Johnson captures Ocoee mayor’s race by 17 votes

Ocoee City Commissioner Rusty Johnson, who often jousted with longtime Mayor S. Scott Vandergrift, won a runoff election Tuesday to fill out the remainder of his former rival’s term.

Vandergrift, 75, retired in July citing failing health, ending 23 years as mayor, a title he had proudly displayed on his cap and car.

Johnson, 69, a retired postal carrier who now works in real estate, turned back the bid of businessman Jim Sills, 71, who sought the mayor’s position after years of serving on municipal advisory boards, including Ocoee’s planning and zoning board. The final margin was 17 votes. “I’ll take [a win by] one,” Johnson said outside the Ocoee Lakeshore Center.

Sills, owner of DJ’s Auto Sales, waited out the election nearby in a motor home bearing his campaign signs.

The final, unofficial results posted on the elections supervisor’s web site showed Johnson with 1,270 votes and Sills with 1,253.

Less than 11 percent of the city’s 22,999 registered voters participated in the election, but that was 43 more voters than last month’s special election.

Johnson’s victory will be short-lived. He’ll have to seek reelection on March 15 when the city holds its regularly scheduled municipal elections.

“For the next four months, I’m going to do what I’m supposed to do and lead the city in the right way,” Johnson said.

Because Ocoee functions as a city-manager form of government in which the executive power is held by an appointed professional, the mayor’s post has little authority beyond serving as the face of the community and directing City Commission meetings. The post pays $4,500 a year. Nonetheless, both Johnson and Sills campaigned on leadership platforms, declaring they could make a difference in the city’s direction and its future economic prospects.