CALL TO ACTION! HELP SAVE CITY JOBS/NONPROFITS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING!

Tomorrow @ 5:30 PM

GRU Admin Building (301 SE 4th AVE)

The GRU Authority will once again target the Government Services Contribution (GSC) at their meeting tomorrow. And in what appears to be a purely vindictive move, they will also be targeting one of Gainesville’s most successful affordable housing programs. We really need you to come to the 5:30 PM meeting tomorrow to let them know the community opposes both ideas. Brief background information on both proposals is below.

NEW PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE GSC: According to Wednesday’s agenda, James Coates will bring forward a proposal to halt all GSC payments until the Authority makes a final decision on the fate of the transfer. GSC funds would be held in escrow under his proposal. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate the GSC, which would trigger layoffs, financial crises at many of our local nonprofit organizations, and painful reductions in city services. The GSC was spared by a tied vote at the last meeting, and there is every reason to expect any future motion to resume GSC payments would similarly fail in the face of a tie.

Last time they considered eliminating the GSC, public outcry successfully persuaded them to table the discussion until after holding a joint meeting with the City Commission, which is scheduled for later this month. We can and we must use public pressure to beat back this assault on our community once again.

PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE SUCCESSFUL AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM: In what is perhaps the most vindictive GRUA proposal to date, staff will be recommending that GRU stop collecting funds for the City’s ConnectFree program as part of a bundle of potential cuts to agreements and associations with the City. ConnectFree funds come from connection charges paid by new developments in unincorporated Alachua County. Without these funds, the City cannot continue operating the program, which provides financial assistance to low-income households to connect their water and wastewater to GRU’s systems. I cannot overstate the importance of this program, since its implementation in 2015, it has:

  • Helped to build over 500 affordable homes for Gainesville residents
  • Brought in nearly $100 million in outside state, federal, and private sector investment for affordable housing in Gainesville
  • Built hundreds of units of affordable senior and veteran homes leveraging state and federal funds
  • Returned roughly $150 in outside investment for every $1 funded into the program

This proposed elimination of ConnectFree via starving it of funds is mean-spirited and makes no fiscal sense. The financial impacts statement accompanying the proposal in the agenda backup makes this plain, reading “This will have no direct impact on GRU. It will remove the funding source of the GG [general government] ConnectFree program.You read that right. They are proposing to starve the City of funds just for the fun of it.

Bullies will not stop until they are stood up to. Let’s show them that Gainesville residents will not be bullied!

Alachua County Commission Votes to Adopt Resolution Supporting the Medicare for All Act

Photo of commission chair Mary Alford and activists after the Medicare for All resolution had been adopted (taken by Takumi Sullivan, Multimedia Coordinator for Alachua County).

The following is a press release authored by Stephan Ramdohr (Florida Medicare for All), Candy Bird (Medicare for All Florida), Patrick Haley (Students for a National Health Program-UF Chapter), and Dr. Gerald Stein (Physicians for a National Health Program), and Dr. Bobby Mermer (Alachua County Labor Coalition)

On Tuesday, December 12th, the Alachua County commission voted to adopt a nonbinding resolution endorsing Medicare for All.

This effort was organized by Medicare for All Florida, Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP), Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and the Alachua County Labor Coalition. Dozens and dozens of Alachua County residents also supported the resolution by signing a petition, which was submitted to the county commission. “We are happy to support Medicare for All,” said Commission Chair Mary Alford, sponsor of the resolution, upon its unanimous passage.

The resolution supports federal legislation, H.R.3421, the Medicare for All Act of 2023, which has already been co-sponsored by a majority of House Democrats. The number of co-sponsors currently stands at 112.

