During the 2009 election season, Alachua County Today opposed City of Alachua charter Amendment 1 which converted a commission seat into an elected mayor seat instead of allowing commissioners to select the mayor amongst themselves. Nevertheless, voters
Commissioner Gib Coerper is now running for that mayoral seat, yet he has no challengers. We believe Coerper has long served Alachua well, but the circumstance begs the question. With the convergence of an unopposed candidate for mayor and Amendment 1, did the voters actually get the control and choice they wanted since Coerper will walk into the seat by default?
Little more than 650 out of some 5,000 voters cast ballots in the 2009 City of Alachua Election. It was the dismal voter turnout last year that prompted an April 14, 2009 editorial in which Alachua County Today announced that it would host a candidate forum in the 2010 city election season.
That editorial stated in part, “Over the course of the next 10 months, Alachua County Today will formulate the method, location, timing and format for the forum. We hope this will not only give voters first-hand interaction with the candidates, but also provide a contrast between them. While similarities mark common ground among candidates, differences are the important factors when making a decision on which of the candidates to support.”
As the Tuesday, April 13 city election approaches, the 2010 election season promises to be more active than last year’s. In keeping with the commitment Alachua County Today made last year, the newspaper will be hosting a candidate forum on Tuesday, March 30 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Alachua Lions Club located on NW 142nd Terrace, across from City Hall. The forum will mark the third event this year in which candidates have collectively met with groups of voters. On March 17, candidates addressed residents of the Turkey Creek neighborhood. Candidates squared off again just days later when the League of Women Voters hosted a forum at the Alachua branch library on Sunday, March 21.
urges voters to submit their questions early for the March 30 candidate forum by sending an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and indicating “forum” in the subject line or faxing them to 386-462-4569. Questions may also be telephoned in to 386-462-3355. The forum is open to anyone, and everyone is encouraged to attend and spend a few minutes meeting with the candidates before the forum discussions get underway.
No Endorsements
The reporting and editorial staff of Alachua County Today takes seriously its responsibility to provide accurate and fair information to its readers. To that end, Alachua County Today will not endorse a candidate in the Seat 3 race between Ben Boukari and Michael Canney. Not only has Boukari been employed by the newspaper in an advertising sales capacity for several years, but his relationship to owners of the publication presents a possible conflict or interests, real or perceived. Boukari has been and will continue to be treated the same as every other candidate throughout the campaign season. And should he be elected, he will be subject to the same scrutiny, criticism and questioning as any other elected official.
After Boukari began contemplating his possible run for political office, he voluntarily agreed to surrender his position on the effective date of the election. The editorial board believes strongly that the newspaper must do everything it can to protect and preserve its role in the community, ultimately accepting his resignation and ending Boukari’s long-time employment with the publication.
This newspaper also will not write an endorsement of any of the candidates seeking election in the Seat 2 race. Duane Helle, Dollean Perkins and Robert Wilford are all capable of performing the job of commissioner, but each brings to the table a different perspective, skill set and type of energy.
Attending forum a must for voters
No endorsement by a newspaper is a substitute for meeting and discussing issues in a face-to-face setting with candidates. Still, the lack of an endorsement by Alachua County Today is even more reason to attend the March 30 forum when citizens will have a chance to meet one-on-one with and contrast and compare the candidates’ stances on important issues in the city of Alachua. Voters would do well to educate themselves about each candidate before making their selection on April 13.
Alachua’s voters have a responsibility to select the city’s leadership with deliberate consideration. With two commission seats up for grabs in the April 13 election, which candidates the voters choose will surely have a significant impact on the future of the city.