Senators wanted to make sure they have a voice in Gainesville politics during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Senators passed a resolution calling for Gainesville commissioners to reexamine city codes after Gainesville resident Bruce Baber’s dog-sitting business was shut down because it violated a Gainesville statute.
Baber, a Gainesville resident, had run his business out of his own home for almost four years.
Recently, Baber was found to be in violation of the code that prohibits local business owners from conducting their businesses in their backyards.
“I am extremely grateful to the Student Government of the University of Florida for considering making a resolution in support of me,” Baber wrote in a letter to the senators.
The resolution passed unanimously.
Senators also passed a resolution requesting that voters should determine whether the five Alachua County Commission seats should be broken up into five individual districts.
If the question is put on the ballot in the next general election, residents will decide whether they want to break up the county into five commission districts or to maintain the current system where all voters vote for all five seats.
Senator Carly Wilson said she supported the idea of putting this question on the ballot.
“We thought that putting this on the ballot would let democracy decide,” Wilson said.
Student Alliance party Sen. Kier Lamont said this issue may be too controversial in the Gainesville community for SG to take a side.
“I don’t think that’s the way to build the image of SG in the larger, wider community,” Lamont said.
