Gainesville City Commissioner Addresses Endorsement of Byron Donalds, State Senator Responds

On Thursday, Gainesville City Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut officially endorsed Republican Byron Donalds for governor, turning away from her prior support of Democrat David Jolly’s campaign.

Chestnut is a Democratic politician and was the first Black woman to serve on the Gainesville City Commission in 1987. She went on to serve on the Florida House of Representatives. 

Chestnut’s support for Donalds, a conservative backed by President Donald Trump, has ignited a wave of criticism and disbelief from democrats in Gainesville. 

Chestnut addressed her endorsement on Facebook Friday, leading to a post in response by Florida Senator LaVon Patrice Bracy Davis.

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut:

Why I Endorsed Byron Donalds

Much has been made of my endorsement yesterday of Byron Donalds. 

Let me be clear:  I am a Black Democrat, and I am not confused about who I am or what I believe. I believe in the power of our people, the sacred value of our vote, and the responsibility to speak truth even when it makes others uncomfortable.

My endorsement of Byron Donalds is not a betrayal of my values; it is a declaration that Black voters are not political property. We are not to be taken for granted, spoken to only during election season, or expected to fall in line while our concerns are ignored.

Fannie Lou Hamer said, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.” I understand that feeling deeply, because I am tired of watching our loyalty demanded while our leadership is too often dismissed.

When the Democratic ticket had the opportunity to reflect the full strength, talent, and diversity of Florida, it failed to do so. There were qualified Black women, Black men, Hispanic women, and Hispanic men who deserved serious consideration. Instead, the decision sent a painful message that too many of us know all too well: our votes are welcome, and even expected, but our leadership is negotiable.

I refuse to accept that.

Representation is not window dressing. It is respect. It is recognition. It is power. And when that power is overlooked, we have every right to call it out.

That is why I am supporting Byron Donalds. I want to see a Black governor of Florida in my lifetime, and I will not apologize for saying so. I do not have to agree with every vote he has taken or political decision he has made to believe that he deserves to be heard, questioned, challenged, and engaged.

Our community should not be afraid of hard conversations. Invite him into the room. Ask him about charter schools, public-school funding, property taxes, voting rights, economic opportunity, and the future of our families. Let him answer us directly. Do not let party bosses, political insiders, or anyone else decide which Black leaders we are allowed to consider.

This endorsement is personal, principled, and unapologetic. Byron Donalds attended Florida A&M University, and I am a proud graduate of FAMU. I respect his support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including FAMU, because HBCUs have built, trained, and inspired generations of Black leadership.

I also recognize shared cultural ties through his Jamaican and Panamanian family background.

This endorsement does not mean I have not stopped being a Democrat. I simply have stopped accepting the idea that my party label should silence my judgment. 

I am endorsing Byron Donalds because Black leadership matters, political courage matters, and Florida deserves a conversation that is bigger than fear, habit, or blind loyalty.

State Senator LaVon Patrice Bracy Davis:

This is long. I am not offended if you don't read it. I just have to get this out.

I tossed and turned all night. I did not sleep because I was so bothered.

When I learned that Dr. Cynthia Moore Chestnut had endorsed Byron Donalds for Governor, I was disappointed. Deeply disappointed. But I was not going to speak on it directly.

I know Dr. Chestnut. Not as a best friend, but well enough. And I know what the Chestnut name means in Gainesville. My mother Dr. LaVon Bracy is from Gainesville. She was the first African American student to integrate the Alachua County school system. My grandfather was a pillar of that community. Chestnut Funeral Home handled the final arrangements for both of my grandparents. And I was raised to respect my elders, even when I disagree with them.

All of that is why I was going to leave this one alone.

Then I read Dr. Chestnut's explanation today. And I cannot. She doubled down in a way that will not let me keep quiet.

Dr. Chestnut is not just any Democrat. She was the first African American woman elected to the Gainesville City Commission. She served in the Florida House and on the Alachua County Commission, chaired the Alachua County Democratic Party, served as vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party, and helped found the Florida Democratic Black Women's Consortium, an organization dedicated in part to voter empowerment and voter education.

So when a woman with THAT history invokes the "sacred value of our vote" to explain this endorsement, I have to say something.

Because if we are going to talk about the vote, let's talk about the vote.

Byron Donalds voted against the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. That is not opinion. That is his voting record.

And just last week, when asked whether he would support the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act, legislation that I am proud to sponsor, Byron Donalds said NO.

