Below are the candidates running for Gainesville City Commission District 4. Audio is provided for candidates who met with GTP for vetting/interview purposes. Click beside each name to listen to the audio. Audio ranges from approximately 35-60 minutes long per candidate.
2010 City Commission- District 4: Randy Wells
Run-off election between:
Randolf Wells – Qualified—–> Refusal to meet with GTP.
820 NE 5th Ave.
Gainesville, FL 32601
(352) 335-8874 or (352) 328-2997
Randy@RandyWells.org
RandyWells.org
AND
Penny Wheat – Qualified—> Read below for Penny Wheat’s views. GTP does not have audio on her interview, though she was vetted.
P.O. Box 981
Gainesville, FL 32602
(352) 371-2125
penny@gru.net
www.pennywheat.us
GTP does not have audio on Penny Wheat. She was vetted and here are some notes and quotes from the interview:
Penny on current fire assessment fee: “Based on what I know today, I think it is equitable.” She is weighing if now is the time to increase taxes due to the $4 million budget cuts. She would like to “find money elsewhere” such as by scrutinizing GRU’s budget.
Narrowing of Main Street: Penny voted against narrowing it before. From Depot to University Ave. it was narrowed due to desire of local businesses. Penny claims they wanted more room for sidewalks and tables so she voted for it. Penny’s concerns about narrowing University Ave. are that it would push traffic into neighborhoods and cost money for more stop signs through these neighborhoods.
Energy and Resources: Regarding peak oil production and decline Penny says our demand outpaces our supply. The 2030 Transportation Plan for Gainesville wrote recommendations that this should be taken into account for land issues and transportation. Penny believes electric vehicles, buses, monorails are all “opportunities we have to look at” for the future of Gainesville.
Penny stated that we need to be “forward thinking” and made the recommendation that we “need to have infrastructure for trains to offload food and supplies in Alachua County.”
On the biomass plant, Penny said “If I was on the committee I would have invested in solar energy.” Penny believes the cleanest form of energy is solar energy.
Thoughts on nuclear power: Penny is concerned there is not a place to dispose of waste and that it has to be shipped out somewhere else and travel through other towns. Levy County is a wetland and could be underwater. Regarding nuclear power, Penny said, “I have concerns.”
Penny notes an example of supporting transparency in government was in 2000 when she was behind the incoming/outgoing email archive for the county commission. She believes “Government can’t do everything for everybody.” and that it must be a collaborative effort such as dealing with the homeless veterans in Alachua County.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Those listed below are no longer in the election (as of March 17th.)
Mason Alley – Qualified ——-> Click this link to listen to audio recording of GTP Election Committee interviewing Mason Alley
1642 NW 11th Rd.
Gainesville, FL 32605
(352) 505-0872
mason.alley@gmail.com
Francis “Pat” Fitzpatrick – Qualified ——-> Click this link to listen to audio recording of GTP Election Committee interviewing Pat Fitzpatrick
313 NE 9th St.
Gainesville, FL 32601
(352) 642-6465
Nathaniel Sperling – Qualified ——-> Click this link to listen to audio recording of GTP Election Committee interviewing Nathaniel Sperling
405 NW 19th St.
Gainesville, FL 32603
(352) 214-3170
nathanielsperling@yahoo.com
www.nathanielsperling.com
