Council hopefuls focus on traffic

Four candidates are vying for three seats on Windermere Town Council, and all are focused on the frustrating stream of traffic passing through town.

The candidates all listed cut-through traffic among their top priorities as well as care of the town’s many dirt roads.

Windermere leaders approved restrictions last year forbidding turns during certain hours to discourage motorists from using residential streets as short-cuts.

Though traffic volume plummeted after pandemic-related lockdowns and closings, town officials expect traffic to ramp back up as the economy does.

Council members are elected community-wide by voters in the town of 3,500 residents. They serve two-year terms and are not paid.

Early voting runs from March 1-5 with the lone early-voting polling site at the Elections Supervisor’s Office, 119 W. Kaley St., Orlando. Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All the candidates participated in a recent video-conference forum during which they gave a biography of themselves and outlined their views.

Mandy David

The president of a sign-language company, David, 44, formerly worked for Republican U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster when he was a state legislator. She said she does not have a political agenda, “just a heart to be involved.” A lifelong resident of west Orange, she said she moved her family to Windermere about a decade ago because of the town’s quaintness.

She said she is concerned about weak mobile phone signals.

“I know one of the big issues for us is cell-phone [calls] dropping,” David said, adding she hopes to find a way to boost signals.

She said she was not certain how to solve the traffic problems.

“But I would love to find out what we can do with the county and see how things can go there,” she said.

Anthony Davit

An Air Force veteran and civil engineer, Davit, 53, said his work experience will be an asset on council.

“A lot of the town’s problems and challenges come within the engineering realm. I think I can help solve those problems,” he said during the forum. “I understand there’s been some challenges with the dirt roads. Like I’ve told several people, I’ve built airfields out of soil and aggregates and I can certainly help with the dirt road issues.”

He and his family have resided in town about a year. He is vice president of attraction development at Universal.

“Traffic through Windermere is just not sustainable,” he said during the forum.

Davit said a solution will require working with county and state transportation officials.

Mike Hargreaves

Hargreaves, 58, owner of a private security firm, is making his second run for a council seat.

“Number one, I want to keep the town as it is — quaint and dirt roads,” he said. A former civilian court officer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Hargreaves drew a distinction between himself and the other candidates.

“The biggest difference... is the fact that I’m not so quiet,” he said during the forum. “I’m not going to sit back and be quiet and be all nice.”

Hargreaves said he would go “head-to-head, toe-totoe” with the county, which he faults for approving surrounding development that created traffic issues.

Bill Martini

The lone incumbent in the race, Martini, 58, is seeking his second term on council.

Martini said the town has tried to ease traffic snarls, much of it coming from neighboring Horizon West, a rapidly growing community.

“We’ve definitely got to keep addressing that,” he said.

Martini, who works in real estate, said he does not have an agenda except “to do what’s best for our town and the residents.”

“I will continue to guide Windermere into the future as we maintain our charm and character, which is what prompted us all to move here in the first place,” he said.