3 commission races go to runoffs — Siplin wins

Orange County Commissioner Victoria Siplin overwhelmed her challenger in Tuesday’s primary, social activist Robin Denise Harris, and cruised Tuesday to a second fouryear term in District 6, which includes most of Pine Hills and International Drive.

But races in three other commission districts won’t be settled until the Nov. 6 general election because none of the candidates in the crowded contests for districts 2, 3 and 4 won more than 50 percent of the ballots cast in their races.

Siplin, wife of former state Sen. Gary Siplin, won nearly 75 percent of the votes cast in her district.

“It means the voters believe in me and how I’ve represented them,” she said of the wide victory margin. “They know I will represent their interests and stand up for them.”

Patricia Rumph, 66, a retired 30-year veteran of the state Department of Corrections, and Christine Moore, 57, a member of the Orange County School Board for the past decade, will compete in November for the District 2 seat.

Rumph, who took 30 percent of the vote, spent the least in her run for office, about $21,000, while Moore, who got 28 percent of the ballots, spent $46,000.

Former commissioner Fred Brummer, 72, finished third in the race though he spent the most, $86,000. Mark Byrd, 62, a nursery owner and former Florida Farm Bureau director, finished fourth.

Mayra Uribe, 44, and Pete Crotty, 60, brother of former Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty, will face off in November to replace Pete Clarke in District 3. Clarke had to give up the final two years of his four-year term to run for county mayor.

Uribe was the top votegetter, with 28 percent of the ballots in the district where 39 percent of its 132,000 registered voters identify as Hispanic.

She said she began knocking on doors in February knowing campaign funds might be hard to raise.

Crotty, who operates a pool concierge business, has a police record stemming from drug and alcohol addictions two decades ago. He has advocated for expanded mental health and addiction services. He won 22 percent of the vote.

Uribe and Crotty emerged from a six-candidate pack that included restaurateur Bobby Lance, 64; Eric Rollings, 50, chairman of Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District; Bill Moore, 47, a retired Orlando police officer; and Randy Whiting, 57, a home inspector.

Susan Makowski and Maribel Gomez Cordero, 51, a mental-health family therapist, will meet in a runoff to replace term-limited commissioner Jennifer Thompson.

Makowski, 53, who served as an aide to Thompson for seven years, had to fend off criticism from the Democratic Party linking her to supporters of President Donald Trump.

She won 35 percent of the ballots cast in the district, according to final, unofficial results.

Cordero received 21 percent of the district vote.