Schools chair Sublette kicks off his run for Orange mayor

Bill Sublette, the Orange County School Board chair, made it official Friday that he is running for Orange County mayor in 2018.

Sublette, who has said since March he would be a candidate to succeed Teresa Jacobs, announced he would kick off his campaign at a public event Thursday.

He’ll join Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, a Democrat, in the nonpartisan race. Jose Colom and Robert Melanson also have filed.

“I am running for Orange County mayor to continue the successful approach Mayor Jacobs has brought to the county, while offering my own vision for our future,” Sublette said in a statement.

“While our economy is strong and unemployment is down, I intend to focus on providing better job opportunities for our citizens — especially our working poor and building a stronger, functional public transportation network,” he said.

Sublette, a Republican, served eight years in the Florida House before being elected school board chair in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014.

“Just as I have spent the past eight years leading the fight for public education and building a world-class public school system,” he said, “as mayor I will lead the fight to tackle multigenerational poverty, preserve our county’s natural resources, prevent widespread damage to our infrastructure from future hurricanes — including burying power lines, all while providing sound management and fiscal responsibility over taxpayer’s dollars.”

He cited mandatory daily recess, expansion of magnet and vocational programs and an elementary school construction program as some of his accomplishments in his seven years as chair. The district also won the “Broad Award” as the top urban school district in the country.

The election will be held in August, with a potential runoff between the top two candidates in November.

Jacobs, a Republican, cannot run again because of term limits after eight years.