Though the race for Gainesville City Commission seats ended Tuesday, two candidates now have to shift into overdrive for an upcoming runoff election.
Bonnie Mott and Lauren Poe, candidates for the commission's District 2 seat, will face off again on Feb. 19.
Mott, a local real estate company owner, won about 42 percent of the district's total votes while Poe, an SFCC professor, won about 35 percent. A third candidate, Bryan Harman, won about 23 percent and will not be on the runoff ballot.
Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter said all elections in which no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the total vote must result in a runoff.
Though Poe will be entering the second round of voting at what seems like a disadvantage, he said he doesn't think he will change his positions or campaign strategy.
"Bonnie and I offer two distinctive viewpoints for voters," he said.
Mott did not return phone messages asking for her comments.
Only those voters in District 2, which encompasses parts of northwest Gainesville, will be allowed to vote in the runoff. The district's 10 precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
