Despite the clear contrasts between them, the top two contenders for Orange County Mayor found a few areas of agreement Monday.
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Both Tiffany Moore Russell and Chris Messina said they supported banning license plate readers, backed a moratorium on large-scale data centers, and opposed using hotel taxes to fund another expansion of the Orange County Convention Center.
But the sold-out League of Women Voters’ candidate forum Wednesday also showcased their contrasting views on how to remodel the Lynx bus service, how to maintain the county’s relationship with state government and how to approach future hotel tax spending.
The office is officially nonpartisan, though both candidates have made sure voters know their party affiliation.
Messina, a Republican, favors drastic changes to Lynx, shifting the fleet from large buses that travel fixed routes to small vehicles with point-to-point service.
“We need to implement that program as quickly as possible,” he said.
Moore Russell, a Democrat, favors a model called the STAR Plan created by the grassroots Sunrise Movement, creating rapid routes along some of the county’s busiest roads to connect neighborhoods to work centers. She also called for SunRail to operate on nights and weekends.
On hotel tax usage – which state law restricts to spending on tourism marketing or on venues that create more tourism – Moore Russell said she supports pushing the state to make modest tweaks to allow for spending on transportation to move visitors and workers to and from attractions, and on workforce housing in areas around International Drive and theme parks.
But, she said, her priority is ensuring Orange County maintains control over the spending.
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“I’m open to expanding the legislation, but I’m concerned that Tallahassee will take over the control of how we use our TDT dollars,” she said.
Messina said he’d be open to pursuing changes to allow spending hotel tax to transport people from the airport to their hotel, or to the theme parks. But he said he thought allotting money collected from the six-percent levy on hotel room nights to affordable housing would be “a step too far.”
Moore Russell received the most votes in the August primary, tallying 8,500 more than Messina, the runner-up. But turnout was low in that contest – about 22.5%. In the 2022 general election, about 47% of eligible voters cast ballots, suggesting turnout will be much higher in the 2026 general election as well.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
Moore Russell was elected to the Board of County Commissioners as its youngest-ever representative in 2006, later serving 12 years as the Clerk of the Courts.
She had to file her resignation as clerk to run for mayor and left office on Aug. 31.
Messina is an entrepreneur who has spent his career developing medical tech companies and trade associations, he said.
Moderator Linda Chapin, Orange County’s first mayor, noted that she was the president of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters 50 years ago as America celebrated its 200th birthday.
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“I’m still here and we’re still here,” she remarked.