Lucas Jewell is the youngest candidate in the 2015 City of Gainesville elections.
Jewell was born in Jacksonville and has lived in Gainesville on and off for three years. He goes to Santa Fe College, where he is involved in Student Senate, and eventually wants to transfer to UF to study economics.
“I think that we shouldn’t choose our commissioners based on personality, but on their ideas,” the 23-year-old said.
While he was a U.S. Navy air traffic controller, Jewell was stationed in Patuxent River, Maryland from 2010 to 2013 at a test and evaluation base.
Jewell moved to the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. after his years of service. For six months, Jewell participated in anti-war and pro-marijuana legalization demonstrations.
In D.C., Lucas noticed how many homeless veterans there were and became involved in post-traumatic stress disorder awareness and outreach.
“I think being a veteran is really what opened up my eyes to it,” he said.
In Gainesville, Jewell frequently visits Grace Marketplace’s Dignity Village to speak with the homeless. Residents have one of his campaign signs in the village.
“That was probably one of my proudest moments,” he said.
One of the problems Jewell aims to fix is the quality of jobs. He said the issue isn’t so much that there aren’t enough jobs, but rather that those jobs are not paying sufficient wages.
If elected, Jewell said he will actively vote against Gainesville Regional Utility rate increases, which he said are among the highest in the state.
He also hopes to stop arrests for small amounts of marijuana. Instead of “locking people in cages,” Jewell wants officers to issue a notice to appear in court. He also wants all Gainesville law enforcement officers to be equipped with dash cameras and, eventually, body cams.
Along with making more bike paths throughout the city, Jewell wants to revive the East Gainesville by expanding public transportation. A barista at Gator Dining, Jewell said some of his coworkers walk 5 or 10 miles just to get to a bus.
Jewell’s campaign manager for the past few weeks, Joey Bradfield, helps him go door-to-door to talk to residents.
“Lucas and I, we get along very well,” the 21-year-old Santa Fe political science sophomore said. “Some people tend to brush him off because of his looks, but when you talk to him he’s a very genuine guy. He’s not afraid to admit when he doesn’t know about a particular topic, and I think that’s a good trait for a city commissioner to have — that little bit of humility.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 3/13/2015]
J. Wayne Reitz Union
655 Reitz Union Drive, UF Campus, Gainesville, FL 32611
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
315 Hull Road, UF Campus, Gainesville, FL 32611
Florida Museum of Natural History
3215 Hull Road, UF Campus, Gainesville, FL 32611
SFC Center for Innovation & Economic Development
530 W. University Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601
Thelma Boltin Activity Center
516 NE Second Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601
Doyle Conner Building
1911 SW 34th St., Gainesville, FL 32614
Paramount Plaza Hotel
2900 SW 13th St., Gainesville, FL 32608
Early voting is through Saturday at:
Cone Park Library
Millhopper Branch Library
Supervisor of Elections Office
Lucas Jewell is a District 1 candidate for Gainesville City Commission.
