Lauren Poe was re-elected to his second term as Gainesville mayor Tuesday evening.

Poe earned 7,158 votes, totaling 61.8 percent of the total votes. Candidate Jenn Powell finished second in the four-way race with 2,138 votes, or 18.5 percent.

Candidate Jennifer Reid pulled about 1,800 votes, for 15.6 percent, and Marlon Bruce finished last with less than 500 votes, at 4 percent.

With the win, Poe will serve nearly 12 years on the City Commission, both as a mayor and commissioner.

"In a way, it's bittersweet because it's my last my last term serving on the commission," he said. "But it makes me incredibly determined to make a meaningful impact before I leave office."

Poe said he hopes to continue his work of addressing economic and racial disparity gaps across the city, including addressing housing needs, environmental protection and economic development.

Under Poe’s leadership, the city has seen a decrease in the number of juvenile arrests, which he says disproportionately affect people of color.

Poe has voted to raise wages of city employees and has been instrumental in developing a city partnership with UF.

Poe said he believes the results of the election show that community members are proud of the work he and his fellow commissions have done, especially on a commission that tends to see high turnover.

“I think they recognize the value in keeping the City Commission together,” he said.

Poe, 48, was born in Minot, North Dakota, and moved to Gainesville at age 11 in 1982. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Florida. He has taught for 20 years and currently teaches economics and government at Santa Fe College.



Powell said she wasn't surprised by the margin of victory once the first round of results came in, but that she feels the campaign was successful overall.

"I got in the race because I felt there were issues not being addressed that I think needed to be addressed," she said. "... We brought all those issues to the forefront."

Powell said she isn't ruling out running for office again and will continue to be vocal about issues.

Voters on Tuesday also overwhelmingly passed a Charter Review Commission with 63 percent of the vote.



The change will allow commissioners to appoint an 11-member board that will look at potential changes of city government's structure, such as changing to a strong mayor system and reducing the number of commission seats, among other issues. The board will vote to place items on November ballots every 10 years to give voters a chance to pass or reject changes.



The city's first Charter Review Commission will be formed in time for the 2020 election.





