ATTN: The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a 501(c)4 and does not endorse candidates. We will print all candidates’ responses to our questions on our website and share them via our email newsletter

County Commission Candidate Kevin Thorpe

1) Do you support paying a living wage to all County workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? The ACLC defines a living wage at $15.39 an hour, the MIT Living Wage Calculator rate for a family of four with two working adults and employer-provided healthcare.

a. What is your plan to get us there using the Alachua County Government Minimum Wage ordinance?

b. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?

c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?

As an employer myself, my lowest paid employees were paid a minimum of $16 an hour for the last decade or more.   The County’s commitment to sustaining a living for wage for all County employees must begin at the Commission level.

The County’s approval process for the awarding of all contracts must include and enforce a living wage requirement.

Currently, we rely far too heavily on a “commuter” workforce.  The county’s focus must shift to a “home grown” workforce model that involves vocational training in secondary education and apprenticeship programs prior to high school graduation.

2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted county workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to hurricanes, pandemic, etc.)?

Absolutely.  As an employer, none of my employees have missed a paycheck or experienced a salary decrease during the COVID-19 shutdown.

3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:

a. Ensure universal licensing and inspections for all rental properties?

b. Inform renters of their rights under existing laws?

c. Offer an alternative to courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages?

d. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency?

 Yes to all 4 questions in this series.

4) What role should local government and private developers play in ensuring that there is adequate affordable housing in our community? What is your plan to help our community overcome its current shortage of affordable housing?

 I support the current Charter Amendment to create an affordable housing trust.  For years, I served on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity and negotiated the land purchase (on behalf of the seller) for the 15 acre parcel that is the site of Habitat’s first subdivision in Alachua County.  I am the Co-Chair of the North Central Florida Foundation for Affordable Housing.  Unless the County intends to enter the residential building environment, it must negotiate in good faith with residential building contractors.  This is a must.

5) Federal and state laws give most workers the right to form and join unions. Do you support the right of all private and public sector workers to organize a union? Would you publicly support workers in our community who are seeking workplace rights, including a living wage and the right to union representation?

Yes to both questions in this series.

6) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer-funded projects?

Absolutely.

7) Do you support lowering the Sheriff’s budget and diverting funds to social services?

Yes.  In very, very specific measures, especially when the call center receives a request to assist someone who is believed to be suffering from some form of mental illness.  This is not the same as the broad and often undefined term to “defund” law enforcement.  

8) How will you reform the Alachua County Court Services, which recommends cash bail over 90% of the time?

 It is completely illogical to assume that a person is less likely to be a threat to society simply because they can afford to get out of jail.  The “burden of proof” that determines a person’s fitness to be released should be determined by the threat they may or may not pose to society.  This effort extends beyond the reach of the Sheriff and the jail and must be lobbied for on the County and State judicial levels also.  The County Commission should lead this fight.  The social and direct economic cost of detaining someone who poses no apparent threat to society can no longer be ignored.

9) The Alachua County Commission is responsible for facilities and utility-related costs at the jail including the current inmate phone contract. Do you support making this contract more equitable so that incarcerated people can stay connected to their loved ones?

Yes.

From City Commissioner Reina Saco:

“The recent change to the City ordinance will mean that Gainesville is on par with the County on housing discrimination protections. Both the County and the City have taken a stance to prohibit housing discrimination against veterans, immigrants, and survivors of domestic violence, and now prohibit landlords from refusing to accept alternative means of income like housing vouchers. A landlord can’t refuse to work with a housing authority or reject a tenant because they subsidize their rent with a voucher, SSI, child support, or other benefits.

Another change that went into the City ordinance is the updating of protections for the LGBTQA community. Previous ordinances had listed transgender individuals as protected because of a “mental disability“ but the entire chapter has been updated to remove outdated and harmful terminology. The updated ordinance at the City ensures that everyone regardless of immigration status, sexual orientation, income status, or prior service can now have a fair shot at accessing housing in the city. If a potential tenant or tenant faces discrimination because of any of these issues or thinks that a landlord or management company is treating them differently on the basis of these issues, then they can contact the Office of Equal Opportunity at the City or County.”

