For his 18th birthday, Patrick Fitzpatrick asked for a pair of flashy track shoes for the upcoming season. For his 50th birthday, he was hoping to find a gift-wrapped ticket to the UF-Tennessee football game.
For his 60th birthday, Fitzpatrick wanted to get arrested.
As a light drizzle fell on the large signs that read, "Would Jesus Feed the Homeless?," "5th Meanest City" and "Homeless Rights are Human Rights," near the stairs of Gainesville City Hall, Fitzpatrick and a few others broke the law Monday by handing out food to Gainesville's homeless population.
The law, passed in 2003, prohibits the noncity-sponsored distribution of food in front of City Hall.
"We're breaking this law because we have a conscience," said Fitzpatrick, who didn't get his birthday wish. "I don't care who they are - nobody can tell us who we can or can't give a sandwich to."
After the display of civil disobedience, Fitzpatrick, longtime homeless awareness activist, announced that he will run for the 4th District city commissioner seat, which will empty in March when its current holder, Craig Lowe, runs for mayor.
As the homeless munched peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate cake in cadence with faint, live accordion music, Fitzpatrick assured observers and reporters of the seriousness of his campaign and the need to resist the ever-growing power of current officials, who he referred to as "the robber barons."
"The curve of politics typically goes in favor of the wealthy," he said. "The curve of justice, however, goes to the poor."
If elected, one of his first orders of business will be to rescind the 130-person limit on the amount of food served at the St. Francis House shelter. Fitzpatrick plans to establish a permanent place for homeless residents to stay.
Danny Griggs, a Hawthorne resident who assists Fitzpatrick in caring for the homeless, believes the restrictions imposed at the St. Francis House need to be addressed immediately.
"I saw with my own eyes a pregnant woman get turned away because she happened to be No. 131," he said. "That's just not right."
According to Griggs, one of the main problems contributing to Gainesville's homeless problem is a misguided perception that all homeless residents have only themselves to blame for their circumstances.
"They're smart people," Griggs said, mentioning innovations made by homeless people to survive such as secretly cultivated gardens in which they grow assortments of vegetables. "Some of them just can't do it by themselves."
"Over there are the really stupid people," he said, pointing to the tall buildings across from City Hall that house local businesses.
To David Wayne, who has been homeless for the past four months, the issue isn't about politics or winning elections - it's about getting the next meal. Wayne, whose battle with leukemia made his face jerk and contort as he speaks, sleeps near the courthouse. But despite his problems, Wayne said the efforts of homeless advocates like Fitzpatrick give him hope.
"You won't see worry in my eyes; I got a secret," he said, pointing to the sky. "My secret is God."
