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.