 

ATTN: The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a 501(c)4 and does not endorse candidates. We will print all candidates’ responses to our questions on our website and share them via our email newsletter

County Commission Candidate Jason Stanford

1) Do you support paying a living wage to all County workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? The ACLC defines a living wage at $15.39 an hour, the MIT Living Wage Calculator rate for a family of four with two working adults and employer-provided healthcare.

a. What is your plan to get us there using the Alachua County Government Minimum Wage ordinance?

b. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?

c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?

Yes, I support paying a living wage to anyone employed with Alachua for any given amount of time.

I support the county’s established transition plan, and would continue to do so as commissioner.

This is easily verified in program audits and monthly reports to the county project officer. I believe the best way to ensure that paying a living wage is a part of Alachua County’s culture, is to negotiate this policy into contracts. If a contractor is found to violate a living wage policy, then the county should be able to terminate the contract and hire a contractor that will pay a living wage. This will establish a standard that one must be a company or contractor that already invests in its employees or they’re not ready to do business with Alachua County. 

Requiring a living wage for county employees and in contracts is good start to establish an employment standard in the county. I would also support some type of social or community incentive for local businesses to adopt living wage policies as well. A local living wage ‘certification’ for businesses could drive competition for contracts as well as create a pool of companies the local community could do business with.

2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted county workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to hurricanes, pandemic, etc.)?

Emergencies are not predictable. Neither are the costs of responding to an emergency predictable. I support a policy of protecting all classifications of county employees during an emergency. However, I believe a clear policy would need to be established that protects the employee’s job after the emergency (if possible), and addresses a coverage period if the emergency is not short-term.

3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:

a. Ensure universal licensing and inspections for all rental properties?

b. Inform renters of their rights under existing laws?

c. Offer an alternative to courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages?

d. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency?

Yes. I also support making past inspection reports available to potential renters of any property in Alachua County.

Yes. I also believe that all forms of communication should be employed for this notification. Persons with disabilities or literacy issues are often overlooked when providing this type of notification. 

I support the idea of mediation for these types of disputes. It frees up the clogged court system and will save taxpayer dollars.

Yes. This should already be in place, and I argue this should be a priority for renters’ rights in Alachua County. This will reduce energy consumption, save renters money, and help the environment. …a long-overdue low hanging fruit.

4) What role should local government and private developers play in ensuring that there is adequate affordable housing in our community? What is your plan to help our community overcome its current shortage of affordable housing?

Lack of affordable housing is not unique to Alachua County. This is a nationwide issue and efforts to address it are happening at all levels of government in every community. However, Gainesville and Alachua County are communities with large numbers of renters. And while the students at both UF and Santa Fe do account for a significant number of renters, many working families are also renters and have different long-term needs for housing. I believe that working to address affordable housing issues will be an on-going effort, and local leaders should be regularly assessing what policies are working well, and which ones need to be updated. A renters’ bill of rights (that is enforceable) coupled with an established standard of paying a living wage in this county would begin to address this challenge. I would also support a policy that requires any future housing or neighborhoods that are built must include a minimum number of units (at least 10%) that are not only affordable but are also accessible.

5) Federal and state laws give most workers the right to form and join unions. Do you support the right of all private and public sector workers to organize a union? Would you publicly support workers in our community who are seeking workplace rights, including a living wage and the right to union representation?

Yes, I support unions. I am a teacher and a proud member of the Alachua County Education Association (ACEA). Strong unions can have major impacts on worker’s rights, and salaries. I would be proud to openly support workers attempts to unionize.

6) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer-funded projects?

Yes. I fully support this. As a commissioner, I intend to openly advocate for growing a strong local economy through programs like apprenticeships, and professional certifications that can be earned in high school; making our graduates job-ready. Now, more than ever, we must invest in our local businesses and young people entering the workforce. Because of the pandemic, our national economy is going to struggle for years to come. Already, we are seeing big corporations file for bankruptcy, close stores, and lay off workers. We need to ensure that our local workers have job security, and upward mobility opportunities. I also believe that Santa Fe College can and should play a larger role in these types of endeavors. I would support putting resources towards expanding those partnerships and opportunities outside of Gainesville, and into some of our smaller municipalities as well.

