LULA – Gainesville City Councilman George Wangemann says he plans to seek the job as Gainesville’s mayor when his current term ends in just over two years.
Wangemann made the unexpected announcement Monday evening while attending the Lula City Council meeting. He was there to speak on behalf of National Family Month, a cause Wangemann has championed for many years.
Wangemann first joined the Gainesville City Council in 1986 and is that governing body’s longest serving member. He is currently in his ninth term and had seriously considered retiring from public service when his current term expires at the end of 2021.
While sharing his comments with the Lula council about National Family Month, Wangemann said it was a recent discussion with his family that led him to change his thinking about retirement. “My wife is trying to get me to run for mayor again.”
Prior to 2014 the role of mayor rotated among city council members and Wangemann held that position in 1995-1996 and again in 2004-2005.
Beginning in 2014 mayor became an elected position and current Mayor Danny Dunagan has been the only person to occupy that leadership role since the changeover.
After the city council meeting Wangemann explained his decision to seek the job of mayor. “My original plan was to retire, to get off the council, and my wife had a little different take on it and she said she’d like to see me continue on for one more term.”
“My wife would like to see me run for mayor,” the 67-year old said. “My health is good…and I think that would be a good way to go out of office. I enjoyed the service I rendered as the mayor the first two times (1995-96 and 2004-05).”
When asked if he had spoken with Mayor Dunagan about his intention, Wangemann’s answer was very candid: “I have not and he doesn’t know.”
While Wangemann said his plans could change, he did say he had already recruited people to vie for the Ward 4 seat he will vacate. “I have approximately five people that are going to run for my seat on the city council,” Wangemann said.
Wangemann said encountering those individuals was due in part due to having visited over 17,000 Gainesville households and inviting those he meets to the next city council meeting. “I’ve knocked on 17,700 doors so far and I plan to continue that over the next two years.”
When asked if he saw areas of city government he would likely change if elected, Wangemann said, “I hadn’t looked at that yet; as you know I’ve been a very conservative member of the city council. The last time we took a vote on the budget I opposed it; I was the only one who opposed it.”
Wangemann repeated that a lot could happen between now and qualifying for the November, 2021, municipal election in August, 2021, but as of now, being Gainesville's next mayor is where his sights are set.
LULA COUNCIL APPROVES VAPE SHOP MORATORIUM
The Lula City Council decided to set the business license moratorium for new vape and vaping supply shops at 120 days after earlier considering a 60 day ban.
The vote was unanimous and takes effect immediately.
