It seems that the upcoming city elections will surely put some young faces on the Gainesville City Commission. Last Sunday I was able to meet with & interview District 3 candidate Armando Grundy. The interview should be posted sometime tomorrow evening. Though commission races are non-partisan, informed voters can usually delve through the rhetoric and pinpoint where to draw the ever-blurred partisan divide. But there is room for change. Progreessive Jack Donovan has failed to give proposals against the 2AM Rave Ordinance the fairness he promised student voters that helped him upset then-incumbent Tony Domenech - a win that literally came down to single-votes [very similar to Adler/Sancez by SG standards].
Normally, however, student candidates or candidates still-in-school (as the former has had damaging effects on certain candidacies) don't draw out much attention. Who can forget poor Mike Belle, whose first campaign for mayor ended with the Pegeen endorsement and a measely 100+ votes, followed up by Andre Samuels' managed-run which netted him only [literally] a couple dozen more votes in his City Commission race.
No...the young faces running for top spots in City government today, seem poised to win and the odds look quite favorable. Agrusa will probably take the win, though I am interested in speaking to his opponent. In District 3, I think Donovan will lead most of the election, as it's rumored he's already raised $12,000. However, I expect that if Stafford Jones actively engaged the Republican Party and with the proper networking & fundraising support of other notables like Jeff McAdams, Clovis Watson, & a little media attention say from the likes of Chip Morris' Drive Time Happy Hour (97.3 WSKY FM), that Grundy might shock Donovan at zero hour. We'll see. Interivew should be up tomorrow night.
12 comments:
Is his name Arturo? I think it is Armando. You might want to check on that because you have two different names for him on the site? What was he like? Was he likable? Was he professional? Give us more!
i think the radikal just ceased to exist as a quasi-meaningful site when you it predicted robert agrusa to win
Best of luck to Agrusa, but if he wins I'll eat my shorts.
OK, I won't actually eat them, but I might lick them or something. Anyway, it doesn't look like he's going to win, unless his opponent isn't making an effort (and his Web site looks like someone who's making an effort).
Having a website is no longer such a big deal. It's 2007, not 1994. However, I concur, I am interested in speaking to his opponent.
However, if Agrusa can mobilize the FBK/Greek machine he'll win - Belle never could. Let's remember that what pushed Hanrahan over Bussing in 2004, was a large push from the PC houses.
Both Agrusa and Grundy are interesting candidates. They both are outgoing personalities and should communicate with each other. I do believe they were actually both competing for the same seat at one time. Grundy is still considered the unknown and quiet candidate. Who is he? What does Agrusa think of his counterpart in this race another 20 year old. Wow both Agrusa and Grundy are twenty something, this is truly unique.
Radikal who are you predicting to win in the Donovan v. Grundy matchup?
Hawkins (who is running against Agrusa) is only like 28 or something like that.
However, if Agrusa can mobilize the FBK/Greek machine he'll win - Belle never could. Let's remember that what pushed Hanrahan over Bussing in 2004, was a large push from the PC houses.
You're an idiot, and I just realized how much this blog sucks now. Oh and there's comment moderation.
Well back to my original intent with the quote. Greeks don't care about elections, and most aren't registered to vote, at least not in the county. The only reason the political machine works for SG is because there is no voter registration requirement, and it's incredibly easy to vote.
Agrusa may have every IFC/PC member in his facebook groups, but it does no good if they're too lazy/can't vote in the election.
Ok, I'm an idiot. Happy?
Now to your points. I strongly disagree that having the robust IFC/PC network behind you, won't greatly alter your chances in an OPEN City Commission race.
*Greeks are notorious for switching housing information to vote in Fall elections...updating your voter-registration is fairly simple and quick. Also there are no detrimental consequences from changing from a Tampa address to a Gainesville one, it's not like asking someone to mess with their state residency or anything.
*As cited in Alligator by SBP Ryan Moseley, Chomp The Vote is registering students in FAST GEAR. You can rest assured that Frank Bracco & his team have added big numbers to the board.
*There is also something to be said about Florida Blue Key, with fmr. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Rod Smith working in Alachua, as well as many other notables in this, the heartland of the society. Agrusa was good to the System, being rewarded by inheriting the top spot of the Legislative Branch.
FBK would love nothing more than to have the next young Lawton Chiles or Bill Nelson. Call me an "idiot" to your heart's content, but if FBK sees potential in Agrusa, don't count the 'Ole Pork Chop Gang' out of Florida politics just yet, much less Gainesville! LOL
*Let's also not forget that PC houses in 2004 played a key role in assuring victory for Hanrahan over Bussing.
But what do I know. I just cited a bunch of facts, I could never spout off dribble and call you names. Alas, I am the idiot.
I dont think anyone in the world would cite the alligator at a reputable and informed newsource, especially when they write four articles in three days sucking Moseley's dick.
Anon 3:10 here.
Again, you're misunderstanding how the "FBK machine" works. Less than 10 members of my fraternity are registered to vote for Alachua county, I'd be surprised if half of them take the effort to vote in the primary. We may be the exception, but I'd guess that we are much more likely the rule.
The reason behind this is that there are no tangible rewards that FBK could hand out, even if they wanted to play a role in the election. SG and university positions will be promised regardless, and a voter board for a city election is just impractical.
Switching voter addresses? Who cares? You can do that the day of the election at the polling place. It's perfectly legal and everything. So getting Frank to switch everyone's addys now is a perfectly pointless proposition.
And as far as what happens when Agrusa "wins" (as unlikely as that may be)... He has nothing to promise the greeks... No silly positions like Orange and Blue Cabinet director or anything so they could really care less and aren't going to mobilze. Although I think it would be a real riot to see little greek pledges hassle the old ladies at the polls for their I Voted Stickers to put on the boards.
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