In April, Newberry voters will choose who they want to fill two commission seats, with two candidates running in each race. 

Running for the Group 4 seat are Donald Long, a current member of Newberry’s Planning and Zoning Board, and Steve Panaghi, who owns an IT consulting firm. 

Incumbent Tony Mazon, a UPS driver, is running against early childhood educator Rosa “Marie” Campbell for the Group 5 seat. 

Newberry’s polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, at the Mentholee Norfleet Municipal Building (25420 W Newberry Rd.). 

We sent each candidate the same questions. The responses are posted below. 

Group 4 

Steve Panaghi 

Age: 42 

Occupation: IT Consultant & Program Manager. Formerly a Sr. IT Operations Manager. 

Previous experience in elected office: None 

Public service other than elected office: I’m an Eagle Scout and highly involved in Scouting with my daughter, both as an ASM (Assistant Scout Master) and Merit Badge Councilor. I’m a strong believer in the Scouting method as it teaches leadership skills to youth at a young age. I’m also an active member of the Concerns Citizens group that meets monthly at the MLK Center. 

I’m a non-active member of Alachua County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) group. They provide radio communications at all emergency shelters throughout the county during major weather events. In the past, I’ve helped with EmComm (Emergency Communications) for both the TWA Flight 800 recovery efforts and the 9/11 recovery efforts. 

Website: www.stevefornewberry.com    

Facebook: Steve For Newberry 

What prompted you to run for election? 

I decided to run for City Commission because I wanted to address concerns that are critical to our community. Like many, I didn’t follow our local politics closely. Everything seemed to be working well, trash was being picked up, power worked, etc. Over time, I saw there was a lot of new housing, but no changes to our infrastructure. 

The moment I fully started to pay attention was when I saw the mayor endorsing the charter school at a public meeting. I listened to what was said and had some questions. The lack of responses to my questions made me start looking deeper into this issue. I spoke to teachers, neighbors, and even reached out to the school board to learn more about the issues the charter was bringing up. The multiple inconsistencies I found led me to my decision on the charter school. 

I then started to deep dive decisions our commission has made in the past. I quickly saw housing developments being green lit but impact fees to pay for infrastructure improvements only started in 2023, meaning we current residents were paying to improve the infrastructure for the new residents. There were projects to help current citizens running into major opposition, especially when it came to infrastructure and other essential improvements. I quickly realized how wrong I was to not pay attention to our local government. My housing community could not get the city to pay for a sidewalk down 4th Ave. that our kids could use to walk safely to the middle school and cross over to the elementary and high schools, so our HOA came together and paid for it ourselves. 

What are your top two priorities if you are elected? 

The first of my priorities focuses on restoring respect, honesty and transparency to the commission. As part of this, I plan to hold monthly “Meet the Commissioner” events where I hope the public will come and ask me questions and hold me to account for my decisions. A key part of accountability is to have an enforceable ethics policy and term limits to apply to all elected officials. 

My second priority is to ensure the city works for all citizens. We all pay for the upkeep of the city-owned parks and buildings, and I want to improve them and utilize them in new and different ways. I will work hard to find new ways to use the resources the city has to ensure more access to all taxpayers. I want to solve the downtown parking issues before the one-way pairs are completed — there is no reason to wait on the state to complete the project in 2030 when our businesses have parking concerns now. 

I want to restore open communications and have a working relationship with the county and school board. As part of this, I want to work with the sheriff to increase the presence and schedule of crossing guards, so our kids can walk to and from school safely, especially with all the increased traffic from all the reckless development. 

What is your approach to the Newberry Elementary School charter conversion? 

I’ve been publicly against the conversion charter from the start. I go into detail on my website at stevefornewberry.com/conversion-charter, but here is how I’ll fight back. 

It’s important to understand some facts on who voted. Only 520 homes were eligible to vote on the parent side for the elementary school. Of those, only 53% voted (274). The breakdown was 149 yes and 125 voted no. This means that 29% of eligible homes voted yes for the conversion out of all eligible homes. 

