{"id":4530,"date":"2026-06-18T07:33:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4530"},"modified":"2026-06-18T07:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:33:36","slug":"editorial-candidate-qualifying-reflects-an-urge-to-serve-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4530","title":{"rendered":"Editorial: Candidate qualifying reflects an urge to serve the community"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe government closest to the people governs best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas Jefferson may not have said it in precisely those words, but it\u2019s clear from his writings that he believed in the principles shared by many founding fathers: That the best leaders lived among the people they led, in close and daily association with their problems and priorities. One of the best-regarded chroniclers of early American thought, Alexis Clerel, the Viscount de Tocqueville, wrote \u201c\u2026.local assemblies of citizens constitute the strength of free nations. Town-meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people\u2019s reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it. A nation may establish a system of free government, but without the spirit of municipal institutions it cannot have the spirit of liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Those words describe an idea so endangered in the U.S. that there are active efforts to rewrite their meaning. In today\u2019s ultra-conservative mindset, government is best when it issues decrees from afar and enforces compliance with draconian punishments \u2014 like removal from office for the simple act of disagreeing with \u201csuperiors\u201d in state and federal government.<\/p>\n

That may explain why we got a little misty last week when we saw the bumper crop of candidates turning out for city and county races across Central Florida. Many of these candidates know what they are getting into: At least a few years of being accosted in Publix and quizzed about water-utility rate increases. Of taking a difficult vote and immediately hearing boos from the audience. Of listening to constituents plead for help with problems local governments can\u2019t really solve, and feeling their hearts break because their constituents are also their neighbors and their friends. And the deep satisfaction when they sit back and think \u201cProblem solved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Give voters a voice<\/h4>\n

And that\u2019s good, because right off the bat, one group of local voters has a big problem. There will be one vacant Orange County Commission seat that \u2014 as of right now \u2014 is not on the ballot. But the incumbent in that district, Mayra Uribe,is stepping down to run for mayor, and has two years left in her term. Because of the timing of her resignation, there\u2019s no automatic special election to fill the remaining years of her term.<\/p>\n

Orange County Elections Supervisor Karen Castor Dentel has asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare that special election, and that\u2019s clearly the solution that makes the most sense, allowing that vacancy to be filled while voters are already at the polls.for the\u00a0 scheduled August primary followed by the November general election. But DeSantis hasn\u2019t acted \u2014 though he did respond with a cryptic \u201cstay tuned!\u201d when asked about his plans. And Orange County sends its ballots to the printer on Friday.<\/p>\n

Seven candidates have pulled papers to run for the seat, and are presumably ready to qualify. There\u2019s also a lawsuit asking for an official declaration that the race is on. If Castor Dentel doesn\u2019t hear from the governor or the court by Thursday at the latest, we\u2019d encourage her to do whatever is necessary to put the race on the ballot anyway. As her own counsel has pointed out, the law (amended in 2021) is ambiguous, but one thing is certain: It\u2019s a lot easier to cross a race off a printed ballot than it would be to design and order new ones.<\/p>\n

One thing that might help: Voters in District 3, who will otherwise go without an elected representative on the County Commission for as long as two years, should get in touch with the governor and let him know they want a shot to choose their own commissioner. If you happen to live in District 3 \u2014 which takes in a hunk of downtown Orlando and stretches south and east to cover the Orlando International Airport, Azalea Park and Ventura \u2014\u00a0 reach out to the governor\u2019s office today and let him know you want quick action. You can call (850) 717-9337 or (850) 488-7146 or via email at GovernorRon.Desantis@eog.myflorida.com. If you happen to be a Republican who\u2019s written campaign checks in the past, all the better.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So many hopefuls<\/h4>\n

\\But that\u2019s not the only remarkable thing about Orange County\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

Everyone knew there would be more candidates after a voter-approved 2024 amendment to the county charter that expanded the county commission from six members to eight. But we doubt many people predicted just how many there would be. In District 7, which includes Pine Hills, Eatonville, Maitland and Orlo Vista, 13 candidates will be on the August ballot. Commission District 8 has six qualified candidates; Districts 2 and 6 have five each and District 4 has three.<\/p>\n

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The race for mayor will be a bruiser. Three of the four candidates have elected experience: Tiffany Moore Russell, currently the Orange Clerk of Court;\u00a0 Uribe, of the County Commission District 3 seat, and Stephanie Murphy, a former member of Congress. The fourth, Winter Park businessman Chris Messina, has worked on countywide political campaigns.<\/p>\n

The rest of the Orange ballot hews more closely to what voters are used to. Three of the four School Board races have just two candidates each \u2013 including the race for chair, which pits two current board members, Angie Gallo and Alicia Farrant, against each other.\u00a0 District 3 has three contenders.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Seminole, Lake and Osceola local races are also closer to previous elections, with many races featuring two or three candidates \u2014 and even a handful of candidates unelected unopposed. But looking through those candidates, we noticed the same thing we did in Orange County: There\u2019s a lot of agreement about the real issues and challenges in each community \u2014 and it often has little to do with the partisan affiliations the candidates claim.<\/p>\n

A last hurrah?<\/h4>\n

Many Florida voters don\u2019t realize it yet,but this may be their last chance to elect local officials who have the authority they need to listen to their concerns in person and help figure out a way to address them with the freedom that the framers of the state Constitution intended. That\u2019s because November\u2019s ballot will carry a poisoned, power-sucking pill: A mandate, wrapped in the guise of a property tax cut, that will strip a significant measure of authority from every local government across Florida, replacing it with puppeteering by unelected bureaucrats in Tallahassee. The proposed cut, which would come in the form of an increase in the homestead exemption, would spark a seismic shift in Florida\u2019s local governments, jeopardizing their ability to meet basic local needs. The state proposes to make up some of the shortfall, but has already made it clear that it will also assume a great deal of authority over decisions that are currently baked into each community\u2019s budget discussions.<\/p>\n

As voters look at the candidates who have come forward, ready to serve them and eager for their votes, they should ask themselves one question: What would be better \u2014 choosing one of the candidates standing before them, after evaluating their positions and values? Or leaving crucial decisions to people they will probably never have the chance to meet? That question will be on the ballot in November, but it should also guide how people vote in the August primaries \u2014 and how they look at the dozens of candidates who have stepped forward in a desire to serve.<\/p>\n

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.<\/em><\/p>\n

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A bumper crop of candidates turned up for city and county races across Central Florida, meaning more chances for voters to decide the future of their communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nEditorial: Candidate qualifying reflects an urge to serve the community - 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=4530\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Editorial: Candidate qualifying reflects an urge to serve the community - 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