{"id":1880,"date":"2026-05-27T20:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T20:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1880"},"modified":"2026-05-27T20:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T20:07:11","slug":"uribes-resignation-will-let-desantis-fill-her-orange-county-commission-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1880","title":{"rendered":"Uribe\u2019s resignation will let DeSantis fill her Orange County commission seat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, a Democrat and a candidate for county mayor, will resign her current office\u00a0effective Dec. 7, a date that will allow Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to choose her replacement rather than set a special election for district voters to decide.<\/p>\n

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Her decision, which had been telegraphed but became official with her late Tuesday submittal of a resignation letter,\u00a0drew a rebuke from some traditional Democratic backers.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow her constituents will likely be represented by an appointee, someone they did not choose at the ballot box,\u201d said Genesis Reyes of Immigrants Are Welcome Here, an advocacy group. \u201cThe people of District 3 deserve the opportunity to elect their next representative. While we respect the legal process, we remain deeply disappointed that the community has been deprived of that choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uribe, who has two years remaining on her four-year term as commissioner of a solidly Democratic\u00a0district that includes a large swath of southeast Orlando, is one of six candidates who have announced a run to succeed term-limited Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings, a candidate for governor.<\/p>\n

In a three-paragraph letter to Orange County Election Supervisor Karen Castor Dentel, a copy of which was sent to the governor, Uribe said, \u201cI respectfully request that the provisions of the [Orange County] Charter are recognized and that a special election will be held.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly support an election,\u201d she told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

She said the governor could choose to leave the seat open or call a special election rather than appoint a replacement.<\/p>\n

But Mark Herron, Florida Democrats\u2019 top election attorney, said 2021 amendments to the state\u2019s Resign-to-Run law allow DeSantis to ignore Uribe\u2019s request. The law no longer says the resignation creates a vacancy in an office to be filled by election.<\/p>\n

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The 2021 law also deleted a provision that allowed for an election in a charter county like Orange to be held to fill \u201can unexpired term in a manner provided by the respective charter.\u201d\u00a0Now, only a resignation that comes early enough to coincide with an already-scheduled election requires voters to decide.<\/p>\n

Uribe said she she hoped her decision on a later resignation date would not cost her the support of labor or fellow Democrats. \u201cI have worked closely with labor and our community on many important issues over the years,\u201d she said, adding she was honored to have the support of Orange County firefighters, sheriff\u2019s deputies and corrections officers.<\/p>\n

The seven-member board of commissioners, which includes the county mayor as a voting member of the panel, has an existing vacancy in District 2 because Christine Moore resigned to run for Apopka Mayor, a race she lost.<\/p>\n

That race, however, was already on the ballot for this year, meaning a DeSantis appointee could only serve a few months. So far, the governor has made no such appointment.<\/p>\n

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But given the longer timeframe with the Uribe seat, Jarred Cornell, interim chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, doubted the Republican governor would pass up the chance to pick someone like-minded to fill it. \u201cWhen he\u2019s looking to build Republican power in a Democratic county, of course he\u2019s going to take the opportunity to insert somebody that will go by his wishes,\u201d Cornell said of DeSantis.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe has proven time and again partisanship is his number one topic. Look, as recently as the gerrymandering that just happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Orlando-to-Okeechobee, UCF-to-Melbourne: Redistricting chops up Central Florida<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n