“I am covered with Medicare myself right now, but I want my children and their children to have the same access and ability to receive all the healthcare they need,” said Candy Birch, a board member of Medicare for All Florida, a statewide nonprofit organization advocating for guaranteed healthcare for all. “When we successfully encouraged Key West and Gainesville to adopt a Medicare for All resolution, I felt that Alachua County should also be on the record in favor of Medicare for All.“

“Since 1999 the Alachua County Labor Coalition has worked tirelessly to win national single-payer health insurance through educating the public and policymakers alike on its benefits. Medicare for All would be a boon for working families across the country,” said Dr. Bobby Mermer, coordinator of the Alachua County Labor Coalition. “If a national single-payer insurance system is adopted, these families will no longer be tied to jobs they hate just to keep their health coverage. When tragedy strikes, they would be able to focus on caring for their loved ones instead of spending sleepless nights figuring out how to pay for their coinsurance or copayments. What’s more, the overall cost of health care in the United States would shrink, finally putting the insatiable cash monster to sleep.”

“Almost half of people in Alachua County are either uninsured or underinsured causing restrictions in their ability to get recommended care. The bottom line is that a large proportion of Americans are sick and vulnerable while insurance companies profit,” said Patrick Haley, president of the University of Florida chapter of Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP). “The answer is Medicare for All. This means no more surprise bills, freedom to change doctors and choose hospitals, no more holding off going to the doctor for fear of your bill, and according to the Congressional Budgeting Office, higher wages, increased disposable income, and improved health and longevity.”.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census’ American Community Survey as of 2020 shows that 8.3% of non-institutionalized civilians in Alachua County had no health insurance, which means that an estimated 23,000 residents may be uninsured. And that does not count the many Alachua County residents who are underinsured, or have other problems receiving the care they need in the current healthcare system.

ACLC Endorses Alachua County Medicare for All Resolution!

The ACLC Board voted at its November, 2023 meeting to join Medicare for All Florida in the campaign to get a resolution in support of Medicare for All passed by our County Commission. Please review the official ACLC position and proposed resolution language.

Sign the petition here if you’d like to show your support. Contact us if you’d like to get involved.

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ACLC Position

Everyone living in the U.S. deserves high quality healthcare. No one should suffer poor health because they can’t afford to see a doctor or buy medication that they need. However, almost half of Floridians – including those with insurance – could not afford needed healthcare; about a third who did get necessary care struggled to pay their medical bills

The Alachua County Labor Coalition has joined Medicare for All Florida. Its goal is to remedy this dire situation by building support for Medicare for All. To do this, residents are asked to get counties to pass resolutions in support of the bill and send those resolutions to Federal legislators. A proposed resolution (full text at bottom) has been submitted to the Alachua County Commission.

Since the pandemic, the deficiencies of our medical system have become very clear and people would like to see it improved. However, insurance and pharmacology companies are increasingly profitable and make huge donations to legislators, including Democrats.

At last year’s 5th Avenue Arts Festival, we found that most people we contacted were in favor of Medicare for All and over 100 signed the petition urging Gainesville City Commissioners to pass the resolution. This effort was successful; the City Commission passed a resolution in support of Medicare for All shortly after.

Current Medicare for All proposals are much better than current Medicare or Medicare Advantage. It covers all residents. It covers all medically necessary care including hospitalization, doctor visits, long-term care, prescription drugs, as well as dental, vision, hearing and mental health services.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded in a recent report that Medicare for All would result in higher wages, increased household disposable income, and improve workers’ health and longevity.

Join us in this initiative to build a better and more inclusive healthcare system. Sign the petition to let the Alachua County Commission know that you support Medicare for All and the resolution below!

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RESOLUTION

THE ALACHUA COUNTY COMISSION IS CALLING ON FEDERAL LEGISLATORS TO ENACT H.R. 3421 AND S. 1655: MEDICARE FOR ALL ACT AND AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY CLERK TO PROVIDE COPIES OF THIS RESOLUTION TO FEDERAL LEGISLATORS REPRESENTING FLORIDA.