Eligible homes mean a home where a student lives who is zoned for Newberry Elementary, even if it’s outside the city limits. All the data I cited is found at the following: www.mainstreetdailynews.com/education/breaking-newberry-residents-vote-down-charter-conversion 

The reason this is important is that when the city gave the conversion charter board a loan, they voted to spend city taxpayer dollars. This means that people who live in the city limits, but did not have a vote, had their tax dollars sent to a group who was voted on by a small subset of parents who can either live inside the city limits, or be outside city limits and not pay taxes to Newberry. Talk about taxation without representation! 

Not only am I against this takeover of our public schools, I will fight against any future attempt at the middle and high schools. At the same time, I will be holding the school board accountable to complete the rezoning that will solve the overcrowding issue at Newberry Elementary School and ensure our students can receive the highest quality education they deserve. 

What are the two most important issues facing Newberry’s government? 

Public Safety 

All this growth has brought a lot more traffic. Our kids deserve a safe commute to and from school, and we need to increase the time the crossing guards are scheduled. We also need to make sure we look at how all the roads are impacted and see where we need to make improvements to make them safer. This could be more stop signs, speed humps or even adding in traffic lights. 

Reckless Growth 

With all the developments that have been approved, there doesn’t seem to be a plan to ensure our infrastructure can handle it. While we do collect impact fees to pay for the needed changes, it seems that those changes only come after the homes are sold, or new businesses are opened. I want to change that — we should ensure the infrastructure is improved and ready to handle the influx of new people before the first home is sold, or the business has its grand opening. 

As part of this, we need to solve many issues. We need to figure out the funding so we can complete the advanced wastewater treatment plant project. We need to work with everyone to solve the downtown stormwater issues. We must build out the second interconnect for our electric grid so that when the main one goes down, we can easily keep our city powered off the backup. 

What do you think Newberry needs to be doing differently, if anything, and why? 

This city is still divided by the charter issue. I’ve met people from both sides who have said they lost friends over this. We can all be passionate about our beliefs, but we must not let it consume us. I want to work to bring this city back together. It has caused kids to lose friends because parents disagree, divisions between teachers and parents, and created a host of other school issues. 

I want to find ways to get our youth more involved civically, starting at sixth grade if possible. MyTime at the MLK Center is a fantastic program that helps tutor students after school. I’d like to find a way for older kids to come and tutor the younger ones. Imagine a middle schooler being tutored by a high schooler. 

We have a student government at the high school, and that’s fantastic, but I’d also like to see our youth create a youth City Commission to focus on their needs, and then bring those ideas to the commission to vote on. Not only will this drive engagement with our youth and teach what it means to be a citizen, but it will bring fresh ideas to light. 

Donald Long 

Age: 41 

Occupation: Owner of All Smiles Auto Detailing LLC 

Previous experience in elected office: None 

Public service other than elected office: Served on the Planning and Zoning/ Historic Architectural District Board for the city of Newberry for the past three years. Was Co-Chair. 

Campaign website: www.votedonaldlong.com 

Facebook: VoteDonaldlong 

What prompted you to run for election? 

After serving on the PNZ I wanted to continue to help serve my community with the growth and guidance that I’ve learned over these three years. Also, I had plans to run one day and this was a good time. 

What are your top two priorities if you are elected? 

Make sure we keep the focus on the city growth the smart way, focusing on the combination of home-to-business ratio with building our roads and infrastructure together. Also making sure our schools get my utmost focus to ensure they have everything they too need to be successful. 

What is your approach to the Newberry Elementary School charter conversion? 

My approach is simple: make sure that we hold this school administration to what they have committed to and to make sure every kid, no matter their struggles, gets the best education. Also, that all kids have access to the school and will have the transportation to get there. 

What are the two most important issues facing Newberry’s government? 

Maintaining infrastructure. New and current. Also, the well-being of our kids’ education for years to come. 