7) Do you support lowering the Sheriff’s budget and diverting funds to social services?

Budgets are our moral documents. Where our tax dollars are prioritized, so go our views on who is valued and who is not. Law enforcement officers are not social workers, and should not be paid to do such work. Social services and schools in our local communities have been being defunded for years and redirected to law enforcement agencies for other costs. Its time to return those funds back to where they belong. I believe in, and support reducing the resources designated for social services at the sheriff’s department (and jail) and redirecting them to local non-profits that provide mental health and substance abuse services, as well as outreach to the homeless, and marginally homeless. Funding should also be directed to violence prevention programs that target youth and other at-risk communities. I believe Alachua County should promote a culture of safety and social justice rather than a culture of incarceration.

8) How will you reform the Alachua County Court Services, which recommends cash bail over 90% of the time?

I support improving current programs inside Alachua County Court Services that will divert non-violent offenders away from jail. Specifically, Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Pretrial Services, and Weekender Sentences are programs that if implemented properly will reduce incarceration rates as well reduce costs of operating the jail. Data repeatedly shows that disproportionate numbers of people are arrested for having a mental health or substance abuse issue. Statistically, most people arrested for these reasons lack access to quality healthcare such as counseling or therapy, as well as medication. Criminalizing those with health conditions is not a solution. Our county needs to address mental health and substance abuse issues more aggressively by providing increased services to those at-risk at the time of arrest, and reduce incarceration rates for this population. Further, working families that have a member who is incarcerated are at increased risk of financial crisis due to loss of income. Allowing alternative sentences to offenders who do not pose a threat to communities, such as serving their time on the weekends will help prevent job loss, provide greater family security, decrease incarceration rates, and improve overall community health. I believe that programs that exists such as those in the Court Services program, can be effective if they are fully funded, and properly managed.

9) The Alachua County Commission is responsible for facilities and utility-related costs at the jail including the current inmate phone contract. Do you support making this contract more equitable so that incarcerated people can stay connected to their loved ones?

Yes, absolutely. I also support including more modern communication technologies into the contract such as email and video calls. Families, particularly children, need to see their loved ones as much as hear from them while they are incarcerated.

ATTN: The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a 501(c)4 and does not endorse candidates. We will print all candidates’ responses to our questions on our website and share them via our email newsletter. 

County Commission Candidate Mary Alford

1) Do you support paying a living wage to all County workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? The ACLC defines a living wage at $15.39 an hour, the MIT Living Wage Calculator rate for a family of four with two working adults and employer-provided healthcare.

a. What is your plan to get us there using the Alachua County Government Minimum Wage ordinance?

b. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?

c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?

Yes. The ACLC has been working on a living wage campaign since 2015. I see no reason to reinvent the wheel, I would like to work with ACLC to implement their action plan of implementing increases in hourly salaries, and making sure that those same salaries are paid to contract employees and that contractors are required to also pay those wages. I would propose a community scorecard showing where we are on our goals to increase the standard of living in Alachua County, comparing salaries in government, in private industries and in education. 

In previous roles in management and as a project manager, I was required to be a contract administrator. One goal that I have is to verify a process where all contracts are reviewed by the purchasing department, the legal department and reviewed for equity and safety. Part of equity is assuring that all workers are paid a living wage.

The “friendship seven” as well as the leadership in the small towns in Alachua County need to come together for a variety of goals, notably planning for climate disruption, climate migration, food security, transportation, etc. We also need to come together for an equity policy. Creating the political will to provide fair and safe and equitable hiring practices, contract practices and personnel policies across all cities, the UF and Shands, business (Chamber of Commerce) as well as the County is key in creating a place that is prosperous and equitable for all. In addition, I would like to implement a rating system for new businesses that come into our area before awarding them economic development and tax incentives. Part of that rating system would be employee pay and benefits. Recruiting large chains into our community where jobs are substandard and profits are sent to out of state shareholders is not how we build local properity. In addition, as mentioned above, I would like to implement a community “living wage” or community equitable prosperity “scorecard”.

