City Commissioner Thomas Hawkins wants to be your representative for another three years.
Hawkins officially filed his qualifying papers at the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office Wednesday, guaranteeing himself a spot on the ballot.
Hawkins, who is a UF alumnus, was first elected to the Gainesville City Commission in 2008.
He raised $7,530.23 in contributions during the fourth quarter of 2010, which ran from October to December. He will take on former mayoral candidates Don Marsh and Richard Selwach along with Dikassa Dixon and Jeffrey Fiedler.
With less than 60 days before the election, he and his campaign team are focusing on getting his message out to voters.
Hawkins thanked about 20 people who gathered outside the supervisor of elections office to congratulate him on qualifying for the race. Donning pins emblazoned with the letter “H,” they applauded him as he walked out of the office as an official candidate.
“This can be kind of a ministerial, democratic process, so I’m glad you guys came,” he told them.
He told the crowd his focus is providing solutions that will support a long-term future for Gainesville and its residents.
Growth management must be both encouraged and regulated, with zoning rules that are clear and objectively enforced, Hawkins said in a later interview.
Hawkins has a law degree and experience in land-use law, so he is very knowledgeable about growth issues, campaign manager Laurel Nesbit said.
“Land-use law affects everything we do in the city of Gainesville,” she said. “I don’t know anybody who is more familiar with that than Thomas.”
Public transportation is another issue important to Hawkins. He believes the city has underinvested in such transportation, which is a vital service for residents.
“If we didn’t have that transit system, the city would stop,” he said.
The bus system also removes some of the pressure to build developments on the outskirts of the Gainesville by providing reliable citywide transportation residents can depend on, he said.
