Welch, Fletcher Win in Alachua Election

ALACHUA – Voters in the City of Alachua elected a new mayor and a new city commissioner on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, shaking up the leadership in both contested races.

Walter Welch defeated incumbent Mayor Gib Coerper for Seat 1, receiving 639 votes (50.8%) to Coerper’s 618 votes (49.2%). Coerper, retired, had served as mayor since 2005, when he first assumed the commission seat later designated as the mayoral post in 2010. He ran unopposed in 2022, but this cycle faced a challenge from Welch, a newcomer to elected office who had previously served on a local advisory task force board.

In the Seat 2 City Commission race, Jacob Fletcher beat incumbent Edward Potts by a significant margin. Fletcher secured 785 votes (60.4%) to Potts’ 513 votes (39.6%). Potts, also retired and formerly a member of the Alachua Planning & Zoning Board, had first been elected to the commission in 2022. Fletcher is employed by the University of Florida and entered the race as a first-time candidate.

Both Welch and Fletcher will be sworn into office during the regular City Commission meeting on April 21, 2025, at 6 p.m.

Polls were open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Legacy Park Multipurpose Center, Cleather Hathcock, Sr. Community Center, and the Clubhouse at Turkey Creek.

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