building a bridge between the business community and environmentalists. The Gainesville Sun, though effusive in its "enormous regard for Chestnut," endorsed Hutchinson, concluding that Chestnut "simply hasn't made the case for turning out an incumbent county commissioner who has a solid record of accomplishment to recommend him." Chestnut ended up narrowly defeating Hutchinson, winning 54% of the vote to his 46%. She advanced to the general election, where she faced Republican nominee Don Marsh and Libertarian nominee Darrell McCormick. Chestnut again focused on her support for reducing poverty and argued that public transportation needed to be more present and reliable in the poorer, eastern part of the county. Chestnut ended up winning her first term on the County Commission by a wide margin, winning 58% of the vote to Marsh's 34% and McCormick's 8%, becoming the first black woman elected to the County Commission. In 2006, Chestnut ran for re-election against Lloyd Bailey, a dive shop owner and the Republican nominee for the race. Chestnut expanded her margin of victory even more, defeating Bailey by a wide 62-38% margin. In 2004, Chestnut was found guilty of an ethics violation from the Florida Commission on Ethics when she took free tickets to an event from developer Clarke Butler of Butler Plaza. In 2010, Chestnut ran for a third term on the County Commission and was opposed by Republican nominee Susan Baird, a Tea Party activist and a real estate broker. Baird argued that the county's expenditures needed to be slashed, while Chestnut argued for efficiency in government services and increased public-private partnerships. Despite Alachua County leaning Democratic, including Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink's strong performance in the county, Chestnut lost re-election in a major upset to Baird, winning just 46% of the vote to Baird's 54%, making Baird the first Republican to be elected to the County Commission in nearly three decades. On Feb. 17, 2022, Chestnut was again sworn in as a Gainesville City Commissioner after winning a runoff election to replace Commissioner Gail Johnson, who had resigned and later endorsed Chestnut to fill the seat. Among her initial areas of focus, Chestnut advocated for potentially bringing a new multi-use complex to East Gainesville. Later involvement In 2012, Chestnut's stepson, Chuck Chestnut (who also served in the state House) was elected to the Alachua County Commission. Cynthia Chestnut was elected as the chairwoman of the Alachua County Democratic Party in