WHEREAS, every person in Alachua County, the State of Florida and the United States deserves high quality healthcare; and

WHEREAS, 27.6 million Americans have no health insurance, including over 2.6 million Floridians in 2021 (over 21,000 Alachua Countians); and

WHEREAS, almost half of Floridians (45%) including those who have insurance did not obtain needed health care such as filling prescriptions or seeing a doctor because of cost barriers, and about one-third of those who did get some needed healthcare struggled to pay their medical bills; and

WHEREAS, medical debt is the most common cause of bankruptcy, and

WHEREAS, since the Covid pandemic profits of insurance and pharmacological companies have continued to grow, while patients’ medical costs have continued to rise and many workers lost their jobs and their insurance coverage through becoming ill; and

WHEREAS, the United States spends more on healthcare than any other industrialized country, but has worse outcomes in many indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, Medicare for All Act HR 3421 and S1655 would provide health insurance for every person in the United States covering all necessary health care including: hospital, surgical and outpatient services; primary and preventive care; prescription drugs; reproductive care; dental, vision and hearing care; mental health care; and long-term care; and

WHEREAS, Medicare for All Act HR 3421 and S1655 would provide coverage without premiums, copays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses; and would assure patients of an unrestricted choice of doctors; and

WHEREAS, The Congressional Budget Office concluded in a recent report that Medicare for All would result in higher wages, increased household disposable income, improve workers’ health and longevity, and administrative waste in health care would be reduced, and

WHEREAS, Alachua County residents who are now uninsured or underinsured would enjoy a vast improvement in their quality of life, because they could obtain healthcare when they need it instead of delaying until they have a medical emergency; and

WHEREAS, members of the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to be uninsured or covered by Medicaid compared to non-LGBTQ+ individuals.

WHEREAS, enactment of HR3421 includes A Non-Discrimination clause based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy and related medical conditions (including termination of pregnancy) thus providing healthcare to members of the LGBTQ+ community and people requiring reproductive healthcare.

WHEREAS, universal health coverage as provided by HR3421 and S1655 would alleviate the lack of proper medical care for vulnerable communities including the unhoused, unemployed, people of color, people with low income; and

WHEREAS, enactment of HR3421 and S1655 includes that restrictions on the use of Federal Funds (as implemented by the Hyde Amendment of 2022) shall not apply to reproductive health services.

WHEREAS implementation of HR3421 and S1655 would provide coverage to all pregnant persons during and after the birth of their children.

WHEREAS, unbundling health insurance from employment would allow workers to leave unsatisfactory jobs without forfeiting insurance benefits; and

WHEREAS, recent polls show that a majority of Americans are in favor of the federal government ensuring American have healthcare coverage.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alachua County Commission supports the enactment of HR3421 and S1655 and all subsequent legislation that will assure appropriate and efficient health care for all residents; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Clerk is hereby authorized to send a certified copy of this resolution to Representative Kat Cammack, Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Rick Scott.

ACLC Proposes Replacement Renters’ Rights Program for Gainesville and Alachua County

On Monday, September 18th ACLC members and supporters held a special Community Meeting to draw up a proposal for replacing the Gainesville and Alachua County Renters’ Rights ordinances, specifically the Residential Rental Unit Permit program ordinances. This was made necessary after Governor DeSantis signed HB 1417 in to law, which preempted (essentially nullified) the existing ordinances as they are currently written. Importantly, HB 1417 does NOT preempt the City and County ordinances prohibiting discriminating against would-be renters due to their lawful source of income (e.g., Section 8 vouchers). In light of the new law, the ACLC generously received pro bono legal services from local attorney Scott Bird, who was able to identify several legal options for saving most of the protections contained in the ordinances.

After hearing a presentation from Mr. Bird on his findings, meeting attendees discussed the options and voted unanimously to adopt a proposal to replace the current Residential Rental Unit Permit programs with a new program that saves nearly all renter protections. Under the new proposal, the living conditions and money-saving energy & water efficiency standards that were previously in the City and County business codes are moved into the building codes, and the requirement that landlords provide renters with literature on their rights under Florida and local law is shifted to the City and County by having them mail the literature to renters.

