Mayor Harvey Ward connected the spirit of Gainesville with the Spirit of ‘76 being celebrated as America enters its semiquincentennial during the State of the City.  

“Like the American Revolution, it’s all about a willingness to make mutual sacrifices to change the status quo and hold onto the belief that together we will shape the future,” Ward said.  

The Historic Thomas Center hosted the State of the City on Wednesday as Gainesville and Alachua County leaders gathered to recap 2025 and look ahead at 2026.  

Ward gave three separate recognitions that align with the spirit of Gainesville, as recorded videos of city commissioners overviewed projects. The spirit of Gainesville, Ward said, could be condensed to lines from a few of its native sons—Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  

“I’m runnin’ down a dream 
That never would’ve come to me 
Workin’ on a mystery 
Goin’ wherever it leads” 

Benmont Tench was the pianist for the Heartbreakers and returned to Gainesville for Wednesday’s State of the City. Ward presented Tench with a key to the city and a proclamation declaring Feb. 18, 2026, as Benmont Tench Day.  

Tench grew up in Gainesville, trying out keyboards in Lipham Music, while Tom Petty and older boys also browsed around. He said some of the best bluegrass musicians lived in Gainesville and played in their living rooms, like his parents. 

Tench’s grandfather, Gainesville businessman Benjamin Tench, served as a city commissioner and mayor in the early 1900s. Ward presented Tench a framed glass print of his grandfather’s mayoral portrait. 

“What an honor,” Tench said. “I knew my grandfather was a city commissioner. I didn’t know he had been mayor. How I miss that, I don’t know.” 

Sticking with music, Ward presented the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts to Buster Lipham, owner of Lipham Music, which operated from 1954 to 2014. 

Greg McMillan received the award on Lipham’s behalf. McMillan said someone asked Lipham once if there was something in the Gainesville water to produce so many musical talents. Lipham said no. It was just talented, motivated kids and also parents who supported musical interests, McMillan recalled. 

Ward and Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker spoke on the city’s gun violence prevention efforts, opening IMPACT GNV off NW 6th Street and also housing the B.O.L.D. program there.   

Ward recognized three Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officers for their courage in January when confronting an active shooter on East University Avenue during morning rush hour. 

The three officers— Sgt. Robert Kennedy and Officer Jessie Herringshaw and Officer Frederick Tirado—each received the Mayor’s Commendation for Valor. Ward said a GPD officer hadn’t been shot since 1980, calling the incident an anomaly. Gainesville’s gun violence has decreased in the last three years, falling from 16 gun-related homicides in 2023 to only three last year.  

Ward said the city would also continue trying to return control of Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) to the City Commission. 

“As a commission, we are continuing to listen to our neighbors who wish to see GRU return to the city,” Ward said. 

Ward and the commissioners looked ahead to renovate the Wilhelmina Johnson Center, City Hall Plaza and the Citizens Field complex. The city is set to vote on $9.3 million in construction projects tomorrow.  

Additionally, construction will commence on two new fire stations this year, a solar array will be built at RTS headquarters to provide shade and offset power usage, and property will be acquired in southwest Gainesville for a new park.  

“It’s the spirit that made a music store into a landmark and a group of teenagers into rock and roll icons,” Ward said. “It’s the same spirit that’s alive right here, right now in the people who serve and teach and build and create in the community that we love today.”