GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Alachua County commissioners are now facing the Court of Appeals and considering how to pay for the legal advice they will need.

Commissioners are considering whether to set aside $100,000 from their general reserve fund for legal fees related to this month’s recent vote.

Earlier this year, Republican Sen. Keith Perry filed a lawsuit with two other Alachua County residents to stop a ballot proposal that would return county commissioners to at-large seats, rather than single-member districts.

The proposal reverses the change previously approved by voters in 2022.

The plaintiffs claimed that at-large districts made it nearly impossible for Republican candidates to win and hold a seat in Alachua County, arguing that the county commission lacked jurisdiction to submit such a proposal.

“I think the commissioners are all supportive as a whole,” said Mark Sexton, a county spokesman. “They are all supporting each and every one of them, representing everyone in the county and moving forward with a unified vision.”

Judge Olin Shinholser rejected the injunction to exclude the proposition from the ballot, while ruling that the ballot language was illegal.

Commissioners now plan to appeal the illegal language decision, with Alachua County voters approving the ballot measure by more than 70 percent.

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