The only meaningful differences between the old programs and our new proposal concern inspections and the type of rental properties the regulations apply to. Under our new proposal, inspections to ensure basic living conditions and money-saving energy & water efficiency standards cannot be mandatory while a rental unit is occupied. This is because Mr. Bird found that HB 1417 prohibits local governments from interfering in the “landlord-tenant relationship” and “residential tenancies”, which under legal definitions exist only when a lease is signed and a rental home is occupied. Therefore, local governments may only mandate inspections of rental homes when they are unoccupied. As for application, the new proposal applies living and energy & water efficiency standards regulations to all rental properties, whereas the old programs were applied only to properties with four or fewer units. The opportunity to expand the program’s applications stems from the regulations being moved from the business code to the building code. According to both the City and County Attorney’s, state law preempts local governments from regulating large apartment complexes as businesses, but local governments may regulate building standards for all buildings within their jurisdiction via technical and administrative amendments to the Building Code.

The proposal was well-received by the Gainesville City Commission when it was presented at a City Commission Meeting, and the County had already directed staff to look into moving much of the current Residential Rental Unit Permit program into the Building Code. ACLC Staff has since met with both City and County staff to provide more details of the proposal and explain the legal pathway to implement it. The reception from both staffs were positive. We are cautiously optimistic they will come to the same or similar conclusions as the ACLC and present our proposed program as a viable option for the City and County Commission to adopt.

You can read the proposal/position statement below.

ACLC_rr_repeal_position

ACTION ALERT! HELP US END FINES FOR FAMILIES OF THE INCARCERATED!

This Thursday, April 6th at 5 pm at the Alachua County Administration Building in the Jack Durrance Board Room (12 SE 1st St, Gainesville, second floor), the County Commission is holding a special meeting on free inmate phone calls. Join the ACLC and other community partners in demanding free calls for inmates at the Alachua County Jail. Currently, the families and friends of the incarcerated carry the burden of paying for phone calls and keeping in contact with their loved ones in jail. We demand that this cost be eliminated.

Please come and join us at this meeting to end this unjust and unfair monetary burden.

IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THE MEETING please email the commissioners with the following talking points to the following email: bocc@alachuacounty.us.

If you CAN make the meeting, we encourage you in joining us and speaking out in favor of free phone calls with these talking points:

  1. Free calls for incarcerated individuals reduce the burdens faced by their friends and families, who are currently on the hook for phone call charges.
  2. Connection with others is a basic human right and it is morally wrong to charge inmates or their families for wanting to stay in contact, especially those in jail who are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Human beings should always be afforded the right to stay in contact with their friends and family, and how much someone makes should not be a factor in their ability to do so.
  3. People in jail are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Many inmates are awaiting trial and charging for phone calls is no different than levying fines without due process, which is unconstitutional.
  4. Allowing free phone calls has been shown to reduce recidivism. By having greater contact with friends and families, incarcerated people have an easier time transitioning to life on the outside. If cost is a barrier, incarcerated people cannot have this support and preparation before they leave jail, and they will therefore be more likely to recidivate.
  5. Thus, allowing free phone calls decreases the monetary burden on families who are already going through enough, restores some humanity in the jail system, provides the constitutional right of due process, and decreases recidivism. Free phone calls are a clear and just path to a ‘justice’ system. This is not only morally necessary, but also cost-effective for the County.

Sign the Petition to Help Incarcerated Folks Keep in Touch with Loved Ones!

 

Since July of 2022, the ACLC has partnered with the Sunshine Forum and Florida Prisoner Solidarity on a campaign to provide free phone calls for inmates of the Alachua County Jail. Our groups have provided high-quality policy research and insights from the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated individuals to Alachua County Commissioners, County Staff, and Sheriff Clovis Watson. The research and insights make it clear that eliminating phone charges for jail inmates is both morally necessary and cost-effective for the County. It is morally wrong to charge inmates, their friends, and families to stay in contact—connection with other is a human right. What’s more, many inmates are awaiting trial and are presumed innocent, making charging for phone calls no different than levying fines without due process. Free inmate call is cost-effective because it reduces recidivism.