What do you think Newberry needs to be doing differently, if anything, and why? 

Just make sure all residents feel included in the decisions that are made about the city so people feel informed as much as possible. Not to say it doesn’t happen, just find ways to make it a little better. Get more family events in the city to bring the community close. 

Group 5 

Rosa Marie Campbell 

Age: 50   

Occupation: Teacher @ UF ECC @ Baby Gator. 

Previous experience in elected office: none. 

Public service other than elected office: none. 

Website: https://rosafornewberry.com 

What prompted you to run for election? 

I am running to be a voice for the community!! 

What are your top two priorities if you are elected?  

Parks & Recreation  

Social Activities for the Youth 

What is your approach to the Newberry Elementary School charter conversion?  

School Board of Alachua County and Newberry Charter School Administrators need an effective approach to their school for 26-27. 

What are the two most important issues facing Newberry’s government?  

Transparency and accountability!! 

What do you think Newberry needs to be doing differently, if anything, and why?   

Leadership needs to be more effective and collaborative with citizens of Newberry.  

Bring the community back together! The community has suffered because of the recent Charter School issues. 

Tonio (Tony) Mazon 

Age: 48 

Occupation: Package Delivery Driver 

Previous experience in elected office: Running for my third consecutive term for Commission Group V 

Public service other than elected office: Volunteer coach for Girls Place and Newberry Parks and Recreation, volunteer with Concerned Citizens and MLK center in Newberry and youth mentoring at Newberry Elementary School 

Website: tonymazonfornewberry5.nationbuilder.com  

What prompted you to run for re-election?  

I am running for re-election to continue what I started — empowering the people of Newberry. My goal has always been to ensure that our community is informed, represented and heard. I take great pride in being accessible to residents, listening to their concerns, and working toward solutions that reflect the needs of our city. Over the past two terms, I have focused on responsible development, infrastructure improvements and ensuring our community is not left behind. I want to continue that progress. 

What are your top two priorities if you are elected?  

Safety and Infrastructure — I am committed to ensuring the safety of our community by improving infrastructure. This includes adding sidewalks to the northwest side of town, which has historically been underrepresented, and improving our wastewater system to accommodate future growth while maintaining environmental responsibility. 

Investing in youth and community spaces – our children need safe places to grow, learn, and engage with their peers. That’s why I support developing a skate park and expanding after-school programs to keep kids active and off the streets. These initiatives build stronger community connections and provide constructive opportunities for our youth. 

What is your approach to the Newberry Elementary School charter conversion?  

I have taken the time to meet with the city attorney multiple times to fully understand the legal framework of the conversion. The majority of the citizens I have spoken with are in favor of the conversion, and I respect their perspective. Newberry is a forward-thinking community that is willing to explore new opportunities to improve education. I believe this transition has the potential to create a school system that is more responsive to the needs of our students, teachers, and parents. My role as a commissioner is to ensure that the transition is smooth, transparent and beneficial for everyone. 

What are the two most important issues facing Newberry’s government?  

Managing Development — Newberry has seen rapid growth, and while we have successfully brought in businesses that residents have asked for, we must now be more strategic. It is critical to balance economic growth with maintaining the small-town charm and quality of life that make Newberry special. 

Infrastructure and Wastewater Management — Our city’s wastewater system is a pressing issue that must be addressed to support both current residents and future development. Proactive planning and responsible investment in infrastructure are key to maintaining a high standard of living and avoiding costly emergency fixes down the road. 

What do you think Newberry needs to be doing differently, if anything, and why?   

Newberry has done a great job balancing development with preserving our community’s character, but as we continue to grow, we need to be more selective about large-scale developments. Growth should be thoughtful ensuring that our roads, utilities, and schools can handle the expansion without straining city resources. Additionally, I believe we can improve communication and accessibility between the city government and residents —ensuring that all voices, especially those from underrepresented areas like the northwest side, are heard in decision-making.