Lake to have primaries for commission, School Board, but no opponents for constitutional officers

There will be primaries for three Lake County Commission seats and two School Board seats, but none for the other constitutional officers, who drew no opponents by Friday’s deadline.

No Democrats are running for County Commission seats in Districts 3 and 5, but there are write-in candidates, so only registered Republicans can vote in those August primaries.

In District 3, incumbent Wendy Breeden of Leesburg faces Kirby Smith, a Tavares City Council member. The winner will face two write-in candidates, J. J. Schneider Jr. of Eustis and Kristen Nicole Harmon of Sorrento, in November.

District 3 covers parts of Leesburg, Tavares, Astatula and some unincorporated areas south of Lakes Harris and Dora.

In District 5, incumbent Josh Blake of Lady Lake faces opposition former Lake Sheriff’s Capt. Todd Luce of Eustis. The winner faces a write-in candidate

Joseph Williams of Leesburg and two no-party affiliation candidates, Eric Lomberk and Gabriel Aaron Ruiz, both of Fruitland Park in November.

District 5 covers Fruitland Park, Lady Lake, Umatilla and unincorporated areas of north Lake.

Incumbent District 1 Commissioner Tim Sullivan will face Douglas Bruce Shields of Clermont. District 1 covers parts of Leesburg, Mascotte, Groveland, Howey-in-the-Hills and other unincorporated South Lake communities and all registered voters can vote in this race, because the winner takes office.

Commission candidates run in districts where they live but are elected countywide.Two School Board seats also are up for election. The races are nonpartisan, so all registered voters are eligible to cast ballots. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters face off in November.

District 2 incumbent Kristi Lee Burns of Leesburg faces one opponent,

Patricia Nave of Leesburg.

District 4 incumbent Sandy Gamble of Tavares faces three opponents Betsy Farner of Leesburg, Michael Garcia of Mount Dora and Mollie Cunningham of Tavares.

Because they drew no opposition, the following constitutional officers will get another term: County Clerk Gary J. Cooney, Sheriff Peyton C. Grinnell, Property Appraiser Carey Baker, Tax Collector David W. Jordan and Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays. All are Republicans.

The primary is Tuesday, Aug. 18, with early voting in Lake running from Aug. 6 to 15. Residents have until July 20 to register to vote in the primary or change party affiliations. Get information on the county elections site at lakevotes.com.

Other county offices up this year include for county judges, the Lake Soil and Water Conservation Board, the Lake Water Authority Board as well as various hospital and community development district boards. For a full list, visit the supervisor of elections office at lakevotes.com.

Various state and federal offices, including for president, also are up this year. More information is available on the state elections site at https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/.

Lake cities also will hold elections in August or November for various seats.

Clermont will have a primary for Seat 3, now held by Mayor Diane Travis. Her opponents are Stephen A. Franklin and Tim Murry. If one receives more than 50 percent of the vote in August, he or she will be the winner. If none does, the two top vote-getters face off in November, where voters also will elect council members for Seats 1 (incumbent Timothy Bates faces Joa Macnalie) and Seat 5 (William R. Garbarino faces Michele Barnard Pines).

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described who could vote in the District 1 County Commission race.