Allowing public alcohol consumption undermines public safety in Gainesville

Is Gainesville now one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S.? The answer, unfortunately for us, is a frightening yes.

Gainesville's rate of part one crimes — murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — are now more than double the national averages, according to the Uniform Crime Report published by the FBI. A recent report by Gershon Harrell in The Sun confirmed the current sharp increase in local crime, backed up by the Federal Crime Data Explorer.

Our city has become a standout U.S. city but not an enviable one. The Center Square, a national journal that focuses on local governments, reported Gainesville is among the most dangerous U.S. metro areas: "Following a 9.9% increase, the violent crime rate in the Gainesville, Florida, metro area stands at 760 incidents per 100,000 higher than the vast majority of U.S. metropolitan areas and nearly double the U.S. violent crime rate.”

The City Commission's troubling response to the uptrend in violent crime was to remove all limits on public alcohol consumption until 2:30 a.m., by a 5-2 vote on Aug. 1. Before the vote I presented national data on the dangers of the City Commission's proposal in a column with the headline, “Increasing public alcohol use will make Gainesville less safe.” 

Only two commissioners, Desmond Walker and Gail Johnson, voted against the commission majority’s desire to use our parks, street corners and hundreds of public spaces for alcohol consumption. Gigi Simmons had previously resisted the commission majority.

On the night of the vote, an unusual event occurred. A senior city employee, Gainesville Police Capt. Lonnie Scott, stood up to the commission, expressing strong opposition. Scott stated to the City Commission that the proposal was a truly bad idea and predicted a sharp increase in violence and crime.

Nevertheless, the 5-2 majority was unshaken. Unfortunately, he was dead-on as shootings and violent assaults in public subsequently increased, along with drunken driving.

Almost a year later, as candidates positioned for city elections, Harvey Ward appeared to change his mind on this and other issues. Ward had previously voted twice for alcohol consumption in public places. He and Rena Saco then voted temporarily to suspend alcohol in public places until it could be brought back by city staff and reconsidered.

On July 28, the issue was brought back for a third go. There was support among commissioners to return alcohol consumption in public places with some modifications but before a vote was taken, Commissioners Cynthia Chestnut and Desmon Duncan-Walker spoke against doing so and the majority agreed to send it back to staff once more.

Misadventures by our City Commission majority have become more than just a national embarrassment. The City Commission’s response to public safety is disturbing, even deadly.

Municipal events here are, according to national observers, unique. While many U.S. local governments occasionally misstep, municipal misadventures as ours, that demonstrably undermine public safety, are simply not reported anywhere else. Even land use and planning go awry in other communities but few are noticed much less chastised nationally as we are.

We finally have the first real opportunity in a generation for civic remediation, one that can return our beloved town to its rightful honored place in the sunshine; where government comes up from citizens and neighborhoods, not down to them; where political parties don't tell us what counts most and our party town becomes publicly sober; and where our kids are trained to care for and not kill each other.

Mark Kane Goldstein is a former Gainesville mayor-commissioner.

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Mark Kane Goldstein: Alcohol laws fuel crime increase in Gainesville