The Blog

As many of you are aware, the election finished with our campaign down by 35 votes. This triggers an automatic recount. It also triggers a new round of slanderous accusation from Craig Lowe. At least this time he is saying them with his own mouth instead of depending on nameless surrogates. Here it is from the Gainesville Sun:

“All I can say is Don Marsh ran the dirtiest electoral campaign in the history of Gainesville,” Lowe said.

We ran an issues centric campaign from the beginning. Craig Lowe did not refute any of  our points in any of our forums. He ignored every issue and stuck strictly to his script of, “I have proven leadership…I have experience”.

He had nothing to say about our ever rising electric rates that HE VOTED FOR. All he can do is change the subject and call me names, or have others do it for him. It is the same pattern of behavior that he demonstrated during the Transgender Bathroom debate in which he characterized anyone who disagreed with him as a homophobe and a bigot. This is cowardice of a high order. And it is a slap in the face to every Gainesville resident who suffers under an burdensome cost of living inflicted on them by a smug and self-satisfied city commission. But it’s nothing new.

So, did they cheat? Is there some sort of collusion between the Democratic machine that ran their puppet and people who supervise the vote? I am more than happy to let others utilize legal avenues to find that out. Let’s just say that if I judge this in the light of the nastiness of Lowe’s campaign, I would not be surprised.

Whether or not there is a conclusive discovery that overturns yesterday’s result, there is still a bigger problem: 83% of Gainesville voters sat on their hands and did nothing. This is the biggest contributor to our commission’s ability to abuse and manage us. If there had been a 50% turnout, and people voted according to their own self-interest, this would be a moot point.

Although it is apparently the plan of politicians to vilify and ruin me, I will stay in business because my customers know better. And I will run again, because it must be done and these cowardly individuals must be overcome. If not this week, then next year when there are 3 seats in contention.

I got a call from the Supervisor of Elections today. A citizen (translation: a Craig Lowe supporter) complained that our sign on the 34th Street wall did not have the required disclaimer. I told her that we did have it and that I had photographic evidence. This is what it looked like at the time it was painted.

Next, she questioned the legality of the sign. There was a question of the wall being government property. Isn’t it amazing that this never comes up when ANY other free speech is exercised on this wall?? No, it’s only an issue if a local conservative candidate utilizes Gainesville’s most recognizable public display.

During the late 80’s, I recall that the city wanted to scrub the wall and keep it from being covered with graffiti. At that time, I recall that the city was prevented from doing so because someone discovered that the wall was private property. I never learned whose property it was, but that is what I remember.

Personally, even if it’s public, it’s a good example of UNequal protection. No one else EVER gets a call from the authorities for what’s on the wall!

Yeah… A “concerned citizen”…

The past couple of weeks we have been working hard to get our message out to the people in the Koppers-effected area and to East Gainesville. Of course, Koppers effects a very large area, but as you get away from it, people have different concerns. Of course, GRU electric bills are the transcendent issue that hits every household. Yet, in East Gainesville there are burdens that predate high electric rates and the 1983 designation of Koppers as a Superfund site.

As growth and prosperity came to Gainesville, it seems to have passed the East side by. The East side is much more African-American in population, and it relies on the cohesive communities formed by its many churches much more than commerce. And there are not only churches, but many smaller ministries that specialize in teaching values to their youth and assisting the needy in learning how to add value to society by improving themselves. During this campaign we have only scratched the surface of a body of people who work tirelessly after hours to serve those who are less fortunate than themselves.

I had a conversation yesterday with a minister who runs a small business in East Gainesville. His real passion is teaching the values of marriage and pre-marital abstinence to young people and ministering to HIV/Aids patients. His business is successful, but he lights up when he talks about his vision of creating a community of shared values. You cannot listen to him and not want to buy into his work. It is just one of the great things that is happening in Gainesville.

So, why do people look down on the East side? Is it because of race? Is it a perception of crime? Or is it that working class people are looked down on in general? I know that I have been belittled for my job during this campaign, and I am a white man who works for many white professionals on the West side of town. So race isn’t a part of what gets me a lot of grief. No, it seems that I have just enough lower-class credentials to make some people wrinkle their noses at me.

In some ways, I think we have all played into this condescension of the East side. Is it possible to stop calling it East Gainesville? Aren’t they Gainesville as much as the rest of us? Am I not running for Mayor of Gainesville? The heroic people I am meeting are my fellow citizens, my brothers and sisters, of Gainesville. And they are putting me in a very inclusive frame of mind.

Craig Lowe and I have survived the March 16th election to fight another day. These were the results of today’s contest:

As you can see, these numbers are not very large for a city with 72,623 registered voters. There was only a 14% turnout.

This race will be settled on April 13!

I have been thinking about this a lot. I have been online since 1994, when the Alachua Freenet first opened up it’s dial-up lines to Gainesville residents. I was user afn43269, and in a short time I was on USENET, engaging people in discussions about religion and politics and Dave Barry. When the Gainesville Sun first got online as Sunone.com, I participated on their lively message board from early in its existence as the user, DonTWC, which stands for Don the Window Cleaner. Even though I had a username, I have always been up front about who I was. I have never liked anonymous posting, because I think that your testimony loses power when you are not willing to put your name on it. This is not for everyone, but if you are an elected official, I think there should be a record of what you believe and what you stand for.

After I ran for the county commission in 2002, I started a web site that would allow candidates to get their message out for free. I would give any candidate for local elected office a platform to tell the voters whatever he or she wanted, with no limits on space or content. Sadly, very few have taken me up on it, and no incumbent has EVER posted on AlachuaVoterGuide.com. A few challengers have. Some ex-officials have. But it has been a source of extreme frustration for me that so few will go on the record on a site where they might get…GASP…comments from the public.

During the incendiary leadup to the vote on Amendment One last year, I was the only one to open discussion on the site. When people from around the world came to post comments accusing me of bigotry and hatred, I tried to engage them and find common ground. No other public figure had discussions like these that I have been able to find. No one takes comments and tries to have a civil discourse, AND puts his name on it!

I want you to know that as your Mayor, this will not change. I will still blog. I will still deal with your criticisms, comments, complaints, and suggestions in the same manner that I always have. For me, transparency is not a fad, or a novelty, or an undefined promise that can be fudged on later. It has been my life, and you deserve accountable, accessible leadership. Please vote for me March 16th.