Demings’ focused drive makes him right choice for mayor
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has a lot on his mind, and he’s not inclined to wait around while others catch up. That’s understandable in a sprawling, complex place like Orange County, home to nearly 1.4 million people and anchored by the world’s premier family-tourism destination. In his first four-year term as mayor, Demings relentlessly attacked many of the issues he saw as problems: The lack of high-wage jobs. The increasing threat of a congested, snarled transit system. The desperate need for more community services, particularly for mental health. And then, unexpectedly, the role of county government in managing a global pandemic.
On each of his priorities, Demings makes sure he knows what he’s talking about. His rapid-fire discourse teems with statistics, anecdotes, predictions. That came through loud and clear during the recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board: The mayor repeatedly trampled requests to keep his answers concise. He seemed convinced that if he got across just one or two more points, we’d see that he was right and move on.
The problem is that nobody is right 100% of the time. For example, Demings still insists there’s no reason to push for more flexibility on use of tourism tax dollars, which cuts off a potential source of money that might be desperately needed elsewhere.
Generally, though, he has his facts straight — and knows what they mean. Even before he became mayor, during his service as Orange County sheriff, Demings took a holistic approach to law enforcement that recognized the significance of unmet needs and competing priorities. He doesn’t just identify problems, he finds solutions — and then puts his back into bringing them into reality.
That shows in his handling of the day-to-day administration of Orange County government, with more than 7,000 employees and a $3-billion-plus budget. One of Demings’ shining moments was his rational, candid handling of public-health measures in the early days of the pandemic.
That’s why we’re endorsing Demings for a second four-year term as mayor. His focused, full-speed-ahead approach to the mayor’s role has served Orange County well. His three challengers have a hard time making their criticism of Demings’ priorities stick.
But to do his best job for the residents of Orange County, Demings has to stop running over dissenters and recognize the need to build trust. If he doesn’t, he endangers his own priorities.
There’s a perfect object lesson on the horizon. In November, Orange County will ask voters to approve a one-cent sales tax to fund public transit and patch the county’s over-stressed road system. It was a mammoth request at its inception — and the path to victory keeps growing narrower as the economy worsens and more Central Floridians struggle to afford basic needs like housing and child care.
Demings makes a convincing case that this sales-tax vote is a critical element in helping those residents. Better transit helps workers who have been forced to move to the outskirts of urban areas by crushing rents, and smoothing the snarls in Central Florida’s road network will make this area more attractive to high-wage employers.
But he doesn’t appear to be listening to the naysayers, who also make good points. Among them: Voters are suspicious that they’re being asked to tax themselves to pay for big-dollar projects that benefit this area’s most powerful corporations and feed a seemingly endless stream of development. They need to trust that the money will really be spent for their benefit. If not, the sales-tax vote will go down in flames.
Demings should be working to build that trust. Instead, he’s been dismissive. That comes through loud and clear in his response to two landmark referendums on the 2020 ballot. One called for the county to protect the Split Oak Forest preserve, which passed with 86% of votes cast. The other attempted to establish groundbreaking protections for Orange County’s natural resources by granting them “rights” to be considered in the development process. It passed with 89% of the vote.
Those were thundering statements by voters, especially since they knew the state Legislature had passed a law banning local rights-of-nature protections. But Demings saw no reason to withdraw the county’s support for a high-speed road that will cut through the Osceola County portion of the Split Oak preserve. And he’s practically ignored the rights-of-nature vote — when he should have been urging the county to challenge the Legislature’s pre-emptive move in court. He seems annoyed that people keep bringing it up.
Here’s why it keeps coming up, mayor: 89%. Even though you didn’t support these ballot measures, your voters told you what they wanted you to do.
The same dynamic holds true on the commission. Demings generally comes across as the nice guy he is. But he can be curt, even dismissive to commissioners who don’t agree with him — and sooner or later, that is going to cost him commission support at a time when it’s badly needed.
That gives an opening for the mayor’s challengers. Foremost among them: Semrad, who’s emerged as a formidable voice for protecting Orange County’s natural resources and resisting overdevelopment. Through her campaign, she’s shown that she’s no one-issue candidate — she’s well-versed on the issues facing Orange County, and needles Demings on his lack of response to critics. “He says repeatedly that it’s out of his hands. It’s not out of his hands,” she told the editorial board.
She’s right, and Demings should listen. In fact, if he wins re-election he might consider playing on Semrad’s commendable sense of civic responsibility, and enlist her as his in-house antagonist-in-chief.
The other two challengers, local entrepreneur/philanthropist Chris Messina and retired Army colonel and business owner Tony Sabb, don’t come close to Semrad’s level of preparation and focus. But they sound many of the same warning themes that she does. Demings should listen.
The choice here is clear: Orange County residents need Demings’ vision, expertise and drive. But they also need him to listen to critics, and accept that smart people might disagree with him. If he does, he magnifies the chance that his agenda will prevail.
About endorsements
We will be posting our endorsements in local races over the next few weeks. However, we urge voters to not rely solely on our opinions in deciding how to cast a vote. Voters should check the candidates’ campaign websites and social media accounts (if they don’t have either, that should be a red flag). Ask friends and neighbors what they think. Google the candidates and go to ocfelections.com to see who’s giving money to their campaigns. In addition, we’ve recorded our interviews and posted them in full at OrlandoSentinel.com/opinion.
Election endorsements are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, which consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Sentinel Columnist Scott Maxwell participates in interviews and deliberations. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.