Trimming the budget and helping citizens survive the recession are top priorities for Gainesville City Commission candidate Marcia Wimberly.
Running against incumbent Scherwin Henry for Gainesville's District 1 seat, Wimberly moved to Gainesville from Albany, Ga., in 2004.
She said that a lot can be learned from living in other cities.
"People are aware that things are done differently in other places," she said.
Although this is Wimberly's first time running for public office, she said she is qualified because she has the time to work on projects, attend meetings and put thought into her decisions.
While campaigning, residents asked her why relief programs that are available in other states are not offered in Florida.
She said she sympathized with the young mothers being evicted and elderly people having their power shut off, and she wants to help.
She said talking to struggling residents makes her want to create a program like California's Renters Rebate program, which returns 19 to 21 percent of the renters' property taxes to the elderly, disabled and low-income households.
Ideally, the refunded money will re-enter and stimulate the local economy, which is Wimberly's main priority.
Additionally, she said she'd vote against wasteful spending and that she would have opposed the recent $1.1 million expenditure on the Ironwood Golf Course, which she said hasn't had a profit for 12 years.
As a single mother of a 13-year-old daughter named Kharrie and a former foster mother of 10, Wimberly said the city government should take a more active role in Florida's education system.
"The schools really spend more time with them than the parents," she said.
While fostering, Wimberly saw the need for more social programs that teach life skills that are not learned in the classroom, so she created the mentor program Life Coaching for Teens, to assist adolescents and their families outside of school.
As for her stance on the much-debated Amendment 1, Wimberly said she opposes discrimination and the amendment.
"I would not like to see us regress in any way," she said.
