Better planning for Sanford’s rapid growth on the east side, along with upgrading aging infrastructure and making City Hall staff more accessible to residents, are key campaign issues among the two mayoral candidates in Tuesday’s election.
The winner of the non-partisan race will be sworn in Dec. 14 and succeed current Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff, who decided to not seek another four-year term. Woodruff was appointed mayor in 2020 by the city commission, after the late Jeff Triplett resigned. He was then elected in 2022.
Charles Davis, 58, the owner of an insurance business and a lifelong Sanford resident, faces Christina Hollerbach, 39, who owns the Sanford-based Hollerbach with Purpose consulting firm. Her family has owned Hollerbach’s German restaurant in downtown Sanford for more than 25 years.
Incorporated in 1877, Sanford is one of the region’s oldest cities, and now faces aging water and sewer systems. After a heavy thunderstorm, areas of downtown face flooding, particularly along East First Street near Magnolia Square.
The city also has had to upgrade its wastewater systems. In early 2024, millions of gallons of partially-treated sewage flowed into Lake Monroe after a malfunction at a city wastewater treatment plant, and left behind a stinky mess.
“It’s taking too long to fix these issues,” Hollerbach said. “We have the money in reserves. We have all the components to fix them. But we’ve been putting Band-Aids.”
Davis said one of the main reasons he’s running for mayor is better planning for the city’s future growth — especially along East Lake Mary Boulevard, near the Orlando Sanford International Airport and the county’s Boombah Sports Complex — where hundreds of new homes and businesses have been built in recent years.
“Lake Mary Boulevard is one of those areas where we could do better in working with [Seminole] County on smart growth and making sure that we’re making the best use for that corridor,” he said. “That’s where we need to have mixed-use and high density.”
New growth benefits the city’s tax base, Davis said, but plans should take into account traffic, city services and protecting neighborhoods.
Hollerbach agreed the city needs to take a more assertive approach to planning growth on the east side near the airport.
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“Growth is always going to happen. But how you accommodate or plan for it, that’s somewhere we have been short,” Hollerbach, 39, said.
The city’s leadership doesn’t challenge the county or the airport on its future growth plans, she said.
“It should be more of a partnership,” Hollerbach said.
Sanford sits in an ideal spot to attract manufacturing, Davis said. It has an airport, a train station, and bordered by the St. Johns River, which leads to Jacksonville. The city also is surrounded by major traffic corridors, including Interstate 4 and State Road 417.
Davis added he wants to upgrade the area around Marina Isle along the St. Johns to attract visitors. As an example, he pointed to Altamonte Springs converting a large retention pond into the now popular Cranes Roost Park with walking paths, plaza and amphitheater.
Both candidates said improvements need to be made at City Hall to make it easier for residents to access city services, get permits approved and receive answers to their questions.
“I want to change the culture at City Hall,” Hollerbach said. “When you go down there with an idea or something you’re passionate about, you hear ‘No’. I want to hear: ‘Yes, if’. The city doesn’t treat us like partners, but like adversaries.”
City Hall “needs revamping,” Davis said.
“It’s gotten to the point where it is very hard to reach a live person,” he said. “You have to push 9 or 10 buttons, and then they don’t call you back.”
Sanford’s mayor is elected citywide and earns $24,756 a year. Sanford has just over 40,000 registered voters.
Even though initial candidate Justin Bruce Bynum withdrew, leaving just two contenders, Sanford’s city charter requires the election to remain on the August ballot. Votes for Bynum will not be counted.
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