Alachua County is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville,the home of the University of Florida since 1906,when the campus opened with 106 students.
Josiah Thomas Walls was a United States congressman who served three terms in the U.S. Congress between 1871 and 1876. He was one of the first African Americans in the United States Congress elected during the Reconstruction Era,and the first black person to be elected to Congress from Florida. He also served four terms in the Florida Senate.
Eleanor Sobel is a Democratic member of the Florida State Senate,representing the 33rd District,which includes Davie,Hallandale Beach,Hollywood,and Pembroke Pines in southeastern Broward County,since 2012,previously representing the 31st District from 2008 to 2012. Before winning election to the Florida Senate,Sobel served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 100th District from 1998 to 2002 and the 99th District from 2002 to 2006.
Charles McBurney is a Republican who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 16th District,which includes parts of downtown Jacksonville in southern Duval County between 2007 and 2016.
Charles S. Dean Sr. is a Republican politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida Senate,representing the 5th District,which includes Baker,Citrus,Columbia,Dixie,Gilchrist,Lafayette,Levy,western Marion,Suwannee,and Union Counties in North Florida,since 2012,previously representing the 3rd District from 2007 to 2012. Before winning election to the Senate,Dean served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 43rd District from 2002 to 2007.
Terry L. Fields is a Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008,representing the 14th District,which included parts of downtown Jacksonville in western Duval County. He is currently a candidate for the Florida House in 2016.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut is an American Democratic politician who served on the Gainesville,Florida City Commission from 1987 to 1989 and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000,representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2000,Chestnut was elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2002,where she served until she lost re-election in 2010.
Dennis K. Baxley is a state legislator in Florida who has served in the Florida Senate since 2016. A Republican,he represents the 12th district including Sumter County and parts of Lake County and Marion County in Central Florida. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives,representing parts of Marion County from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2010 until his election to the Senate. He served on the Belleview City Commission and as its mayor.
Will Weatherford is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014,representing the 61st District from 2006 to 2012 and the 38th District,which included eastern Pasco County,from 2012 to 2014. During his final term in the legislature,he served as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives,which made him the youngest presiding officer of any state legislative chamber in the United States at the time.
Kevin Rader is an American politician from Florida. A Democrat,he represented parts of northern Broward and southern Palm Beach Counties in the Florida House from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2016. He was elected to one term in the Florida Senate,serving from 2016 until he retired in 2020.
Martin David "Marty" Kiar is a Democratic politician who currently serves as the Broward County Property Appraiser. Kiar was formerly the Mayor of Broward County and a Broward County Commissioner,representing the 1st District from 2012 to 2016. Prior to being elected to the Broward County Commission,Kiar served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2012,representing the 97th District.
Stuart Craig Lowe is an American politician and former Mayor of Gainesville,Florida. After winning a runoff election on April 13,2010,by a margin of 42 votes Lowe became mayor-elect of Gainesville. He was sworn in on May 20,2010,becoming the first openly gay mayor of the city. He lost his bid for re-election on April 16,2013 to former City Commissioner Ed Braddy after being arrested for a DUI during the campaign.
Ed Hooper is a Republican member of the Florida Senate,representing the 16th District,which includes Clearwater and Largo in northern Pinellas County and western Pasco County,since 2018.
Robert Milner "Rob" Bradley,Jr. is a Republican politician from Florida. He served as a member of the Florida Senate,representing parts of North Central Florida from 2012 until he was term-limited in 2020.
Elizabeth Whiddon Porter is a Republican politician and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives. Porter represented the 10th District,which includes Alachua,Baker,Columbia,Hamilton,and Suwannee Counties,from 2012 to 2018,previously representing the 11th District from 2010 to 2012.
Warren “Keith”Perry is a Republican member of the Florida Senate,representing the 9th district,encompassing Alachua,Putnam,and part of Marion County in North Central Florida,since 2016. He also served in the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 22nd district from 2010 to 2012 and the 21st district from 2012 to 2016.
Patrick Rooney Jr. is a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 85th District,which includes northern Palm Beach County,from 2012 to 2016. Rooney previously represented the 83rd District from 2010 to 2012.
Stacy Ritter is a Democratic politician who currently serves as president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention &Visitors Bureau. Previously,she served as a Broward County Commissioner,representing the 3rd District from 2006 to the present. Prior to being elected to the Broward County Commission,Ritter served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1996 to 2004,representing the 96th District.
The Mayor of Gainesville is,for ceremonially purposes,receipt of service of legal processes and the purposes of military law,official head of the city of Gainesville,Florida and otherwise a member of,and chair of,the city commission,required to preside at all meetings thereof. The mayor is also allowed to vote on all matters that come before the city commission,but has no veto powers.
Edward L. "Ed" Jennings,Jr.,is a Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006,representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2006,Jennings was appointed as the Regional Director for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