2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted county workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to hurricanes, pandemic, etc.)?

Yes, within certain conditions. A seasonal temporary Christmas worker laid off for a pandemic would not still be collecting administrative leave from an employer in July. 

3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:

a. Ensure universal licensing and inspections for all rental properties?

b. Inform renters of their rights under existing laws?

c. Offer an alternative to courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages?

d. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency?

Yes. And inspections should cover safety, security, energy efficiency.

Absolutely. And ask the renter to sign a document saying that they have been informed and their questions have been answered.

Yes, a quasi-judicial board (like the code enforcement board) that met monthly or as needed to handle disputes and with jurisdiction to revoke licensure of rental property for repeat offenders. 

As stated previous, basic energy efficiency standards should be part of the licensure of any rental properties, and regular inspections of items of HVAC and HWH and appliances to ensure they are all in working order

4) What role should local government and private developers play in ensuring that there is adequate affordable housing in our community? What is your plan to help our community overcome its current shortage of affordable housing?

While there were problems with the way “Gainesville Rise” was implemented, communicated and conceived, there were also many ideas that are proven to be helpful in other communities that may be applicable at the county level. The ability to internally modify larger homes into appropriate smaller apartments (which has been done in the City of Gainesville bed and breakfast district and the duckpond area in the past), allowing a wider use of accessory dwelling units, looking at how “tiny homes” may be integrated successfully, the use of cohousing solutions, and requirements or incentives for developments to integrated a wide variety of housing types, sizes and prices are all concepts that the County has considered or used in the past and removing as many obstacles and financial disincentives for these ideas as is possible 

within the current legal framework. We need to have vacancy taxes. The pro forma for many new developments assume a 60% occupancy. This drives the rental prices up and does not fully utilize the resources our city has invested in. A vacancy tax would compel property owners to keep a higher percentage of properties occupied.

5) Federal and state laws give most workers the right to form and join unions. Do you support the right of all private and public sector workers to organize a union? Would you publicly support workers in our community who are seeking workplace rights, including a living wage and the right to union representation?

One of my employees was a part time instructor at Santa Fe College and lost his position with no notice due to an administrative disagreement with the department chair. Because of this I personally worked to help unionize instructors at Santa Fe College because these instructors were underpaid, had no job security, and had no real benefits. While this endeavor was not successful, the conditions these workers faced was eye opening to me. The loss of union representation and union bargaining power is directly linked to lowered average wages (particularly for essential services), loss of rights and loss of benefits. I completely support the rights of all workers to form and join unions.

6) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer-funded projects?

I support a stronger local hiring preference and we should always use responsible contractors. Apprenticeship programs are how employers not only invest in their employees but also how they invest in the future of our community. We have a true shortage in some fields – for instance one of my clients needed to bring a master mason in from another state in order to install some specialty brickwork. I am told that a master mason apprenticeship program is being considered for this area – and these are jobs that can pay significantly more than a living wage. As stated previously, I would like to implement a score card where potential contractors are graded on everything from safety to equity. I would support the use of apprentices being part of that evaluation and scoring for awarding contracts. I want my tax dollars to be invested in my community in as many ways as possible.

7) Do you support lowering the Sheriff’s budget and diverting funds to social services?

Differently funding our LEOs and changing our expectations of the services they provide is an important part of the healing of our community. We expect our officers to do social work, mental health work and even education. We then judge them when they fail at doing those jobs well. I support diverting those funds to invest in stronger social services and mental health services in our community. What I do not support is cutting those funds and not reinvesting them in those areas. I would also like to see budget dollars that are designated for training programs be tied to policies for accountability. If there is no requirement for implementation of training knowledge, then those training dollars are poorly leveraged.

8) How will you reform the Alachua County Court Services, which recommends cash bail over 90% of the time?

