Blalock Takes Win in Alachua Election

ALACHUA ‒ Incumbent city commissioner Jennifer Blalock won the majority of votes in the City of Alachua election conducted on April 9. Blalock faced off against Eric L. Ford for Seat 5 on the Alachua City Commission. With 409 votes, Blalock handily defeated Ford, who garnered 336 votes.

Voters casting ballots at the Turkey Creek polling location voted for Blalock with 236 votes to Ford’s 27 votes. Legacy Park voters cast 128 ballots for Blalock compared to 99 ballots cast for Ford. Ford pulled down 152 votes at the Cleather Hathcock Community Center polling location compared to Blalock’s 27 at the same precinct. In the absentee or “vote by mail” precinct meanwhile, Ford picked up 58 ballots to Blalock’s 19 votes.

Through a press release from the Alachua County Branch of the NAACP, the organization expressed alarm over “mishaps and inoperable situations” at the Cleather Hathcock polling location. The NAACP branch claimed the issues resulted in the precinct being “down” for more than two hours.

According to City officials, however, what happened at the Cleather Hathcock Community Center polling location was simply a surge protector issue, resulting in ballot tabulation machines being down for about five minutes.

Following the NAACP’s claims, City officials clarified that in the short period of time while the machines were down, no one was refused a ballot. Additionally, the City stated that the five ballots cast while the machines were down were placed in an emergency auxiliary box and later added into the total tabulation for the polling precinct.

Blalock’s re-election places the incumbent in the seat for another three years. No one challenged incumbent Commissioner Shirley Green Brown for Seat 4, meaning she will also be re-seated for another three years.

Seat 1, held by Mayor Gib Coerper, and Seat 2, held by Commissioner Ed Potts, will be on the ballot in 2025. Seat 3, held by Commissioner Dayna Miller, will not be reopened until the expiration of her term in 2026.

As of the April 9 election, there were 8,174 registered voters in the City of Alachua. The most recent turnout of 745 votes amounts to a 9.1 percent voter turnout.

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