Harvey Ward was elected mayor of Gainesville in November of 2022 after being first elected to the Gainesville City Commission in March 2017 and re-elected in 2020.
Mayor Ward is passionate about growing the middle class across our city, empowering east Gainesville, creating safer and more effective transportation infrastructure and generally telling the Gainesville story more proudly.
Under the Mayor’s leadership the City of Gainesville has approved partnerships that will build more than 200 affordable homes, and the city plans to invest more than $40 Million in east Gainesville health, transit, recreation and economic development projects along with our institutional partners.
During Mayor Ward’s time at City Hall the City of Gainesville has placed nearly 2,000 acres inside the city limits into permanent, actively-managed conservation. Currently the city is preparing our first Climate Action Plan to set clear carbon emission reduction goals and create strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Mayor Ward is a native of Gainesville and a graduate of Eastside High, Santa Fe College and the University of Florida. He has worked in the Gainesville non-profit community for decades, formerly serving as Executive Director of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation and in several leadership capacities at WUFT-TV/FM. Harvey is married to Gillian Lord-Ward, and their three daughters attend local public schools.