OPD Chief Mina files paperwork to run for Orange County mayor
Orlando Police Chief John Mina is officially in the running to be the next Orange County sheriff.
Mina filed his paperwork Wednesday as an independent, according to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website. He would be vying to succeed Sheriff Jerry Demings, who is running for mayor of Orange County.
Mina was not available to comment Wednesday. However, his campaign said he will discuss his decision at a news conference at 4 p.m. today in front of the Orange County Courthouse.
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at University of Central Florida, said he thought Mina’s name recognition would
be a crucial advantage.
He added that Mina’s role in the response to the 2016 massacre at Pulse nightclub makes him a “fairly well-respected” candidate for the job, while his current position could make for a smooth transition to running the county’s law enforcement agency.
Being chief of police in a major city is “seen as a kind of stepping stone” to running for county sheriff, Jewett said.
Democrat Jose “Joe” Lopez and Republican Thomas Aaron Stroup have also filed to run for sheriff.
If elected, Mina would not have to leave his role as chief of police until he assumes office as sheriff, a spokeswoman for the Orlando Police Department said in a statement. Mina’s replacement as Orlando’s police chief would be chosen by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, though the new chief would also have to be approved by the Orlando City Council.
State law says that an appointed officer, like Mina, who seeks elected office must submit a resignation in writing no later than 10 days prior to the first day of qualifying for the office he or she intends to seek. The resignation is irrevocable and must be effective no later than the day Mina would take office as sheriff, if elected, or the day his successor as police chief would take office, whichever is sooner.
Demings, who filed paperwork to run for mayor in July, has until June to formally tender his resignation as sheriff. A special primary and election will then be scheduled to fill the remaining two years of Demings’ term, which runs through 2020.
Mina on Wednesday filed to run in the 2020 election. But John Dowless, a campaign consultant for Mina, said Mina, Lopez and Stroup “will amend their paperwork when Demings officially resigns” and a special election to replace him is scheduled.
Mina was sworn in as Orlando’s 38th police chief April 4, 2014. A 23-year OPD veteran before becoming top cop, he has worked in nearly every department in the agency.
His replacement will be the city’s fourth chief in the past decade.
Mina’s predecessor, Paul Rooney, retired to take a position as head of security at Valencia College in 2014. Rooney was preceded by former Chief Val Demings, who retired from OPD in 2011. Val Demings, who is married to Jerry Demings, currently represents Florida’s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In appointing prior chiefs, Dyer has typically preferred to hire from within. Both Rooney and Demings had built their careers at OPD. The four current deputy chiefs at OPD — who are likely to be considered for the top post — are Orlando Rolon, Robert Anzueto, Eric Smith and Mark Canty.
Commissioner Sam Ings, a retired Orlando Police officer, said any of the four deputy chiefs would make a strong successor to Mina, but he’s specifically heard two names mentioned.
“I hear a lot of talk [about] both Anzueto and Orlando Rolon, so it will be interesting to see who the mayor chooses,” said Ings, who worked for the department for more than 30 years. “I think they all would do well.”
Anzueto oversees OPD’s investigative bureau. Rolon heads the patrol division.
On Mina filing to run in 2020, instead of waiting for Demings’ retirement to trigger a 2018 special election, Jewett said Mina likely wants to get an early start on his fundraising and campaign organization.
“Part of it is kind of a preemptive strike. Mina wants to be prepared … when and if the seat becomes open,” Jewett said.