Our proposal received a warm reception in one-on-one conversations with County Commissioners and the Sheriff. Despite this, two County Commission meetings that were scheduled to discuss inmate phone calls were canceled at the last minute. The first was canceled because County staff refused to reach out to our three groups to discuss the issue prior to returning to the Commission with a recommendation. The second meeting was canceled when the Sheriff boycotted the meeting because he was upset with the options County staff planned to offer. This second scheduled meeting was canceled with less than four hours’ notice. Commissioner Cornell made a motion to postpone the meeting at unrelated special meeting on transportation. The motion to postpone passed thanks to Commissioners Wheeler and Chestnut voting with Commissioner Cornell. . . Relief for inmates and their friends and family is now delayed because County and Sheriff’s office staff refuse to play nice with one another.


Please sign this petition demanding Commissioners Ken Cornell, Marihelen Wheeler, and Chuck Chestnut to stop uncritically deferring to Sheriff Clovis Watson by:
1) Making a public pledge to hold the April County Commission meeting on Inmate costs, regardless of the actions of County or Sheriff’s Office staff.
2) Voting to make all jail inmate phone calls free.

Proposed Bylaws Amendment to Be Discussed at February 21st General Member Meeting

The ACLC will be considering and voting on a proposed amendment to our bylaws at the February 21st, 2023 General Member Meeting. You can review the proposed amendment below. The purpose of the amendment is twofold. First, the sections on “Respect and Dignity” and “Conflict Resolution” are intended to ensure every member feels comfortable participating in the ACLC’s work. Second, the remaining two sections are intended to bolster democracy within the ACLC.

 

ACLC_conflict_res_operational_policy_amendment

Demand the Florida Board of Governors Keep Their Hands Off Tenure!

Please take two easy actions from the comfort of your home. Sign UFF-UF’s petition to save tenure and submit a comment to the Board of Governors telling them to reject the proposed post-tenure review regulation! See UFF-UF President Paul Ortiz’ message below for details.

Dear Colleague,

I write to update you about some important developments related to Florida House Bill (HB) 7, the “Stop WOKE Act,” a measure targeting educators, among others, in the Sunshine State. Judge Mark Walker has ordered an injunction of HB 7’s application and enforcement in Florida’s higher education system. You can read the full order here and the ACLU’s press release can be found here. This injunction is a huge win in our ongoing fight for the rights of academic freedom across our state.

The exact legal ramifications of the injunction will be clarified in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, there are a few important consequences of this injunction that we can report:

1. As announced by the Provost at the Faculty Senate meeting on Nov. 17, the UF Board of Trustees’ draft regulation, pursuant to the FL Board of Governors’ “Stop WOKE” regulation, will not be proposed to the Faculty Senate as an action item for implementation as long as the injunction is in effect.

2. The injunction also represents a major victory in our ongoing fight against the Board of Governors’ proposed post-tenure faculty review regulation (BOG 10.003), since review requirements cannot now include considerations of whether faculty have complied to HB 7-related regulations.

Nevertheless, the BOG’s post-tenure review regulation remains a significant threat to academic freedom in Florida. We therefore ask you to sign our petition to protect tenure in the Florida University System, and, if you haven’t already, to provide public comment on this proposed regulation before the comment period closes on November 24.

Here’s how to leave a public comment:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the details of the policy by reading it here.
  2. Feel free to use our talking-points.
  3. Here is a template for writing your comment. Remember that personalized perspectives will have the most impact.
  4. Send your comment to the Board of Governors using their website. Scroll down to “Chapter 10: Miscellaneous Provisions,” then select the “Submit a Comment” link in the “Post-Tenure Faculty Review” box.
  5. Ask your colleagues, friends, family members, community allies, and local elected officials to also leave public comment on or to otherwise advocate against the regulation.