Bail is a financial incentive (or disincentive) to compel people that have been charged with a crime to return to court, and this has an unfair impact to low income citizens. In Alachua County bail keeps potentially innocent people in jail using tax payer dollars and where a predatory jail system (in terms of the cost of phone calls, canteen services, clothing) makes a profit while potentially innocent people lose housing, jobs, and relationships. This ultimately costs our community. It is estimated that 70% of inmates of the Alachua County Jail are there because they cannot make bail. Transitioning to a non-bail system of compelling people to return to court would have a positive impact on housing, employment and families. In this digital age we could be used text messaging, tracking, or daily check-ins as ways to track defendants instead of punishing those arrested by treating them as already guilty. The average cost of incarceration is approximately $31,000 a year. A lot of services and follow up can be provided for that amount of money. I would also like a better communication system, tracking and accountability system set up for the public defenders. Too many defendants have no clue what is going on with their case and have no way of reliably contacting their public defender.

9) The Alachua County Commission is responsible for facilities and utility-related costs at the jail including the current inmate phone contract. Do you support making this contract more equitable so that incarcerated people can stay connected to their loved ones?

Yes. Families and friends should not have to choose between food/utilities/car payments and keeping in touch with their loved ones. The disproportionate and predatory charges for telephone communication, particularly with the availability of cheap digital options, needs to be eliminated.

ATTN: The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a 501(c)4 and does not endorse candidates. We will print all candidates’ responses to our questions on our website and share them via our email newsletter. 

County Commission Candidate Mike Byerly

1) Do you support paying a living wage to all County workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? The ACLC defines a living wage at $15.39 an hour, the MIT Living Wage Calculator rate for a family of four with two working adults and employer-provided healthcare.

a. What is your plan to get us there using the Alachua County Government Minimum Wage ordinance?

b. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?

c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?

Yes.

I have voted every year to implement the phase-in of the Minimum Wage, and if re-elected, will continue to. 

Alachua County has adopted a notification program to ensure that contracted employees are made aware of their rights, and in tandem with the County’s Wage Theft Recovery Ordinance, this empowers employees to react if they’re not paid their legally required salary.

The only real levers available to the County government are to pay a real local minimum wage, strongly encourage all other local government entities to follow suit, and to hire directly when contracted labor is unable/unwilling to provide comparable wages and benefits.  We have done these things in Alachua County government during my tenure.  Collectively, these actions can exercise an upward-pressure on prevailing wages in the community.

2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted county workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to hurricanes, pandemic, etc.)?

I can’t give a categorical answer to this question.  My response would depend upon circumstances.

3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:

a. Ensure universal licensing and inspections for all rental properties?

b. Inform renters of their rights under existing laws?

c. Offer an alternative to courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages?

d. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency?

Yes.

Yes.

I don’t know enough about how this would work to give a firm answer, but I supported a parallel process for the recovery of stolen wages.

Yes.

4) What role should local government and private developers play in ensuring that there is adequate affordable housing in our community? What is your plan to help our community overcome its current shortage of affordable housing?

We struggle with this issue, as does every community in America experiencing growth, for reasons far beyond the control of local governments, and there are no easy or effective answers.  The most obvious solutions – rent controls and government housing projects – do not have a successful track record.  I support requirements on private developers to provide a mix of housing sizes and amenities within developments of a certain size, though in practice this often has a marginal effect on market prices.  I would support the idea of a form of impact fee to provide housing assistance for those in our community threatened with homelessness, if we are able to legally structure such a fee.  Direct public assistance should be directed to those most in need: the homeless, and those about to become homeless.  I recently forwarded to county staff for consideration by the County Commission a proposal from members of our community to facilitate the creation of year-round Recreational Vehicle parks as a low-cost housing option for those with an interest in it.  I support full annual funding by the Florida legislature of the Sadowski trust fund, to provide financial assistance for affordable housing initiatives.  I won’t deny, however, that all of these ideas only nibble at the edges of the larger problem.

5) Federal and state laws give most workers the right to form and join unions. Do you support the right of all private and public sector workers to organize a union? Would you publicly support workers in our community who are seeking workplace rights, including a living wage and the right to union representation?

Yes to both.

6) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer-funded projects?

Yes, as long as adequate local competition to insure accountability to taxpayers can be insured.