That legislation is named for two Black Floridians who were murdered after dedicating their lives to registering Black voters and fighting for our political power.

So I struggle mightily with invoking Fannie Lou Hamer and the sacred value of our vote to justify supporting a candidate who has opposed major voting rights legislation.

Miss me with that, Dr. Chestnut. Respectfully.

And let me tell you why I take this personally.

I have spent the last four years in the Florida Legislature fighting a gubernatorial administration and a political agenda that, in my view, has repeatedly targeted the very things generations of Black Floridians fought to secure: voting rights, Black history, diversity, equity and inclusion, access to opportunity, and the ability of Black communities to have our voices heard.

I have sat in those committee rooms. I have stood on the floor in both chambers. I have watched legislation pass that I believe takes us backward, and I have fought it with everything I have.

So yes, this one hits differently. Why would someone who has spent decades fighting these battles  become complicit in the continuation of that same harm is beyond my comprehension.

To me, lending your credibility to an agenda you spent decades fighting against is not independence. It is being complicit in your own oppression.

And voting rights are not my only concern.

This is the same Byron Donalds whose comments were widely characterized as saying Black people were better off during Jim Crow. Jim Crow?

The Jim Crow where Black people were forced to the back of the bus? The Jim Crow where we could be denied service at hotels and restaurants because of the color of our skin? The Jim Crow of segregated schools, segregated public accommodations, poll taxes, literacy tests and Black people being systematically denied access to the ballot?

THAT Jim Crow?

And let's stop pretending Byron Donalds represents some politically independent alternative to MAGA. He has chosen to closely align himself with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

The same Donald Trump who spent years promoting the false claim that Barack Obama, America's first Black president, was not legitimately eligible to be President of the United States. The same Trump who told four congresswomen of color to "go back" to other countries, even though three of the four were born right here in America. The same Trump who has referred to African nations as S-hole countries. Same Trump that portrayed the Obamas as monkeys and apes. 

So no, I cannot separate Donalds from the political movement he has voluntarily chosen to embrace.

And Dr. Chestnut, that is what makes this so difficult for me to understand.

You know our history. You know what it took for Black people to gain political power in Florida.

So how do you spend a lifetime fighting to open doors for Black people and then lend your name and credibility to a political movement that you know many Black Floridians believe is working to close those doors?

Then we get to the FAMU commentary.

Dr. Chestnut points out that Byron Donalds attended FAMU.

Okay. He attended FAMU. He did not graduate from FAMU.

But even if he had, what exactly does that prove?

Attending an HBCU is not a voting record. Wearing orange and green does not erase how you vote in Washington.

Representation matters. But representation without shared values is not liberation.

And then there is another contradiction I simply cannot get past.

Dr. Chestnut has publicly supported David Jolly. She hosted a fundraiser for him. She has shared his campaign material and promoted his yard signs on her social media. Now she endorses his Republican opponent while simultaneously declaring that she remains a Democrat.

The Bible says a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

I am not calling Dr. Chestnut unstable.

But this? This is double minded.

And no, this is not about Black voters being anybody's "political property." On that point, Dr. Chestnut and I agree. No party owns Black voters. But our political independence should require us to examine candidates more closely, not allow shared skin color to substitute for scrutiny.

I want to see a Black governor of Florida in my lifetime too. But I don't  want a governor who is just Black. I want a governor who will protect people's right to vote, respect our history, protect public education, value diversity, equity and inclusion, and defend civil rights.

Because Black skin alone does not make Black policy.

And frankly, saying you want to see a Black governor in your lifetime as a reason to support Byron Donalds makes no sense to me. That's like saying you want to see a Black Supreme Court Justice, so Clarence Thomas automatically deserves your support.

Hello, somebody? Taps mic. Is this thing on?

Dr. Chestnut says Black leadership matters. She's right.

And that is precisely why this endorsement matters.

People will remember this. Democrats will remember this. Black voters will remember this. Gainesville will remember this. Alachua County will remember this. And yes, your constituents will remember this.

You spent decades building a public legacy, Dr. Chestnut. I sincerely hope this endorsement is not the part of that legacy people remember most.

Because for me, sadly, an endorsement that took one day to make has tarnished a reputation that took a lifetime to build.

And that is why I could not remain silent.

By the way... if you have read this far...  do me a favor and help Angie Nixon for Florida beat CASH-ley Moody who stole 10 million dollars from poor children.