Candidates Ed Book and Casey Willits won the District 2 and 3 City Commission races, respectively.
As of 9:10 p.m., Book had 51.24% of the reported votes compared to opponent James Ingle's 48.76%. Willits had 53.96% of the vote compared to his opponent DeJeon Cain.
District 2 City Commission winner: Ed Book
Ed Book said that either way Tuesday’s result went, he’d just be relieved his ten-month campaign was over. It helped in the end, then, that he won the Gainesville District 2 City Commission seat over James Ingle.
As of 10:22 p.m. Tuesday, Book defeated Ingle 51.19% to 48.81% of the vote.
Book, the Santa Fe College chief of police, will take the seat vacated by Mayor-elect Harvey Ward. Throughout his campaign, he didn’t touch on hard policy issues as much as his emphasis on detoxifying politics.
“My campaign was successful because I had a message that resonated with the community,” Book said. “And that's this: treat people well, treat people with civility, treat people professionally and with respect.”
He said he looks forward to bringing his ability to understand budgetary issues and is confident he’ll be able to understand his constituents’ issues.
“I want to make sure that as a commissioner, I am a really good active listener,” Book said. “My agenda will be what the general community has as an agenda.”
Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Book, 58, has been a Gainesville resident since the early ’80s, when he moved to the city to attend UF. He served 36 years at the Gainesville Police Department, beginning in 1985 during his college years and retiring as a captain.
At Santa Fe College, he’s not only chief of the college’s police department but also teaches two public safety and police courses.
Book said his agenda for office includes cutting GRU fees, improving city-wide public transportation, increasing bicycle and pedestrian movement measures, improving roads and investing in a revitalized downtown.
He defeated James Ingle, the president of the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who received a slew of support and endorsements from progressive and labor organizations. Ingle took the initial lead as the first batches of votes rolled in Tuesday night, but his lead was eventually overtaken.
Ingle said he was disappointed by his race’s result but was buoyed by Tuesday’s other election results and his resolve to continue fighting for progressive — although, he admitted, not from the side of the dais he would have preferred.
“Before I ran for City Commission, I was very involved in bringing issues to the City Commission, and I imagined that will continue,” Ingle said.
Ingle’s background in organized labor has earned him endorsements from The Gainesville Iguana, Human Rights Council of North Central Florida and the North Central Florida Central Labor Council.
In August elections, Book led the pack of primary candidates with nearly 40% of the vote. Since then, he has raised $25,668.55. He’s received $1,000 campaign contributions from the Gainesville Professional Firefighters Union, the Collier Company, two FL Police Benevolent PACs and the Florida Apartment Association’s PAC, according to Voter Focus.
District 3 City Commission winner: Casey Willits
Casey Willits, a City Commission District 3 candidate, embraces Danielle Hawk during a watch party at Depot Event Space Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
Casey Willits, 40, won the District 3 Gainesville City Commission seat, representing the southwest area of the city.
Willits won by 53.96% of the vote as of 8:58 p.m., with opposing candidate DeJeon Cain, 38, coming in with 46.04%. The district saw more than 4,700 votes cast, and the difference between Cain and Willits accounted for 8% of the votes.
During the Aug. 24 primaries, Willits led with 49% and Cain followed behind with 37%. The third candidate, Patrick Ingle, was cut from the race after receiving 15% of the vote.
At a Depot Park watch party for Willits and U.S. House candidate Danielle Hawk, the 20-person crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Many attendees ran to hug Willits. Afterward, he gave an acceptance speech where he held back tears.
This victory comes as a poignant one for him, since he decided to choose Gainesville eight years ago to begin making some change.
“That’s what makes me kind of emotional,” he said. “I have a great responsibility to make sure that just as Gainesville was what I needed, it’s also something for somebody else.”
Willits’ first steps will be getting acquainted with commissioners Cynthia Chestnut, Desmon Duncan-Walker and Reina Saco, he said. As the current sitting commissioners, Willits sees them as leaders that will help him get started serving his district.
Willits plans on implementing more renewable energy alternatives to help create a greener district, he said. But the main issue that didn’t get as much attention during the race is better, more ethical policing, he said. In the wake of the Terrell Bradley mauling, Willits plans on reforming the Gainesville K-9 program.
“No one should be attacked by a dog,” he said. “To not have an animal suddenly judge you and judge whether you’re a danger and be attacked and lose an eye.”
Although the two candidates shared a few platform topics — cutting down GRU fees, creating more public green spaces like parks and making RTS bus routes more accessible in District 3 — they differed on one major issue: single-family housing districts.
Letting developers build multi-family housing in single family zones is harmful to communities in District 3, Cain said. It could displace families in the future, he said.
However, Willits disagreed with Cain’s focus on exclusionary zoning, he said. A large majority of District 3 was already zoned for multi-family housing, so the issue isn’t something that affects his constituents as much, he said. He would focus more on implementing other measures like rent control laws to bring housing costs down.
Willits is the UF College of Medicine residency program director and precinct committee person for the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee. He worked on former President Barack Obama’s Florida campaigns as a field director and organizer. He also worked with Equality Florida in 2008 to stop a Florida amendment that could have banned gay adoption.
Willits was endorsed by two unions: the North Central Florida Federation of Labor, the Gainesville chapter of Communications Workers of America. He was also endorsed by seven progressive organizations. These included the Sierra Club, Alachua County Stonewall Democrats, Alachua County Young Democrats, the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, UF College Democrats, the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida and Gainesville Citizens for Active Transportation.
Local publications such as the Gainesville Sun and the Iguana also put support behind Willits.
Willits received $16,575 in donations, with $500 of that coming from himself. $1,500 came from the North Central Florida Central Labor Council, $500 from the Building and Trades Political Action Committee Fund and $250 from the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee. He spent $13,872 on mailers, online and press advertisements, campaign merchandise, event drinks and snacks, and consulting.
He also received small donations from local and state politicians: $50 from Hawk, $50 from Alachua County Commission candidate Marihelen Wheeler and $50 from previous mayoral candidate and city commissioner David Arreola.
Cain is a lifelong Gainesville resident and business owner of Fortitude Security, a private security company. He has served as chair of the Alachua County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Alachua County Equal Opportunity Board and the Gainesville Human Rights Board. He has also sat on the Development Review Board and the City Planning Board, as well as the Gainesville Wild Spaces & Public Places department.
Cain received official contributions amounting to $20,811, with 59% of that coming from Cain himself. The majority of the remaining donations came from citizens. $500 came from the Apartment Political Action Committee. Wheeler also donated $50 to Cain as well as Willits. He spent $16,700 on online and TV advertising.
“I’m fine,” Cain said, after learning he had lost. “This is our community, and you know what, they have spoken.”
Contact Christian and Siena at ccasale@alligator.org and sduncan@alligator.org. Follow them on Twitter @vanityhack and @SienaDuncan.
Christian Casale is a history senior and the university desk editor for The Alligator. In his spare time, he loves writing his bio for the website and watching movies alone in the dark.
Siena Duncan is the Fall 2024 Editor-in-Chief of the Alligator. She's interned for the Salt Lake Tribune, the Tampa Bay Times and POLITICO. In her spare time, she loves to take walks to see the cows by her apartment and add more to her sketchbook.