7) Do you support lowering the Sheriff’s budget and diverting funds to social services?

I do, and have, for two decades, though with limited success.  It takes a majority of votes to bring about that change, and elected officials seem to have difficulty standing up to people with uniforms and guns.  If I return to office, I will continue the effort; maybe this year will be a turning point.

8) How will you reform the Alachua County Court Services, which recommends cash bail over 90% of the time?

The Alachua County Court Services Department, once a state leader in innovative practices that divert non-dangerous offenders from the County jail, has fallen behind in recent years.  It hasn’t been due to a lack of funding.  Under the current County Manager’s leadership, we are overhauling the Department, and attempting to rein in some of the interpersonal rivalries which have harmed workplace morale.  To the second part of the question, the County Commission has, in the past, considered a publicly funded bail system for those unable to afford bail, to supplement and compete with the private sector bond system, and including the possibility of a privately funded organization to do the same.  It ultimately received a lot of push back and fizzled out.  I’m prepared to reopen the discussion.

9) The Alachua County Commission is responsible for facilities and utility-related costs at the jail including the current inmate phone contract. Do you support making this contract more equitable so that incarcerated people can stay connected to their loved ones?

Yes.

ATTN: The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a 501(c)4 and does not endorse candidates. We will print all candidates’ responses to our questions on our website and share them via our email newsletter.

County Commission Candidate Anna Prizzia

1) Do you support paying a living wage to all County workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? The ACLC defines a living wage at $15.39 an hour, the MIT Living Wage Calculator rate for a family of four with two working adults and employer-provided healthcare.

a. What is your plan to get us there using the Alachua County Government Minimum Wage ordinance?

b. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?

c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?

All workers deserve a living wage, and as one of the largest employers and government leaders, we have a responsibility to lead the way. We must also encourage the labor market to increase all workers’ pay through our contracts and sub-contracts. I believe the county has made good progress on this effort and is on track to offer this wage by 2021. To ensure contractors are participating, I think we must require that they provide robust proof of staffing and wages during the bid process and implement an audit process for contracts with our EO and purchasing office to ensure compliance. To improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our County, I think we need to first encourage our other institutions and major employers to adopt our living wage. We also need to focus on health care as a target. Healthcare is often the most expensive, or one of the top 3 expenses, for a business. It is so expensive that many small businesses cannot provide it at all. There are new models arising that provide fair, fully transparent pricing to employers or individuals at high quality centers that offer comprehensive preventive and primary care services. These centers focus on long term relationships, transparent data and information sharing, quality comprehensive care, and health outcomes. This is a complete reverse of the existing model of reimbursement schemes that are fee-for service and have impaired providers from doing the primary job of healing by focusing on sick care and transactional services. True health care leadership comes from stewarding not only physical, but also social, economic, and physical environment factors of a community, which account for half of outcomes – often referred to as the social determinants of health. A model that allows an employer or individual to pay a risk adjusted fixed fee per patient for all services, and in some cases add additional payment or shared savings for meeting experience, quality or utilization targets would bring dramatic shifts in costs and health outcomes. These savings, in turn can be passed on to individuals in wages and other benefits. The County could lead the way in offering this healthcare model and allow other local businesses and organizations to join.

2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted county workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to hurricanes, pandemic, etc.)?

Yes, it is critical to protect our workers and to ensure they can still provide for themselves and their families in the event of an emergency.

3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:

a. Ensure universal licensing and inspections for all rental properties?

b. Inform renters of their rights under existing laws?

c. Offer an alternative to courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages?

d. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency?

Yes, I support a Renters Bill of Rights. I believe renters in this community deserve basic rights and protections for safe, affordable housing. Currently the burden of our inefficient and aging housing infrastructure is unduly placed on renters. The bill of rights, and resulting upgrades for compliance, would decrease the cost of living for thousands in our community. It would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are a threat to us all. I believe we could use public funds for low-interest loans for low-income housing improvements to reduce the burden on landlords, and offer an easy, anonymous online and phone hotline to report non-compliance.

