3 Orange County Commission seats up for grabs in high-stakes election

Orange County voters will decide three races Tuesday that could reshape the County Commission.

The contests have billions of dollars at stake for developers and the tourism industry.

In sector 1, owner Nicole Wilson has a rematch against the challenger Austin Arthur after neither won a majority in the August Primary. Wilson overtook Arthur with only two votesde Arthur topped it with a war chest of nearly $350,000. Wilson raised about $70,000.

County Commission races are nonpartisan, but politics still seep into the race.

Wilson, a Democrat, has angered special interest groups by supporting the environment over developers and wanting to free up tourism development tax dollars to spend on community needs instead of just tourism.

That paved the way for Arthur, a Republican, to raise funds with the support of Republican mayors and even surprising allies like Orlando’s Democratic mayor. Buddy Dyer, according to Orlando Weekly.

Arthur they may not look like the perfect candidate on paper. He was arrested at the age of 20, although he has not been charged with any crime and has faced financial and legal problems in running his business in recent years. But Arthur said his problems make him relatable and he has learned valuable lessons from his mistakes.

In District 3, two Democrats are battling each other after neither received enough support to win in the Primary. Commissar Mayra Uribe faces Sen. Linda Stewartwhich is term-limited in Tallahassee.

Uribe made headlines this summer after public records were revealed she gave away hundreds of tickets at her husband’s small nonprofit in 2019. It’s unclear how he benefited from access to some of Orlando’s biggest entertainment events, as his nonprofit has not filed any recent 990 tax forms.

County commissioners are allowed to transfer two county Skybox tickets at the Kia Center and Camping World Stadium to a nonprofit organization of their choice. But Uribe’s ticket transfers to her husband’s organization raised red flags, an ethics expert told Florida Politics. The county closed the loophole at the end of October.

Meanwhile, Stewart faced his own scandal involving county government.

Stewart went behind the backs of Orange County leaders to write a bill with a county lobbyist that would have limited the county’s ability to cut funding for Visit Orlando. The bill never gained traction, but it still angered local officials. According to the Orlando Sentinel broke the storythe county fired the lobbyist in February.

And for the last seat up for grabs, District 5 is an open seat to replace the term-limited commissioner Emily Bonilla.

Former mayor of Winter Park Steve Learya republican, indignant democrat Kelly Semrad with his $260,000 in campaign donations compared to hers of just under $100,000.

Leary has the support of the tourism industry and developers, while Semrad is a staunch environmentalist and professor at the University of Central Florida.

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