{"id":3889,"date":"2026-06-12T19:34:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3889"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:34:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:34:59","slug":"get-ready-to-vote-dozens-of-local-candidates-qualify-for-central-florida-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3889","title":{"rendered":"Get ready to vote: Dozens of local candidates qualify for Central Florida races"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This year\u2019s political season officially kicked off Friday as scores of candidates qualified for dozens of public offices across Central Florida \u2014 from county commissions to school boards and a clerk of the courts spot.<\/p>\n

Read more Knicks fever is colliding with World Cup buzz, and New York soccer bars are trying to juggle both<\/a><\/p>\n

The party primary elections will be held Aug. 18, and the general election is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

Orange County<\/strong><\/p>\n

In what likely will be the most-watched political contest is the race to succeed term-limited Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.<\/p>\n

The nonpartisan race includes well-known Democrats such as Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell and former U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. Also in the mix is Republican businessman Chris Messina, who previously challenged Demings, and first-time candidate Randy Rust Jr.<\/p>\n

Because Russell is vying for Orange County mayor, four candidates are running to replace her as clerk of the courts: Roberta Walton Johnson, general counsel for the clerk\u2019s office; incumbent District 4 Commissioner Maribel Gomez-Cordero; former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh and Orlando Realtor Terrell Thomas.<\/p>\n

Five Orange commission seats will be up for grabs, including two new seats created by a charter amendment narrowly approved by county voters in November 2024.<\/p>\n

In the District 2 race to succeed Christine Moore, who resigned to run for Apopka mayor, candidates include former state Rep. Kamia Brown; Michael Crabb, a lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office; Wes Hodge, a former Orange Democratic Party chair; Ocoee city commissioner George Oliver III; and family law attorney Marsha Summersill of Apopka.<\/p>\n

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In the District 4 contest, Democratic state Rep. Johanna L\u00f3pez, a former teacher and member of the Orange County School Board, and businessman Brian Jones have qualified as candidates. Isabella Arthur qualified as a write-in candidate.<\/p>\n

In District 6, incumbent commissioner Mike Scott will face primary-election challenges from Lawanna Gelzer, Cynthia Harris and Hedder Pierre Joseph. Also qualifying was Loody Delice, who previously operated a valet service.<\/p>\n

One of two new districts created by a voter-approved charter amendment in 2024, District 7 includes the communities of Eatonville, Fairview Shores, Maitland, Orlo Vista and part of Pine Hills.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a crowded field, as 13 candidates qualified to run as the district\u2019s first commissioner. Among the candidates are former Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner; lawyer and former Orlando city commissioner Vickie Vargo; Patricia Rumph, who has served as president of the Pine Hills Community Council; and Aaron Emmanuel Lewis, co-founder of The Family Support Network.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

District 8, the other new seat, has a field of six candidates. They include longtime former Democratic state Rep. Victor Torres; first-time candidate George Haas; business owner Tatiana Fernandez; Jeannette Qui\u00f1ones Hern\u00e1ndez, who worked for former Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio; Julio Rocha, co-owner of an insurance agency; and Air Force veteran Isaiah Anderson.<\/p>\n

Seminole County<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Seminole, Democrat Charline Santos, a strategist and Realtor, has filed to run against Republican incumbent Amy Lockhart for the District 4 seat on the county commission in a political contest that will likely focus on the issues of taxes, affordability and protection of the rural boundary.<\/p>\n

In Seminole\u2019s\u00a0 District 2 commission race, incumbent Jay Zembower, a Republican, was re-elected to a third term after not drawing an opponent.<\/p>\n

In Sanford, three candidates \u2014 Justin Bruce Bynum, Charles Davis and Christina Hollerbach \u2014 qualified to become the city\u2019s next mayor after Art Woodruff decided not to seek re-election. Sanford\u2019s qualifying period ended May 26.<\/p>\n

Qualifying periods for Seminole\u2019s six other municipalities \u2014 Lake Mary, Longwood, Casselberry, Oviedo, Winter Springs and Altamonte Springs \u2014 are in August.<\/p>\n

Read more The American Dream: World Cup glory<\/a><\/p>\n

Osceola County<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Kissimmee Mayor Olga Gonzalez will challenge longtime incumbent Viviana Janer for the District 2 seat on the Osceola County Commission.<\/p>\n

Janer is seeking her fourth term. Gonzalez served as Kissimmee\u2019s mayor from 2020 to 2024 and previously was a city commissioner.<\/p>\n

In the District 4 county commission race, five candidates have qualified to replace longtime commissioner Cheryl Grieb, who decided not to run after nearly 12 years in office. Those candidates include Rev. Mary Downey, Rafael Lebron, Donald Shroyer, Jose Gonzalez and Nelly Hernandez.<\/p>\n

In Kissimmee, Seat 2 city commissioner Angela Eady will face a challenge from entrepreneur Wanda Rom\u00e1n. In the Seat 4 race, incumbent commissioner Janette Martinez will face Tiffany Jeffers, Rubin Anderson and Maria Virginia Garcia.<\/p>\n

In St. Cloud, three candidates are vying to replace Seat 5 council member Shawn Fletcher. Those include Deputy Police Chief Kirk Zike; inflight supervisor and youth sports coach Alex Rodriguez; and city finance employee Jim Moore.<\/p>\n

In the city\u2019s Seat 4, incumbent Ken Gilbert earned a new term after no other candidate filed to run.<\/p>\n

Lake County<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two county commission seats are up for grabs. District 4 commissioner and commission Chair Leslie Campione will face David Williamson in a GOP primary. Democrat Egor Emory also qualified, as did Tommie Powers as a write-in.<\/p>\n

Current District 2 County Commissioner Sean Parks, a Republican, will face Humbuerto Liriano in a GOP primary. The winner will face write-ins Jose Elias-Torres and Leighton Powers with no Democrat having qualified.<\/p>\n

School Boards<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Orange, four candidates are vying for two seats each in District 1 and District 2, and three candidates are running for District 3 seat.<\/p>\n

Orange County elects a countywide chairperson for its School Board, with current board members Angie Gallo and Alicia Farrant facing off to succeed Teresa Jacobs, who is retiring at the end of her term.<\/p>\n

Gallo is president of the Florida School Boards Association and has been on the board since 2018. Farrant, who was first elected in 2022, is a non-profit founder and mother of five.<\/p>\n

In Osceola, two candidates are vying for the District 1 school board seat and three candidates are facing off in District 3. Incumbent School Board members Heather Kahoun and Paula Bronson are running unopposed.<\/p>\n

In Seminole, three School Board seats will be contested by two candidates each this year in Districts 1, 2, and 5. Incumbent school board members Kristine Kraus and Autumn Garick each face a challenger for re-election.<\/p>\n

Lake County\u2019s School Board has one contested race, with two candidates for its District 1 seat. Incumbent board members Marc Dodd and Stephanie Luke are running unopposed in the other two seats.<\/p>\n

Read more Gators star discus thrower Alida van Daalen eyes national record at NCAAs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The qualifying period for this year’s elections ended at noon Friday and dozens of candidates are running for a variety of public seats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,13,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-election","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nGet ready to vote: Dozens of local candidates qualify for Central Florida races - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3889\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Get ready to vote: Dozens of local candidates qualify for Central Florida races - 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