DeSantis-appointed GRU Authority board member backs local House Democrat candidate

A member of the all-Republican, Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority board recently made a donation to a local Democrat’s campaign for Florida House.

The authority’s co-chair, James Coats, donated $500 to Gainesville progressive David Arreola’s campaign for Florida House District 22, according to campaign finance data. The seat Arreola is running for is currently held by Republican state Rep. Chuck Clemons, the creator of the bill that established the GRU Authority.

Coats made the donation at the end of October, well after GRU Authority meetings had begun to be held, and listed his occupation as entrepreneur.

Arreola served two terms as a Gainesville city commissioner beginning in 2017 followed by an unsuccessful bill for mayor. According to Arreola’s campaign website, he advocates for gun safety legislation, reproductive freedom and expanding job training opportunities.

“I know that together we can rise above the chaos of MAGA Republicans,” his homepage reads.

Earlier coverage: GRU Authority member threatens to resign after failing to alter agenda

Earlier coverage: GRU Authority holds off on vote over $15.3 million transfer, wants to discuss with city

Arreola is endorsed by District 21 state Rep. Yvonne Hinson, former Democratic Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe, and local Democratic politician Brandon Peters. Clemons, the creator of the authority, has endorsed Republican Levy County Commissioner Chad Johnson as the successor to his seat.

Coats’ time on the GRU Authority board has not been without controversy. For one, there has been an ongoing debate about whether he and others on the board are eligible to serve on the board given that they don’t live within Gainesville city limits, as the bill requires. House Bill 1645 states that four of the five members must be city voters residing within the municipal boundaries — the other in the county — and have GRU electric services during their terms.

Since DeSantis made the appointments, one board member has resigned because she was not a GRU electric customer as the bill requires. Though Clemons and others have defended the current appointments, the board still lacks one member as no one has been appointed to the fifth seat.

Coats also threatened to resign from the board at a November meeting after unsuccessfully attempting to modify the agenda with several items.

“Guys, I need to know if you want to work with me on this,” Coats told the three other board members. “I am packed and ready to go … If you don't want to work with me, simply raise your hand and I’ll resign.”

At a more recent meeting, Coats faced pushback from the public and other board members for his behavior at a meeting where the authority discussed the employment of GRU General Manager Tony Cunningham.

Usually a civil environment, the meeting devolved into what has been described as a trial-like interrogation of Cunningham’s performance at the utility as Coats brought up employees to share their experiences and aggressively questioned Cunningham.

Coats’ subsequent motion to fire Cunningham failed for lack of a second. Since then the authority has voted to keep Cunningham in his role as an interim general manager while they search for a permanent CEO.

“I'll have to say I'm pretty shocked at what's occurred tonight, what I feel like is a pretty well scripted, contrived, feels like a trial,” Richard Hutton, a supervising engineer at GRU, said at the December meeting. “That really is not befitting of Mr. Cunningham.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: DeSantis-appointed GRU board member backs House Democrat candidate