Gainesville Votes to End GRU Authority (Again) in Landslide

Enforcement on Hold Pending Additional Legal Actions

On November 4th, 2025, Gainesville voters once again voted to abolish the Governor-appointed, unaccountable GRU Authority in a massive landslide, with 75.18 percent voting YES. The special election also saw the highest voter turnout (19.05 percent) in a City of Gainesville-only election in over 15 years!

This result wouldn’t have been possible without the work of the ACLC and other progressive grassroots organizations and individuals in Gainesville. Our grassroots coalition included the ACLC, League of Women Voters of Alachua County, the Alachua County NAACP, Suwannee-St. Johns Sierra Club, Community Weatherization Coalition, Alachua County Democratic Party, local AFL-CIO, IBEW 1205, and Gainesville Residents United. Our Coalition successfully organized in the summer to demand the City Commission place another referendum on the ballot in a special November election.

After the final City Commission vote placing the referendum on the ballot, our coalition hit the ground running to secure this historic victory. The League of Women voters executed an effective voter education campaign, raising awareness of the off-year election and educating voters on how to cast their ballots. The ACLC ran phone and text banks to turnout voters. The Sierra Club sent mailers and built excitement in the community with sign-waving events. The AFL-CIO and IBEW educated their members on why they should vote Yes and donated to the Yes campaign. The Democratic Party knocked on doors and called voters. The NAACP co-hosted a well-attended town hall on the referendum featuring Mayor Ward and GRU Boss Ed Bielarski, which generated much-needed buzz around the election, helping with turnout. The Community Weatherization Coalition urged its volunteers and clients to vote Yes.

 

Gainesville Residents United was the primary fundraiser raised money for the campaign and ran the speaker's tour, informing educated community groups on of the history and stakes of the referendum.

While the campaign is over and the votes are counted, we are not quite past the finish line. The GRU Authority is still trying to take away your vote in the Courts. The First District Court of Appeals granted the GRU Authority’s request for an emergency constitutional writ. This means enforcement of the results is on pause until the Appellate Court holds a hearing to determine the final outcome. Importantly, this is NOT what happened in April, when the results were invalidated due to Judge Wright finding the ballot language misleading. The granting of the emergency writ is a purely procedural action, and unlike last year’s injunction, does NOT signal the Court believes the GRU Authority is likely to win.

We will provide more updates as the legal process continues.