4) What role should local government and private developers play in ensuring that there is adequate affordable housing in our community? What is your plan to help our community overcome its current shortage of affordable housing?

I believe we need to develop public-private partnerships to build and enhance tools such as a community land bank, community land trusts, and community development corporations to have mechanisms to compete with traditional development, and to build and retain affordable land and housing. Ideally, we would fund these with linkage fees or impact fees, which are established by local government so that developers cover their proportional cost for providing affordable housing. Unfortunately, the Florida Legislature has effectively preempted this by requiring that local government give the developer something of equal value for the imposition of a linkage fee. Due to new legislation, local governments would have to provide the developer with some offset to the cost. The Florida Legislature also effectively preempted inclusionary zoning in 2019 with the same mechanism. Due to this recent legislation, local government is really limited in what we can do directly with funding without a surtax focused on affordable housing, which I would support. Therefore, one of the things I have been working on as a community advocate and hope to continue as a commissioner, is the effort to bring a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) to town. We need a financial institution that will use this designation to help build and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all. CDFIs can offer responsible financial services, lending to small businesses and nonprofits, develop real estate that focuses on affordable housing and local business development, and promote fair financial practices, such as ending predatory lending. Essentially, CDFI is a special designation that allows the organization to do things that traditional banks cannot do. It lowers thresholds for credit scores and requirements for lending and allows investment in projects that would otherwise be considered “risky.” The federal reserve has done analyses of our community and have found a that a CDFI is a critical component missing. This contributes to our incredible disparities because it means we lack access to capital and investment. We need a CDFI working proactively in our community as a resource for projects for affordable housing, justice, equity, and so much more.

5) Federal and state laws give most workers the right to form and join unions. Do you support the right of all private and public sector workers to organize a union? Would you publicly support workers in our community who are seeking workplace rights, including a living wage and the right to union representation?

Yes, I do support the right to organize and unionize. I have been a part of discussions and efforts to include a $15 minimum wage at UF, and to add this to their service contracts, and would publicly support all these issues as a commissioner.

6) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer-funded projects?

Yes, I support a local hiring preference, and a provision that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeships are a powerful solution that equip workers with the technical and helps ensure workers have the experience and skills to deliver the quality needed for a given job. For the local preference, I understand that there is a limited workforce in our immediate area, so we would need to create a tiered set of standards to meet demand. Apprenticeship programs also offer a work-based learning strategy that should be explored as workforce development strategy. With a growing gap in skilled workforce, these certified programs could offer paid opportunities for career training and higher wages for youth, unemployed, and underemployed in our community.

7) Do you support lowering the Sheriff’s budget and diverting funds to social services?

I do support reforming the Sheriff’s budget, the de-militarization of our police force, and increasing support for social services. I am in favor of re-prioritizing the budget first, and then directing savings to developing a community policing model and other social service and diversion programs. I think first steps are to: – implement body cams and dash cams for all officers – provide better training and mental health counseling support for officers – have a a third-party evaluation of all jail operations and our processes for hiring, promotion, and evaluations for officers, and – build a transparent, anonymous hotline for police issues It is important to note that, while County commissioners set sheriffs’ budgets across the state, they have little say over how sheriffs spend the money. When Sheriffs do not like the budget commissioners give them, they can appeal their budget to the governor and Cabinet, which have favored sheriffs over the last few decades. Alachua County sued the Sheriff in 2017 after she diverted $500,000 the county assigned to vehicles toward raises for deputies. Judges sided with the Sheriff. I will work to push for reform, but I will also focus on ways we can reduce arrests with a unified intake center that offers mental health counselors and social workers that can review cases and refer people to the services they need, rather than being arrested. I will also look at how we can enhance and expand our diversion programs to keep people out of the justice system.

8) How will you reform the Alachua County Court Services, which recommends cash bail over 90% of the time?

