Nelson wins Apopka mayor race; Leary re-elected in Winter Park
Joe Kilsheimer, who ended John Land’s historic 43-year run as Apopka mayor in 2014, was defeated for reelection Tuesday night by Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson, a relative of Land through marriage.
In other races in Orange County, Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary won re-election, easily defeating challenger Jim Fitch, and George Oliver III became the first African-American to win a seat on the Ocoee City Commission.
Nelson, who had his home annexed into Orange County’s second-biggest city to run for mayor, earned his win by attacking Kilsheimer’s $150,000 salary and his refusal to scrap red-light cameras, which he called a “money grab.” He won handily with 63 percent of the vote.
A former state legislator elected to the Orange County Commission in 2014, he also said he would reduce the
mayor’s salary to $75,000 a year.
“We’re over the moon,” said Nelson, 59, at a victory celebration at his home. “Every now and then, the nice guy wins.”
In his campaign, Kilsheimer, 60, said he was the candidate to move Apopka forward. He was hoping to be the first mayor to win re-election since Land, who served a total of 61 years in the post and died at 94 in 2014.
“It has been the privilege of my life to serve as Apopka mayor,” Kilsheimer said. “I congratulate Bryan on his victory and pledge my full cooperation as we transition to the next administration.”
Asked about the results, Kilsheimer said, “It’s the voters’ choice.”
Land’s sister Kit Land Nelson was Nelson’s aunt through marriage. A city park is named for her.
Apopka voters are slated for a runoff election next month because none of the candidates vying for two seats on City Council won a majority of votes in the four-person contests for either Seat 1 or Seat 2.
The runoff will be April 10, City Clerk Linda Goff said.
The Seat 1 race is set between Suzanne Kidd and Alexander Smith, who hope to replace Billie Dean, who was the lone AfricanAmerican commissioner. Kidd took 39 percent of the vote; Smith took 29 percent. Army veteran Gene Smith finished third with 19 percent of the ballots, and Theresa Mott got 13 percent.
Dean, a former Apopka school teacher, served 24 years on the City Council and decided that was long enough. He will turn 87 next month.
The Seat 2 race pits incumbent Diane Velazquez, a retired New York City Police detective, against Alice Nolan, an administrative assistant for Catholic Charities.
Velazquez and Nolan each took about 40 percent of the ballots, while Leroy Bell got about 17 percent and Alicia Koutsoulieris got the rest.
Apopka elects its commissioners at-large, meaning all registered voters are eligible to cast a ballot in every race.
Winter Park voters, meanwhile, gave Leary a second three-year term by a wide margin.
Leary, 51, defeated Navy veteran Jim Fitch, who was a first-time candidate for office. Leary carried about 72 percent of the vote and turnout was about 21 percent.
The city manager in Winter Park runs the dayto-day operations in the city, and the mayor is one of five votes on the commission. The seat, which pays $3,000 annually, holds additional powers, such as appointing advisory board and task force members and running council meetings.
Leary was narrowly elected in 2015 and said in his next term he’ll continue to focus on managing booming growth in communities surrounding Winter Park, while also trying to bolster the city’s parks.
Leary couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, but a post on his campaign’s Facebook thanked voters for their support.
“I’m honored to serve another, my final, 3 year term as your Mayor of the City of Winter Park,” Leary wrote, while also sharing a video of singer Tom Jones dancing.
He also said he plans to have a louder voice defending local government’s authority from so-called attacks on home rule from legislators in Tallahassee.
Leary, who owns a property management company, said he will continue to push the city to spend money on burying its electrical grid. After Hurricane Irma, the city opted to pour an extra $1 million into the project, committing a total of $4.5 million to its effort. It projects to have all of its lines underground in nine years.
His detractors say, under Leary’s watch, development in Winter Park has gone away from the cities village character, but Leary said in his first term the most-dense residential zoning code from the books.
In Ocoee, City Commission incumbent Rosemary Wilsen won a fourth term as District 2 commissioner, turning back challenger Robert Rivera, a retired police officer.
Oliver narrowly upset incumbent Joel Keller, winning 53 percent of the vote.
Residents also approved eight amendments to the city charter that impose restrictions on both elected and appointed leaders.
One change requires the next city manager to live in town; another limits the mayor and city commissioners to two full four-year terms.
Belle Isle voters also made over their charter, approving 13 amendments.
One formalizes the mayor’s role as a non-voting City Council member.
Another would force a council member to forfeit elected office if the official moves from his or her district, tallies four unexcused absences in a year or is convicted of a second-degree misdemeanor or felony.
Voters also chose Jim Partin, who has worked in real estate for a builder for the past seven years, to fill an open council seat.