A UF linguistics professor wants to speak for his community — so he’s running for City Commission.
Jimmy Harnsberger, 40, is running for the District 3 seat in a non-partisan race in the March 15 election. District 3 represents the southwest part of Gainesville.
As a commissioner, he said he would focus on keeping Gainesville’s water and air clean for everyone.
He said the commission has the power to influence the quality of life for Gainesville citizens.
“This is my home,” he said. “The decisions the City Commission makes affect our future.”
He said some of his top priorities would be asking the Environmental Protection Agency for assistance in cleaning up the contaminated water supply caused by the Cabot-Koppers Superfund site, keeping cell phone towers out of public parks and balancing the city budget without adding extra fees, such as the recent fire assessment fee.
He has been involved with his neighborhood organization, University Park Neighborhood Association, for five years, during whichhe said he helped clean up a drug house, prevent a two-story adult entertainment store from being built near UF and helped find a location where a homeless shelter could be built, which resolved a debate between advocates and the city government.
He said he will be on campus in December and January to speak with student groups.