In solidarity,
Paul Ortiz, Chapter President

Report: Fighting Gentrification and Unsafe Housing at Holly Heights

Special Report from ACLC Activist Austin Kee and Bobby Mermer

Fear of gentrification is rattling residents of the Holly Heights community, specifically residents of the buildings owned by SAR Apartment Capital. Miami-based SAR acquired the properties earlier this year and has since flooded the community with lease non-renewal notices, just as the telltale signs of gentrification are popping up in nearby neighborhoods. After receiving a call from Doretha, a concerned community leader, ACLC Coordinator Bobby Mermer and a small army of activists (Adolfho Romero, Austin Kee, C.G. Shields, Josh Papacek, Pam Paris, and Sheila Payne) canvassed most of the SAR-owned buildings over several weekends. Many of the residents were too frightened to speak to canvassers, fearing they would be removed from their homes in retaliation for speaking out. But enough residents shared their experience to establish a clear and disturbing pattern—Section 8 voucher holders are disproportionately being targeted for removal. All but one resident with a Section 8 voucher reported receiving a non-renewal notice or eviction, while all but one self-paying resident reported being offered a lease renewal (later, we learned of a second self-paying resident receiving a non-renewal). This is an alarming pattern. The stock of truly affordable rental housing in Gainesville is quickly dwindling, and Holly Heights is one of the few remaining communities where very low-income working families, the elderly, and the disabled can find an affordable place. The ACLC and community leaders at Holly Heights are fighting to ensure it stays that way.

Many of the units at Holly Heights are in varying states of disrepair. One row house had downspouts terminating on the second story. Yet another had an obviously leaky gutter wrapped precariously in a black trash bag, in some futile attempt to hold back the water from the second story balcony. That same unit saw many of its outdoor banisters replaced with a naked, bright yellow wood, a sign that the wood used was possibly untreated and ill-suited for outdoor use. Another unit’s soffit had collapsed within the upper patio. Another had fresh paint over wooden board where the windows should have been. From cursory glances into the interiors of many units, the external state of disrepair is reflected within. One woman’s unit had ill-fitted door seals, so hastily attached after a fresh coat of paint on a bubbling, rusted door that they had stuck to the door edge and pulled from the frame. A ceiling in another appeared to have water staining, drywall patches hastily smeared onto the surface. Vacancies dominate many of the row houses, but the vacant units stick out, pristine and freshly painted among their dilapidated neighbors, scattered remains of renovation piled at the curb.

Perhaps the sorry state of affairs is due to the ineptitude of property management. One tenant claimed that after weeks of inaction regarding water leaks from the AC handler, the property manager poured in pure bleach straight from the bottle in an attempt to clear the clogged drain line, in spite of protests from both the tenant and her bedridden, respiratory-distressed husband that the strong fumes were harmful. Yet, on the flip side of the coin, a different tenant only sang praises of the responsiveness of property management and the amenities of their recently renovated unit. If all anecdotes are to be believed, the property manager, Jordona, must be Jekyll and Hyde! But there is an identifiable pattern. The former tenant was Section 8, the latter was self-paying. At scale, there were significantly more maintenance complaints voiced by Section 8 and other voucher-holding tenants than from self-paying tenants. Sadly, this is a classic divide-and-conquer strategy that is often deployed to pit working class people with no public benefits against working class people receiving means-tested benefits. But make no mistake, gentrification will eventually touch those families who make too much to qualify for public assistance but too little to pay rising market rates.

In fact, many of the maintenance grievances aired by Section 8 voucher holders were indirectly corroborated by self-paying tenants, who acknowledged that SAR withheld maintenance and issued non-renewals to “bad neighbors”. There were various claims of overcrowding, hooliganism, vandalism, even claims of violence and threatening behavior. One interviewee claimed that homicide and sexual violence had increased dramatically under the prior property owner (Banta). Another claimed that a sexual predator had moved in next door to her, and has been non-renewed. Many of these tenants firmly believe that SAR is simply removing problematic individuals to improve the safety of the neighborhood. They also held a positive view of the private security hired by SAR, contrary to many of the housing voucher residents – including HUD-VASH (veterans’) housing voucher residents – who have consistently claimed that the private security was ineffectual at best, invasive at worst.

But that raises an interesting question: if these tenants are so problematic, why must SAR resort to underhanded tactics to remove them? If it is true that these tenants are destroying the property, actively committing crimes on the premises, and breaking rules in their leases with excessively large gatherings and housing undeclared persons, why did SAR not file police reports and complaints to the housing authority?

