Incumbent faces challenge in Orange County Commission District 6 race
Incumbent Orange County District 6 Commissioner Victoria Siplin faces a challenge in her re-election bid from a self-described social-justice activist who was among 10 people arrested at a 2016 sit-in protest at U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s Orlando office a month after the Pulse shooting.
Siplin’s opponent in the Aug. 28 nonpartisan primary contest, first-time candidate Robin Denise Harris, said that arrest on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, later dismissed, was one of three times she has been arrested for civil disobedience.
She also was arrested in Washington, D.C., last year with 23 others in front of the White House protesting President Donald Trump’s healthcare policies.
District 6, which includes much of Pine Hills as well as the International Drive tourist area, has 93,000 registered voters, according to the Orange County elections supervisor’s website. Over half — 51 percent — are black. The winner earns a four-year term and an annual salary of $81,177.
Who are they
Harris, 51, is unemployed but volunteers and participates in national and community movements. She is listed on the Green Party’s web page as a speaker on environmental racism, gender issues, racial justice and other issues.
Siplin, 44, is a paralegal and wife of former state legislator Gary Siplin. Elected in 2014, she replaced term-limited Tiffany Moore Russell, now the county’s clerk of courts.
Where they stand
If re-elected, Siplin said she would advocate for “the safety and well-being of the residents of District 6 and the county.”
If elected, Harris said she would push for rent control housing and measures to make neighborhoods safer, including speed bumps and better street lighting.
Asked what she wanted voters to know about her, Siplin answered: “The progress will continue.”
Harris provided a longer answer to the same question: “I want voters to know that I intentionally do not accept monies from corporations such as Disney, etc., so that I can freely oppose and speak out against wage theft. I want them to know that a vote for me is a vote for amplification of their voices and needs. I will fight to make sure that our communities will not be overlooked and silenced If I am elected.”
Siplin, who headed efforts to create three new community or cultural centers in the district, touts her edge in experience as “a successful Orange County commissioner.”
Harris said she is seeking office “to amplify the voices of those voters in my District that feel ignored — especially those that have been negatively impacted by over policing and those who have been ignored by law enforcement in cases where there has been no resolve for their loved ones.”
Harris also said the county should direct less money toward marketing tourism “because we can no longer keep ignoring the homelessness/houseless, policing disparities, gentrification and genocide here because we pay more attention and applaud the growth of theme parks. People over Profit should be where our concern is and we should honor that by investing in those causes.”
How they differ
Siplin’s campaign raised $103,000 and spent $55,000 as of Aug. 10, the date of her most recent campaign finance report. She spent more — $7,690 — for a campaign mailer in July than Harris has raised, $7,095.