The Heart of the Matter

Your utility bill shouldn’t keep you up at night. But for too many Gainesville families, it does.

GRU has been through a decade of turmoil. A costly biomass deal saddled the utility with enormous debt. For years, the city relied on GRU to fund critical services—police, fire, parks, community programs—without a clear formula or a plan to keep the utility financially healthy at the same time. The intention was good. The execution wasn’t sustainable. Bills climbed to the highest in Florida. Trust eroded on all sides.

In 2023, the state stepped in and created a governor-appointed authority to manage the utility, taking control away from your elected city commissioners. Since then, Gainesville voters have spoken three times—in 2018, 2024, and again in November 2025—overwhelmingly choosing local control. Seventy-five percent voted to bring GRU home.

That vote is now tied up in court. But the message from the people of Gainesville is unmistakable.

Where I Stand

Respect the Voters’ Decision

Three referendums. Overwhelming margins. The people of Gainesville want local control of their utility. I respect that decision because I believe in democracy—period. When the people speak this clearly, their elected leaders should listen.

Be Honest About How We Got Here

I’m not going to pretend everything was perfect before the state stepped in. The biomass deal was a disaster that saddled our community with billions in long-term debt. And the city relied on GRU revenue to fund community services without a sustainable plan for keeping the utility financially healthy. There were no guardrails, no formula, and no long-term strategy to balance what the city needed with what the utility could afford.

That’s not an indictment of the services those dollars funded—our police, our firefighters, our parks. Those are essential. But the way the money moved between the utility and the city lacked the discipline and transparency that ratepayers deserved. We can fund the services our community needs AND keep GRU on solid financial footing—but only with real accountability.

Stand With the Workers Who Keep Your Lights On

Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough: the people who actually run GRU—the lineworkers, the engineers, the treatment plant operators—they want local control too. The AFL-CIO and IBEW both actively supported the referendum. They campaigned for it. They donated to it.

Why? Because an unelected, unaccountable board has the power to slash wages, cut benefits, and restructure pensions with no input from the workers or the community. GRU employees participate in the City of Gainesville’s General Employees Pension Plan—a defined benefit plan where your elected City Commission serves as the Board of Trustees. That pension security matters to hundreds of families in our community.

That’s the core issue: accountability. When your elected commissioners make decisions about the utility, you can vote them out. When an appointed board does it, you have no recourse. The people who do the daily work of keeping Gainesville’s lights on and water clean deserve a governance structure that answers to the community—not one that operates beyond the reach of the voters it serves.

Focus on Your Light Bill

Whoever manages GRU—whether it’s the City Commission or an appointed board—the question families care about is the same: What am I paying every month?

I will fight for:

• Continued debt reduction—GRU still carries roughly $1.7 billion in debt. Paying it down is the only path to sustainably lower bills.
• Competitive rates—Bills have come down from their peak, but we’re still not where we need to be. I’ll push for rates that are fair and competitive with other Florida utilities.
• A clear, published transfer formula—Never again should the relationship between GRU and the city budget operate without guardrails. Any money that moves from the utility to the general fund should follow a transparent, predictable formula based on industry standards—one that funds essential services without jeopardizing the utility’s financial health.
• Protection for GRU workers—Fair wages, secure pensions, and collective bargaining rights for the people who keep your lights on and your water clean.
• Infrastructure investment—Our water mains, treatment plants, and power grid need real maintenance, not deferred decisions that cost more later.
• Transparency and accountability—Monthly public reporting on finances, rates, and debt reduction progress. No more surprises on your bill.

The Bottom Line