Crime, traffic key issues in District 3 race

The race to represent College Park and other northern neighborhoods on the Orlando City Council features two contenders trading jabs at each others’ campaign tactics and experience.

Commissioner Robert Stuart and challenger Asima Azam also offer starkly different perspectives on the present and future of District 3, which stretches from Rosemont to Baldwin Park.

Early voting starts Monday at the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office on Kaley Street for this and two other Orlando commission races. It runs through Nov. 5, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 7.

Stuart, seeking a fourth term in office, says he and residents alike believe the district is heading in the right direction, having emerged from the Great Recession as one of Orlando’s

most desirable areas to live, dine and shop.

“There are pockets that have concerns, and I’ve been working with those pockets for 12 years,” he said. “We keep working through those issues, neighborhood by neighborhood and throughout the district.”

Azam, however, says residents are worried about crime, especially vehicle break-ins, as well as oversized residential developments and traffic-clogged roads.

If elected, she said she’d consider adding bicycle officers, surveillance cameras, lighting and warning signs in crime-plagued areas.

“We’re simply told there’s nothing we can do, and that the crime is not a problem,” she said. “That’s not acceptable to me. And that’s not acceptable to other citizens of District 3.”

The race has been rocky since July, when Stuart drew fire for a telephone poll that asked about Azam’s religion, though he insisted it was not framed negatively. Azam would be Orlando’s first MuslimAmerican city commissioner if elected.

Later, Azam criticized Stuart’s campaign for sponsoring a Princeton Elementary fundraiser, which prompted the school district to chide the school’s PTA, while Stuart’s son filed a complaint against Azam over yard signs that lacked a

mandatory disclaimer.

Stuart said he has worked with neighborhood watch groups and educational campaigns to promote awareness, while also supporting the hiring of new officers and making crime statistics more accessible.

“Vehicle crime is a 15-second crime, and we have police officers, not a security force,” he said. “We have to engage the community and … I’ve engaged the community in ways unlike any other district.”

On traffic, Stuart touted his work developing plans for Edgewater and Virginia drives, which aim to revamp those roads for better walkability, parking and vehicle flow.

Azam, who serves on the Metroplan Orlando Community Advisory Committee, said more could be done using technology, such as adding real-time traffic signals that adjust to driving conditions.

On growth, Stuart said he’s fought hard to keep it in check.

“What people don’t see are the hundreds of [projects] that we turn down every year because they aren’t appropriate to the land and they aren’t appropriate to the community,” Stuart said.

He said a seasoned hand is needed to ensure major projects underway in the district — such as The Princeton in College Park, The Yard at Ivanhoe and Broadstone Lakehouse — live up to their promises, such as road improvements and parking.

Azam said Stuart didn’t get enough concessions from those projects. She said the Princeton was approved despite being too large for its lot and lacking ground-floor retail or restaurant space.

As a real-estate attorney who represents homeowners associations, Azam said she knows how to be a “consensus builder” when it comes to development.

“My professional training is to help communities come to a negotiated compromise so we can all come to decisions that ultimately are in the best interest of communities,” she said.

Stuart, however, argued Azam can’t top his 12 years of experience guiding development as a city commissioner or fighting homelessness as the executive director of the Christian Service Center.

“I’m born and raised in this community,” he said. “I want to protect our community. I want our community to grow, because that’s important for me, for the rest of my life.”

Both candidates are running well-funded campaigns. Stuart had raised more than $145,000 through Oct. 6, while Azam has hauled in $103,000. Read about the other City Council races at orlandosentinel.com/politics jeweiner@ orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5171 or @JeffWeinerOS on Twitter