A candidate seeking a soon-to-be-vacated seat on Orange County’s Board of County Commissioners is hoping a judge will force an election to be held this year.
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Randy Ross, one of seven candidates running for the District 3 seat, filed suit this week in Orange County Circuit Court, asking a judge to call a special election in the race. A vacancy will be created by the Dec. 7 departure of incumbent Mayra Uribe, who under Florida’s resign-to-run law was forced to leave the seat because she’s running for county mayor.
Last month, a frenzy was set off when local politicians learned that Uribe would need to resign effective Aug. 1 in order to comply with a tweak in state law, which requires a term to have at least 28 months remaining to be filled by election. Uribe’s December resignation leaves just 24 months, meaning it is likely the rest of her term would be filled by someone appointed by the governor. And that would mean an election for the seat would not be held until 2028.
Ross filed the lawsuit in hopes a judge will clarify the state law — which Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel said had conflicting interpretations that left her office “uncertain how to proceed,” according to a recent letter sent to Secretary of State Cord Byrd, seeking clarification.
“I think the people of District 3 deserve to vote for whoever they want, so hopefully that’s what this does,” Ross said Friday. “The basis of the lawsuit is making sure the law isn’t interpreted but followed.”
The lawsuit names Gov. Ron DeSantis, Byrd and Castor Dentel. Byrd’s office hasn’t responded to repeated questions from the Orlando Sentinel about the situation, and a spokesperson for Castor Dentel didn’t respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for DeSantis said, “Stay tuned!” when asked about the situation, as well as another open vacancy on the Orange County board.
In her resignation letter, Uribe asked for her replacement to be determined by election, though Florida law seems to indicate that’s not likely.
Under a 2021 change to state law, vacancies with at least 28 months left on the term are to be filled by special election, while those with less time are filled by appointment by the governor.
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Orange County Democrats and labor unions feared that the non-partisan seat — which sits in a district that is solidly blue — would be filled by a Republican appointed by DeSantis. Uribe is a Democrat, elected to a four-year term in 2024.
She has said she does not want to leave by Aug. 1 because then she would miss crucial votes on budgeting, allocating Tourist Development Taxes, and a homeless shelter project she helped craft over more than three years.
Ross’ complaint states that the uncertainty “creates an immediate controversy affecting ballot access, candidate qualifying, voter rights, and the administration of the 2026 election cycle.”
He’s represented by Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, who sought his own challenge of Florida’s resign-to-run rules to avoid having to give up his county seat to run for Congress. A federal judge ruled against him, and Sabatini announced Friday he was dropping out of the Congressional race.
Also in the District 3 race, tentatively set for 2028, are: Nelson Betancourt, Marthaly Irizarry, Gus Martinez, Walker Smith IV, Linda Stewart and Stephanie Ziglar.
Time is of the essence with the Aug. 18 primary election approaching, and elections workers need to begin designing ballots to be printed.
“Financially, to taxpayers, it doesn’t make sense for this race to happen at any other time,” Ross said. “None of us were running like this race was in 2028.”
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