"CPAC" (Chamber Political Action Committee)

This committee has been a leading voice of business in the Newberry-Jonesville area.

The City of Newberry, Alachua County, and the State of Florida are facing critical decisions regarding the direction of growth for our area, traffic constraints with failing road concurrency, extreme reduction in revenue due to proposed tax roll-backs, navigating the political terrain for public-private partnerships such as Newberry-Easton Sports Complex and Nations Park as well as many other issues. At no other time in the area’s history do we find such important issues brought forth at the same time.

The communities input is essential for the elected representatives to act in a manner which reflects the desires of the citizens and businesses within their districts. It is not uncommon to hear dissatisfaction among citizens and businesses about decision being made by our city government. But we do have a voice, and we need to be organized in promoting our positions as business men and women and as a community.

While the issues will come and go, the ongoing interest of this PAC is to educate our elected representatives about where our business community stands on related issues. It is our desire to work WITH them in a cooperative manner. The Chamber of Commerce has always enjoyed a great working relationship with our elected representatives and we look forward to future discussions on behalf of our members with them.

If you have an issue you’d like to be discussed feel free to contact one of our committee members, Joy Glanzer, Blake Fletcher, Gil Levy or Jeff Rizzo.

2012 County Commission debate held at Newberry City Hall: The Chamber holds a County Commission debate every two years at City Hall in which the community gets to ask the field a wide range of questions. The debate is also usually televised for those who wish to stay informed but are unable to attend the meeting.

Newberry Jonesville Chamber President Blake Fletcher with Florida Governor Rick Scott just after a small business roundtable discussion. The focus of the night was getting Floridians back to work and the chamber was honored to have a presence at table.

City Manager Keith Ashby with State of Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater: The chamber does its part to make sure all of our elected officials know what’s going on in our area. This meeting between CFO Atwater and City Manager Ashby was a follow-up to an earlier meeting where the City and Chamber could update CFO Atwater on the progress of Nations Park, the Newberry-Easton Archery Facility and a whole host of other topics.

State Representative Keith Perry gave a phenomenal speech at our third quarter lunch. We appreciate him coming to talk to our chamber members and educate us on some of the issues being discussed in Tallahassee and how they affect us locally.

State Senator Rob Bradley takes aim during a 2013 Chamber initiated tour of our area. The Chamber felt like it was important to have Senator Bradley spend some time with City officials and get a tour of our area as our newly elected Senator.