VOLUME 6 ISSUE 37
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Friday night football Pg B2
SEPTEMBER 19 - 25, 2025
Ocala special election
Give4Marion raises $2.4 million
Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano speaks during a public event in Ocala on Oct. 21, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette file photo]
Mayor Marciano wins second term; councilman Musleh a fourth. By Jamie Berube jamie@ocalagazette.com
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ncumbent Ocala Mayor Benjamin Marciano Jr. and City Council District 3 incumbent Jay A. Musleh secured reelection in Tuesday’s special general election. Only 3,849 of the 33,301 registered city voters cast ballots, which resulted in an 11.56% turnout for the nonpartisan election that resolved a disrupted qualifying process from earlier this summer. The election followed a July “reset” when no candidates qualified during the initial July 7-11 window due to errors such as incorrect check types, missing treasurer signatures and incomplete memo lines. On July 15, city council approved the special election and reopened qualifying from July 16-18, which drew seven candidates. Marion County’s voter demographics as of Sept. 16 include 257,368 registered voters: 65,236 Democrats, 133,288 Republicans, 49,648 No Party Affiliation and 9,196 Other. Ocala’s council-manager government assigns the mayor oversight of the Ocala Police Department, leadership of council meetings and ceremonial duties, with a $550 See Special election, page A4
Lauren Deiorio, the president/executive director of the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County, celebrates as donations rise above $2,345,557 for the Give4Marion conclusion in the NOMA Black Box at the Reilly Arts Center in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.
The annual 33 hours of giving supports local nonprofits and their clients. Staff report
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iving. Giving. Gone. This year’s Give4Marion campaign had raised thousands of dollars for area nonprofits as it began to wind down on Wednesday evening with a celebration at the Reilly Arts Center. After the 33 hours of giving ended, the Community Foundation reported $2,345,487 in total donations from 5,054 donors.
However, Lauren Delorio, Executive Director for the Community Foundation announced to the crowd that local philanthropist Stan Hanson predicted $2.4 million, so he’d make up the difference from the Adam Hanson Foundation. The leaderboard indicated that Empowered of Central Florida/The Rock Program/Empowered Wrestling Club founded by Rondo and Toby Fernandez raised the most money- $230,375 from 175 donors.
The final figures won’t be tallied, however, for several days as donations continue to come in. The annual event was started in 2020 and is organized by the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County. “Every year, Give4Marion emerges as an example of what happens when neighbors come together for a common cause. This 33-hour online giving event provides See Give4Marion, page A8
A life in blossom Anne Selph MacKay was known for her great love of gardening and helped establish the state’s wildflower license plate. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com
P Anne MacKay was instrumental in developing the Marion County Public Library System’s seed library. [Photo courtesy Marion County Public Library System]
erhaps it was her early life on a farm in Ocala that instilled in Anne MacKay a deep and abiding reverence for nature. She loved the feel of being in the saddle of a hunter/jumper as it glided over a fence, the unbridled movement of
a free-flowing river and the sunkissed beauty of Florida’s abundant wildflowers. MacKay, the wife of the late noted local statesman Kenneth “Buddy” MacKay, was born Anne Taylor Selph on March 6, 1937, in Ocala. She passed away at the family home on Lake Weir on Sept. 7, 2025. Her husband of 65 years died at home on Dec. 31, 2024.
Anne attended Ocala High School and Agnes Scott College before she graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She was a member of Tri Delta Sorority. She was an educator prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom. Buddy served in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s. See Anne MacKay page A7
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INSIDE:
Capital projects............................. A4 Tax hikes......................................... A6 Giving back..................................... B1 Recovery Fest................................. B5 Calendar......................................... B6
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