District 1 commissioner Mary Alford is seeking re-election this year. Alford defeated one challenger in the Democratic primary in August, and will face the sole Republican candidate, Lizabeth Ann Doebler, in the general election in November.
News4Jax sent a questionnaire to each candidate asking about their background and their views on several issues. Scroll down to read the responses of those seeking your vote -- in their own words.
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Note: Responses are sorted alphabetically by party and are presented exactly as submitted, with no editing by News4JAX staff.
| DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE |
Mary Alford
Occupation: For over twenty five years I worked as an environmental engineer. I began working at Gainesville Regional Utilities in Water/Wastewater, then worked at Progress Energy in Generation after graduating with my Masters of Engineering. In 2007/8 obtained multiple certifications in sustainability in the built environment and I started my own firm. I partnered with a local architect to form The Sustainable Design Group, an architecture and engineering firm specializing in sustainability, energy efficiency and affordable housing. After being elected I found I would rather focus my efforts on being a commissioner and closed my firm in 2022. I remain a licensed Professional Engineer.
Age: 63
Family: I am mother four boys, three living (I lost a son to leukemia in 2009), and I have six grandchildren. My family is from this area, I am a 6th/7th generation Floridian and was born at Alachua General Hospital in Gainesville. I also am the oldest of nine children, and all of my siblings live in Alachua County or within 100 miles.
Education: I graduated high school from PK Yonge Laboratory School. I married young and had four children before divorcing and returning to school. I earned an A.A from Santa Fe College, then BS in Environmental Engineering and an ME in Engineering.
Political experience: Before being elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2020 my political experience was limited to serving on advisory boards - I served on Alachua County’s Environmental Protections Advisory Board, Alachua County’s Code Enforcement Board and Gainesville’s Utility Advisory Board.
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
The role of a county commissioner is to manage taxpayer dollars effectively to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. In 2022 almost 20% of Alachua County residents had serious housing issues - being homeless, living in houses they could not afford, living in houses what were substandard, living with friends or relatives, living in cars. We continue to have a serious shortage of workforce and affordable housing and that affects everything from child literacy to public safety. Literacy is the second biggest problem in our county and contributes to truancy, underemployment, crime, homelessness, poor health, etc. There are many right answers to address housing, and we need to be doing most of them. My background in engineering, architecture, energy efficiency and affordable housing has proved useful as a county commissioner. Projects that I have championed that are underway include a $15,000 grant for energy efficient upgrades to rental properties in exchange for those properties being maintained as affordable housing. This project is important because landlords were upgrading properties and turning them from affordable housing to student rentals. The County purchased two motels on South 13th that are being transformed into efficiency apartments for permanent supportive housing for folks that would otherwise be unhoused. Adjacent to one of those developments we will be providing shipping container apartments. Together these projects will provide approximately 100 units. We are working on several initiatives, incentives and partnerships to provide workforce housing across the county - these would be homes targeted for people like teachers, firefighters, health care workers, retail workers and others that provide critical services to our county. Housing availability for people making these salaries is extremely limited. This is one of the reasons that 60,000 people commute to Alachua County every day. One of those developments will be at the site of the former Ability Housing project.
Like housing, our approach to literacy must be a multi-pronged approach. We are partnering with the Children’s Trust and the Alachua County School Board to address literacy concerns for our youngest citizens. By helping moms learn to read by reading to their babies - and also learning to read the directions on a Tylenol bottle, we can break generational patterns of illiteracy. The link between teenage literacy and teenage behavioral issues should be addressed - young people have not received the help they need to be successful students, and some act inappropriately out of frustration and despair. Rather than punishing we must give them our best resources. Ensuring their success in middle and high school lowers future jail populations, decreases violence and vandalism, and provides resources for future success. We also have, and need to have, literacy programs in the jail, Grace Marketplace, libraries and churches. Increasing literacy levels will lift up all of Alachua County - when some of us are lifted up, all of us are lifted up!
Besides roads, the top complaint from citizens is typically about development. Through programs like Alachua County Forever and Wild Spaces Public Places we have protected 30% of our county from development. We are also losing critically important agricultural lands to development, so we are now providing conservation easements for agricultural lands by purchasing the development rights and allowing family farms to stay in operation. When appropriate and necessary and when we can afford to do so, we purchase property like the West End Golf Course Property. We incentivize density and infill inside urban areas to help protect green space. This includes allowing accessory dwelling units, tiny houses, (our newly revamped) cottage neighborhoods, and density incentives in Transit Oriented Developments (like Celebration Point) and Traditional Neighborhood Developments (like Tioga or Haile Village Center).
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
My background and expertise as an engineer, my work in sustainability, and my time as a small business owner provide practical experience. My life experience as a single mom, my work with the homeless, and as someone that has had to struggle to pay the bills helps me understand the struggles people experience. The years I spent taking care of family members that suffered through cancer and hospice (my son, my brother, my mother) gave me experience with our medical system and taught me a special kind of compassion. And, as a lesbian, I understand much about the LGBTQ community and challenges we are facing in today’s political climate. Finally, I have volunteered for many diverse organizations, including serving as President of local US Green Building Councils chapter, Executive Board for Florida Defenders of the Environment, Board Member of United Way of North Central Florida.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
Most importantly, serving with integrity and treating all with respect. I would also like to be remembered for getting the roads fixed, creating resiliency in preparation for climate disruption, providing housing for folks that needed it, and leaving my county better off than from when I was first elected - better prepared, better maintained, better financially, and with better opportunities and outcomes for all citizens of Alachua County.
Campaign website: alfordforalachua.com
Campaign social media: Facebook
Lizabeth Ann Doebler
Occupation: Registered Medical Professional
Age: A little older than my teeth
Family: Mother and grandmother
Education: Miami Dade College
Political experience: Member of the Alachua County Executive Committee, Treasurer Involved with Impact Alachua and Mail in Voter verification
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
Using our tax dollars efficiently and that that use benefits District one.
Protecting our Private property rights and our water supplies
Prioritizing safer roads (Example Repaving many of our roads)
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
I am a people person and stand up for what the residents and the business owners in Micanopy, Archer and parts of Gainesville need.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
That i accomplished what the residents elected me to do.
Campaign website: https://voteliz2024.com/
Campaign social media: (None listed)