An obscure change in Florida’s resign-to-run law has created a peculiar choice for a pair of Democratic county officials who want to be Orange County’s next mayor — and their decisions on when to leave office could mean the state’s Republican governor chooses their successors.
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Under a 2021 law, Commissioner Mayra Uribe and Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell must file resignation letters by May 28 and leave office with more than 28 months on their current terms, in order to guarantee their replacements are chosen by voters.
Uribe, elected in 2024 to a four-year term, said Monday she will not do that, having decided to serve until December, well past the deadline for a special election to fill her seat. That means Gov. Ron DeSantis could appoint someone to represent her district for the remainder of her term, a possibility that has some Democrats and labor unions worried and upset.
Moore Russell, also elected in 2024, said she’ll meet the new rules, meaning voters can pick her successor.
Uribe said she struggled with the decision — created by a 2021 change in Florida law, and unknown to the candidates until recently — but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to leave office with critical decisions coming this summer on budgeting, allocating Tourist Development Taxes, and a homeless shelter project she helped craft over more than three years. She’d need to leave office by Aug. 1 to trigger an election but that could be before those key decisions were made.
She acknowledged pressure from her party but noted the commission is a non-partisan race and said she’s doing what is best for her constituents.
“I’m a Democrat, but what they want me to do is very disheartening to me,” Uribe said. “It’s a major policy time for us.”
She contended the governor could choose to leave the seat open, or call a special election, rather than appoint a replacement.
But Democrats fear Uribe’s district, which favors their party, would end up being represented by a Republican tapped by DeSantis.
In recent weeks, the Orange County Democratic Executive Committee sought legal analysis from Mark Herron, Florida Democrats’ top election attorney, on how Uribe and Moore Russell should proceed. Party leaders had never before faced the predicament that their candidates, resigning from one office to run for another, could effectively turn over a seat to the GOP.
Herron’s findings were that — under the latest changes to the resign-to-run law — both candidates would need to leave office with at least 28 months left to avoid a DeSantis appointment.
That 28-month time frame would allow the vacated seat to be filled at the next regularly scheduled election. If the resignation occurs later, there is not enough time for candidates to qualify and run, and so the governor is allowed to fill the vacancy.
“The central concerns of the OCDEC is to ensure that their resignations trigger a special election, rather than a gubernatorial appointment by Governor DeSantis,” the analysis reads.
Last week, the AFL-CIO labor union, representing about 70,000 Central Florida workers, passed a resolution vowing not to support any candidate who doesn’t resign their office in time for a new election.
The union unanimously approved the resolution on Wednesday, President Eric Clinton said, and forwarded it to both Uribe and Moore Russell’s campaigns.
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“I think it’s a mistake to put that power in his hands, for any seat,” Clinton said, of DeSantis. “I think we’re an important voice … we think that whoever is going to be the next mayor of Orange County needs our support.”
Moore Russell said she wasn’t aware of the change in law when she entered the race and initially thought she’d serve until November.
Upon learning of it, she said she had to make some tweaks to her household finances with her husband but agreed to leave office earlier.
“It’s a personal decision. It’s not about whether to resign, but it’s about when the effective date is,” she said. “I could choose to say December, but that means the governor would get to appoint.”
Uribe said she felt it was important to serve the next few months as the county embarks on several critical decisions. Mayor Jerry Demings has said he intends to empanel another Tourist Development Tax task force in the coming months, which could determine how a largesse of bed tax money is doled out.
“I’ve been through hell and back fighting that industry, and I want to be there for that,” she said.
A proposed homeless shelter in her district is also expected to come to the board for a vote this summer, and she said she wants to make sure she was around to get it over the finish line, she said.
The board currently has a vacancy in District 2 after Christine Moore resigned to run for Apopka Mayor, a race she ultimately lost. The District 2 race is on the ballot this year and, in the meantime, DeSantis could appoint a temporary replacement. So far, he hasn’t.
Uribe’s decision means an election for her District 3 election will be held in 2028, when her term ends. Had her resignation triggered a special election, it likely would have been held this year. So far, seven candidates have filed to fill her seat, which generally spans from East Colonial Drive in the north, south to Orlando International Airport, bracketed by Orange Blossom Trail and Goldenrod Road.
Beyond Uribe and Moore-Russell, five other candidates have filed for mayor so far. Former Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy is in the race, along with Brandy Griffin, Safraaz Alli, Randy Fust Jr. and Chris Messina.
Demings, a Democrat running for governor, cannot run again for the mayor’s post due to term limits.
The Clerk of Courts race — with a slate of high-profile candidates — will be held later this year due to Moore Russell’s decision. That race so far features County Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero, former Property Appraiser Rick Singh, former county Commissioner Emily Bonilla and Roberta Johnson, the general counsel for the clerk’s office.
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