NHS student government to host city commission debate

Newberry Commission candidates vying for the Group 4 seat will take part in a debate at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. 

The Newberry High School Student Government Association (SGA) will host the event for incumbent Tim Marden and challenger Joy Glanzer ahead of next week’s election.

According to Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe, both sides have agreed on the categories for the debate.

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“The candidates will be answering questions about their vision for the growth of Newberry, their philosophies of governance, and because it is on everyone’s mind, working with the SBAC on the future of our schools,” Marlowe posted on his official Facebook page.

The format will include an opportunity for audience questions from both live and virtual attendees at the end of each category.

This is the sixth year that the SGA has hosted the event, which will take place at City Hall. According to Marlowe, the Newberry YouTube channel will air the debate live.

Glanzer hosted a meet and greet event on March 27th complete with a band and hot dogs. At that event Marlowe said he hopes that the residents of Newberry will take part in the election by getting out to vote.

“There’s a lot of issues that excite the voters,” Glanzer told attendees. “There’s a reason to come out and support somebody.”

Because of the publicity of the Springs County effort—which Marden is leading—and counter-efforts by Keep Alachua One, Glanzer said this race may draw a high turnout for a one-race election.

Commissioner Tim Marden has been reaching out to constituents on social media.

“I believe residents want government off their back, they want their freedom, and they want government to focus on the things government is hired to do for them like public safety, infrastructure, utilities, roads….etc,” he posted on his official Facebook page.

Marlowe agreed that this is a high interest election.

“Both candidates are very well known,” he said. “It’s about who do you think is going to work harder for Newberry and represent the voice of the residents.”

Marlowe said he was going to try to drive up voter turnout by reminding residents to get out to vote on April 13 at the Newberry Municipal Building from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“I’m going to push hard,” he said. “It’s been an incredibly quiet election season.”

Marlowe said there has been discussion on social media, but he wants to covert those conversations into actual votes.

 “There’s a lot of people who engage on social media but not in real life, and that could mean a low (voter) turnout,” Marlowe said. 

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