Wells announces plan to run for District 4 seat

<p>Randy Wells, president of the Duck Pond Neighborhood Association and a City Plan Board appointee, has announced his intent to run for District 4 City Commission in the March 2010 election.</p><p>"Despite whatever other facts may distract us, the reason for being for the city government is to create neighborhoods that are family-friendly," Wells said.</p><p>The 42-year-old father of two said that it boils down to listening to the concerns and priorities of neighbors and then figuring out a way to address those issues.</p><p>Wells faces three other candidates for the District 4 seat, including former Alachua County Commissioner Penny Wheat, who is returning to politics after a five-year hiatus; Pat Fitzpatrick, a homeless advocate and two-time commissioner candidate; and political newcomer Nathaniel Sperling, who was born and raised in Gainesville and recently graduated from the University of Florida.</p><p>Wells moved to Gainesville seven years ago from Washington, D.C., where he had worked in the Library of Congress, and now runs a property management firm - City Life Consulting LLC - out of his home in the Duck Pond Neighborhood.</p><p>Chief among the quality of life issues that Wells said he wants to promote are parks and education.</p><p>He points to the work he orchestrated to update Roper Park in his community as an example of the kind of community advocacy, outreach and partnership he will use if elected.</p><p>"It's about community-building and parks are a major part of that," Wells said.</p><p>When it comes to schools, Wells said he wants to partner with the Alachua County School Board and the community to create neighborhood schools that are "jewels" to the community.</p><p>"We as a neighborhood need to take ownership and commit for our schools," Wells said.</p><p>Wells said he has created a Friends of Metcalfe Elementary to look at ways to attract more students from the surrounding community to the school that has seen a drop in enrollment over the years.</p><p>He said supporting our urban schools is a better policy than spending millions building new elementary schools in the western part of the city, which is what the School Board is now considering.</p><p>Finally, Wells said he is going to work to foster and encourage local businesses to expand and help fill Gainesville's neighborhood commercial centers. He said he'd set a goal that 50 percent of all new businesses locate in the neighborhood centers.</p>