And the grievances don’t end with just tenants of SAR properties. A tenant of an independently owned row house among a sea of SAR properties, claims that SAR had been aggressively pursuing the purchase of the property. Having been repeatedly rebuked by the owner, SAR purportedly installed a camera in a vacant unit directly across from the property. It was independently verified that a white point light and a blinking red light characteristic of a recording camera can be easily seen in the open windows at night. SAR is clearly violating the tenants’ expectation of privacy—it is generally reasonable to have security cameras on private property for the purpose of monitoring the premises. But having the camera installed in a position that only monitors the premises of another property does not seem to be a legitimate security measure.

Many tenants were afraid to provide their names or file a formal complaint out of fear of reprisal. Tenants of SAR-owned buildings who were previously willing to speak with the ACLC and the media dodged and locked their doors when reporter Ethan Budowsky from WCJB arrived for interviews and to witness a community meeting organized by the ACLC. Tenants of the non-SAR building were visually uncomfortable being interviewed in the line of sight of the camera when Budowsky arrived, moving away from the front of their own home and out into the side street.

Current developments seem to have confirmed these fears. On Thursday, November 17th, around 4:45 PM, ACLC Coordinator Bobby Mermer received a phone call from a resident of a SAR-owned property in Holly Heights informing him they had just received a notice of an inspection occurring tomorrow. SAR’s property managers had put notices on doors that were back-dated to November 9th.  There was no maintenance emergency.  This is less than the 24 hour notice required by Miya’s law (Fla. Stat. 83.515), which was passed just this year. It is shameful for a company that boasts of being a “a national multifamily investment firm with over $180,000,000 of assets” to blatantly flout the minimal standards put in place by the Florida legislature.

SAR was well aware of the illegal nature of their planned inspections, quickly backing down after the ACLC notified the Alachua County Commission, area Housing Authorities, and the Alachua County Equal Opportunity Office.  SAR’s motives were likely as nefarious as the means: to scour homes for Section 8 program violations in an attempt to silence working families on social assistance benefits.  This attempt at retaliation against residents for organizing to stand up for their rights is unacceptable and in direct violation of Alachua County’s Human Rights Ordinance.

The ACLC will continue working with Holly Heights residents to fight gentrification, improve living conditions, and keep hard-working families in their homes. We will provide ACLC members and supporters with periodic updates.

ACLC and Allies Turn Out and Speak Out Against K-9 Unit at Gainesville Commission Special Meeting

Special Report from ACLC Co-Chair Melissa Hawthorne


On Wednesday, November 16th nearly 50 activists gathered outside of city hall steps for a rally organized by the ACLC before crowding into the city commission’s special hearing, where the Gainesville Police Department attempted to justify its need for continuing the canine unit. Inside, there was standing room only. Citizens and activists organized by the ACLC, Florida Prisoner’s Solidarity, and activist Dani Chanzes were there to ask the Gainesville Commission to abolish the canine unit, noting the long history of dogs used as a weapon of terror against Black men, and most recently against Terrell Bradley. 

While GPD insisted the canine unit was needed to “chase down rapists” and find missing persons, GPD’s own presentation confirmed the dogs are used primarily against non-violent offenders (most of whom are disproportionately Black men), and activists were quick to remind GPD that more often than not, the police delay investigating rape and have other means to find missing persons. GPD said the dogs are “fun” for the community, while activists relayed the pleas of the community to end an out-of-date practice that goes back to slave patrols, noting this history is more important than any benefit from the dogs’ public appearances. ACLC Justice Committee activist Nicole La Roque recited findings from the internal affairs investigation of the Terrell Bradley incident, in which officers texted each other about taking the dogs hunting on the “eastside.” Finally, activists pointed out that in 2022, more humane options exist for apprehending suspects. The commission directed staff to investigate alternatives and voted to table the issue until the new commission is sworn in.

For background on the issues with GPD’s K-9 Unit, please read Sheila Payne’s and Bobby Mermer’s op-ed in the Independent Florida Alligator at this link.