As Dyer seeks new term, two eye change
Opponents Ings and Simons look to topple long-serving mayor
Buddy Dyer has held one of the region’s most powerful political posts for 16 years.
During his tenure as Orlando mayor, the city has weathered a brutal economic downturn, reaped the benefits of a dramatic recovery and celebrated the opening of several signature projects including the Amway Center, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and Creative Village with its downtown UCF-Valencia College campus. The city also endured the unthinkable when a gunman killed 49 at the Pulse nightclub.
In his reelection campaign against challengers Sam Ings and Aretha Simons, Dyer has billed himself as a steady hand who can continue to deliver big to the region. Now, it’s up to voters to decide whether Dyer gets another four years to continue as the city’s chief executive, a post that pays $203,569.
Early voting begins Monday and Election Day is Nov. 5. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes the two with the most votes will meet in a Dec. 3 runoff.
“There’s a lot of cities that their course is already set. If you’re in Boston or Philadelphia, it’s hard to make very much change — but we’re just making our course right now,” Dyer said recently. “The decisions being made now are going to affect us 50 years or 100 years into the future.”
Dyer’s opponents say he’s has had enough time and that Orlando needs a change and fresh ideas to move forward.
Ings has charged that Dyer’s administration hasn’t been transparent and ignored certain groups. Simons has dinged the mayor for overseeing a region that trails other large cities in affordable housing and wages.
Among key issues, Ings, District 6 city commissioner since 2006, has been critical of Dyer for voting with a council majority to bring a community land trust affordablehousing model to a narrow strip of land on Orange Center Boulevard. Ings and a group of residents opposed the plan because it didn’t allow homeowners to own the land. Dyer and several other commissioners contended it made units more affordable to buyers.
Ings accused the city of tipping
the scales in favor of the Hannibal Square Community Land Trust, and that the process wasn’t transparent.
“It appears there was great collusion going on between the city and the favorite, which is Hannibal Square [Community Land Trust],” Ings said at a recent endorsement interview with the Orlando Sentinel editorial board.
Dyer retorted that all city policies were followed and that the decision was appropriate.
“Everything was open and honest about that,” he said. “Commissioner Ings was just on the wrong side. He was on the losing side of that.”
Simons said she also opposed the trust but was surprised Ings did, citing a similar voting record to the mayor throughout Ings’ tenure.
Ings retired from the Orlando Police Department as a commander after a 30-year career. In his tenure on the council, he championed saving the Grand Avenue School, a historic landmark closed in 2017. He and preservationists saved it from being torn down and it will become a recreation center. He also advocated against the demolition of historic Tinker Field and has opposed the Electric Daisy Carnival, which is now held there.
His campaign has been endorsed by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, Orange County School Board Chair Teresa Jacobs and former Orange County Commissioner Pete Clark.
Simons said Dyer should lean on the tourism industry to increase pay for lowincome workers and that the city should have paid its employees $15 per hour minimum wage before making the move this month.
“We can’t be world-class and dead last at the same time,” said Simons, who spent about 20 years in the
Navy, both in technical roles and as a military police officer after 9-11.
She’s proposed the city set up a fund that developers and donors could pay into to support affordablehousing initiatives, saying she knows philanthropists who would match funds.
Earlier this year, Simons proposed a reparations policy whereby descendants of slavery could receive city services and fees at reduced costs. Her campaign was also endorsed by VoteVets, a national group that supports democratic military veterans running for office.
The candidates also are split on Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ proposal for a 1-cent sales tax to fund transportation initiatives.
Dyer supports the measure, arguing that falling behind on transportation could cause the region to falter. Simons doesn’t support the proposal, instead favoring increases to the region’s hotel tax, while Ings favors looking at a surcharge on car rentals. Dyer said he would support the surcharge on top of a salestax increase but that it would require authorization from the Legislature.
Dyer first won a special election in 2003 to finish out Glenda Hood’s term after she was appointed Florida’s secretary of state. That
was the only time Dyer has been forced into a runoff. He averaged 58% of the vote in his next four election wins.
If reelected, Dyer said he wants to work on more frequent SunRail service, including extending service to Orlando International Airport. He also wants more Lynx buses to increase frequency of routes.
He’s won endorsements from nearly every area elected official, including Demings, three members of Congress, three state senators, seven state representatives, 10 local mayors and several influential interest groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police, Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association and Equality Florida.
Dyer has raised $883,361 between traditional campaign contributions and a political committee linked with his reelection bid. Filings show he still has $471,939 in the final weeks of the campaign season.
It’s a hefty advantage for Dyer — he’s raised more than 10 times more than Ings, who leads Simons in fundraising.
Ings has raised $86,125, including $28,000 he loaned the campaign, and spent $82,072.34. Simons, who launched her campaign about two years ago, has raised $47,532 in mostly small donations and has spent $46,427, city records show.
Dyer raised about as much as Simons just from Disney Worldwide Services, which has chipped in at least $45,000.
Other major contributions to Dyer include $25,000 from NBCUniversal, $40,000 from the DeVos family, owners of the Orlando Magic, and as well as several other companies that hold contracts at Orlando International Airport, the Central Florida Expressway Authority and other agencies where Dyer sits on governing boards.
Dyer sees nothing wrong with accepting such contributions.
“If you started prohibiting raising money from anybody that does business with any of the boards the mayor sits on, there wouldn’t be too many people left to raise money from,” Dyer said at a recent debate.
Early voting runs through Nov. 3. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Supervisor of Elections Office, 119 W. Kaley St.