Mac McEachern, 81, is running for district 4 city commission again after spending six years as a Gainesville city commissioner and mayor in the 1980s.
"I'm trying to bring some credibility back to our city commission," he said.
McEachern said he wants to fix management of GRU and terminate the contract for the biomass plant. He hopes to help with neighborhood protection problems, make city commission more open to hearing residents and maintain roads, streets and bike paths
"The commission has been over-repressive and restrictive with rules on citizens when they come in and want to talk to them at the commission meeting," he said.
McEachern has resided in Gainesville for 69 years. Born in Levy County in 1931, he moved to Gainesville in 1944 and graduated from P.K. Yonge in 1950. He served in the Air Force until 1954. He has worked for a telephone company, a law firm and served nine years as airport authority in Gainesville.
“I’ve been around,” he said.
McEachern lives with his wife and granddaughter, who is a University of Florida student.
In his spare time, he enjoys reading, writing and browsing the Internet.