A cash bail system criminalizes poverty, as people who are unable to afford bail end up in jail while they await trial for weeks or even months. Cash bail perpetuates inequities in the justice system that are disproportionately felt by communities of color and low-income individuals. I am in favor of a community-sponsored release program, where defendants will be able to choose a community-based organization that will support them on release by providing services, such as court date reminders, transportation, and referrals to any needed social services. I believe that pretrial reform must include a broad coalition of stakeholders, including those in every step of the pretrial process. The reform process needs to include judges, prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, civil rights and civil liberties groups, and community organizations, especially those that include people hurt by crime and people who have been incarcerated. I feel strongly that the criminal justice system is a public service, and all aspects of it should be collectively funded through tax dollars, and that we need to remove fees associated with pretrial release which can distort policy decisions and create perverse incentives and conflicts of interest.

9) The Alachua County Commission is responsible for facilities and utility-related costs at the jail including the current inmate phone contract. Do you support making this contract more equitable so that incarcerated people can stay connected to their loved ones?

Absolutely. There should not be a barrier to our inmates communicating with their loved ones, and we should provide a free or affordable option for phone, electronic, and have unrestricted mail for letters and books.

On Monday, June 15th, 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that federal law protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination in the workplace. A surprising 6-3 decision in favor of LGBTQ folks with the majority opinion written by Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch. A huge victory and joy for all those who fought their way through the legal system in order to solidify these protections for themselves across all fifty states. However, in reality, how do these protections play out in the everyday life of marginalized workers?

 

All 50 states in this country along with Washington D.C. maintain some form of at-will employment. At-will employment allows businesses to fire workers without even needing to give a reason. Some states have “exceptions” but these exceptions are hard to catch and enforce. If a business decides that your marginalized status is something that they do not want to employ they can simply fire you for “unsatisfactory performance”. So how does the Supreme Court ruling come into play? LGBTQ folks themselves know when they’re being unjustly targeted and fired just because of who they are, this federal law allows them to sue for damages and unjust employment practices but due to the at-will nature of employment in the U.S. it’s not an easy task to prove you were fired because of your marginalized status. 

 

This law essentially allows more well off and secure LGBTQ folks to fight for damages after the discriminatory event happens but it is not a fix for the institutional discrimination faced by LGBTQ workers. For the most marginalized, such as black trans women, it changes almost nothing in regards to how they are able to or more commonly *unable* to navigate employment. When moments like this occur it can seem like a huge success but it’s important to step back and think what does this change? What about for the poor and most marginalized among us? Is whiteness and class position an indicator for this policy’s/decision’s effect on their material conditions? 

 

Just this month two black trans women were murdered because they dared to be authentically themselves, because this country is still violently transmisogynistic. Would this ruling have kept them protected? Did this ruling change anything institutionally? It’s important to keep in mind that black trans women in this country have an acute understanding of what LGBTQ discrimination looks like and until we tackle the violence they face directly and specifically, LGBTQ discrimination will not go away, even if the Supreme Court rules it so.

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Arbitrarily high monetary bonds are keeping about 50% of the roughly 600 people currently detained in the jail for no other reason than individuals cannot afford to pay the cost of bail. Individuals are being held pretrial, thereby presumed innocent in the eyes of the law, but have been left languishing in a cell because of their inability to purchase their freedom. 

Social distancing is impossible inside the Alachua County Jail. The health of the people inside these cells is not divorced from the health of the community at large. Employees at the jail are entering and leaving the premises daily, encountering people in the broader community. Research indicates that the more people infected with COVID-19 in jails, the greater the spread of the virus will be to the general public (ACLU). 

Due to the inaction of our elected officials, State Attorney Bill Cervone and Sheriff Sadie Darnell, community organizers from the Legal Empowerment & Advocacy Hub, Gainesville Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Goddsville Dream Defenders, and Alachua County Labor Coalition have come together to start the Alachua County COVID-19 Bond Fund. In just a matter of weeks, we’ve raised over $11,000! These funds have been able to free 10 community members so far; reuniting partners and spouses, brothers and sisters, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren. 

With no end in sight for the current COVID-19 pandemic, we must continue our efforts to step in where our elected officials have failed to act. 

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As this COVID-19 pandemic has taken hold of our community the Gainesville Civic Media Center has been a great helping hand by stepping up to the plate with the continuation of their Free Grocery Store. If you would like to keep the FGS running and serving its community please Donate Here.