date, he has received the endorsements of the North Central Florida Central Labor Council and Gainesville’s Judy Levy National Organization for Women. He was raised in Massachusetts, has a Bachelor of Arts in literature from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, and a Master of Divinity from the Graduate Theological Union’s King School for Ministry in Berkeley, California. His life’s work has been in community and economic development and in ministry, taking him to the Pacific Islands in the Peace Corps, to Vietnam as a State Department social welfare advisor during the war, to Boston’s anti-poverty agency and to the greater Gainesville area as pastor of two congregations and as chaplain for Hospice. While in Gainesville, he has also served on the boards of the ACTION Network, the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, and Planned Parenthood of North Central Florida and has been a member of the Community Coalition Against Poverty, the North Central Florida Human Rights Council, and the Campus Ministry Cooperative. He is married to the Reverend Alisun Donovan and has three children, Brigitte at Santa Fe Community College, Erin at UF’s Law School and Jesse who is a UF graduate and teaches high school in Chicago. His home is in the northwest section of Gainesville. TOP ISSUES/GOALS “I would say that most important among our community’s goals are that Gainesville should be safe and sound for all, sustainable in its balance of population and environment, and vital in its economy and culture,” said Jack Donovan. • Neighborhood Quality of Life Donovan has and continues to focus on: raising the standards of neighborhood responsibility for renters and landlords; increasing neighborhood code enforcement and Fire/Rescue capacities; encouraging Gainesville Police Department’s community-oriented policing and violence reduction initiatives; improving traffic flow by means of light synchronization, engineering, and road-grid enhancements; increasing nature parks and recreation programs and spaces; seeking land, building funds, and programs for a centrally-located local Senior Center; insuring our schools, homes and businesses don’t lose investment value to those outside the city. • Local Economic Development He is dedicated to local economic development: partnering with developers for revitalization of our urban core and our eastside; partnering with UF, SFCC and the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce for high tech business development; tightening budget planning and oversight to minimize tax increases and to reduce millage rates; improving safety and productivity enhancement services for the poor, handicapped and homeless; maintaining local control over our airport and it economic development potentials; enhancing public transportation, traffic flow and congestion reduction; supervising four internships for UF students and supporting local student enrichment efforts. • Environment He is also dedicated to sustaining the local environment: analyzing and rejecting the coal power plant proposal to avoid pollution and excessive costs; resisting sprawl development on the city boundary’s resource-protecting green spaces; focusing energy policy to reduce and shift demand, including helping low income customers; increasing our park spaces and natural preserves and protecting them from development; promoting urban density and walkable and bikeable development patterns; supporting thorough analysis and elimination of pollution in our water, air and ground systems. CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 376-2838 jfdonovan@bellsouth.net PO Box 5024 Gainesville, Fl, 32627-5024
BIOGRAPHY Armando Grundy is originally from Jacksonville, Florida and has lived in Florida most of his life. He served in the United States Army for a total of eight years and was honorably discharged in 2005 with the grade of E-4. Currently he is finishing his education at Santa Fe Community College with the hopes of continuing his studies at the University of Florida. He is currently studying a dual degree in history and political science with minors in English and leadership. Grundy is employed full-time with a local retailer and also a local energy company. Armando Grundy had the honor of serving while America was dealing with the aftermath of September 11, 2001. For his service he received the National Defense Service Ribbon, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal and many more accolades. He learned many valuable tools that would help mold and shape him into a more distinguished citizen. The Army taught him the value of selfless service and how you must be a servant before you can lead. Armando has been continually active in his community no matter where he lives. Since moving to Gainesville, Armando has become involved with the Saint Francis House, feeding the homeless and constructing wheel chair ramps for our disabled citizens, all through his local church congregation. He has also participated in events with the Partnership for Stronger Families and Habitat for Humanity (2003-2005). This past summer Armando traveled to Honduras where he was filled with so much compassion that he purchased clothing and shoes for some children within the local village. In 2007, Armando traveled to New Orleans to aid in the rebuilding process in St. Bernard Parish. TOP ISSUES/GOALS “It is my goal to lead Gainesville in the necessary direction by providing a fresh face, fresh voice and fresh perspective. Together we will accomplish goals by electing a forward-thinking candidate like me who is passionate and committed to results. I encourage everyone in our community to join our campaign because your support is what this community needs,” said Armando Grundy. • Reducing Violent Crime • Neighborhood Safety and Protection • Reducing Taxes • Public Safety • Promote Higher Paying Jobs in the Community CONTACT INFORMATION (352) 213-2500 Vote2armando@gmail.com Armando Grundy Campaign for Gainesville City Commission, District 3 P.O. Box 141192 Gainesville, FL 32614