Demings sworn in at historic ceremony
Jerry Demings, the first African-American mayor of Orange County, looked over a sea of predominantly black and brown faces during his oath of office ceremony Tuesday and proclaimed it a great day.
It was truly a different day for county government.
Four women also were sworn in as commissioners and the new panel of commissioners for the first-time ever will be all women.
Maribel Gómez Cordero, a native of Puerto Rico and the newly elected district 4 commissioner, delivered her post-oath speech in English and Spanish to raucous applause.
Victoria Siplin, sworn in for her second-term as district 6 commissioner, similarly spoke some Creole, a nod to the community of Haitians in Pine Hills.
The two other new commissioners, Christine Moore and Mayra Uribe, both replaced men.
Demings, a Jones High School graduate who still wears his class ring, asked his alma mater’s Master Singers choral group to perform at the ceremony.
He said it was important the historic swearing in was witnessed by students from Jones, Orlando’s black high school during segregation.
“A poor kid from Washington Shores in west Orlando has now become the Orange County mayor, we have six women on the board of county commission and we all come from diverse backgrounds,” Demings said, turning to look toward the high schoolers from a podium at the Orange
County Convention Center, where the ceremony was held. “I hope this inspires every boy or girl that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can become whoever you dream to be.”
David Danforth, 18, a Jones senior and member of the choral group, watched in awe.
“It was an honor and, I believe, a privilege to be asked to sing for him … beyond amazing,” Danforth said.
The trailblazing Demings also was Orlando’s first African-American police chief, the first AfricanAmerican elected sheriff and constitutional officer in the county’s history, and the county’s the first African-American public safety director.
His wife, Val Demings, serves in Congress, representing Florida’s 10th congressional district. She is a trailblazer, too, as the first woman to serve as Orlando police chief.
The new mayor praised his wife as did Michelle Levy of the League of Women Voters, who said Jerry Demings would work well with an all-female commission.
“He’s married to a strong woman,” Levy said.
Former Apopka City Commissioner Billie Dean, 87, who for nearly three decades was the only African-American member of Apopka City Council, marveled at the composition of new county government administration.
“I’ve never seen so much diversity,” Dean said.
Asked after the ceremony about the changing face of county government, Demings’ predecessor, Teresa Jacobs, who is now chair of the Orange County School Board, described it as phenomenal.
“Having people at a leadership level shaping the direction of our county and representing the diversity of our county is amazing,” she said. “It’s who we are. It’s definitely who we’re becoming.”
Outgoing Orlando police Chief John Mina also was sworn in Tuesday morning at a separate ceremony as the new county sheriff, a post Demings was required by law to give up to run for mayor.
Mina, who defeated Darryl Sheppard and Joe Lopez in the race for sheriff, praised Demings for leaving behind a well-run agency and ensuring “a seamless transition.”
“I look forward to working with Mayor Demings and all of the country commissioners to make ours a safer and better community,” he said.
Mina laid out his expectations for deputies under his leadership: to be crime fighters who “make it uncomfortable for criminals to prey on people in this community,” but also to interact with residents – “especially our young people” – and “always treat people with dignity and respect.”
“Sometimes it’s tough for law enforcement out there. There are some who don’t trust us,” he said. “We need to work on that trust, and that starts with my expectation of fair and impartial policing, especially in some of our high-crime areas.”
Demings also briefly outlined his administration’s top priorities during the ceremony then afterward at his first press conference as mayor.
“While there are many priorities for our county, my top four priorities will be on addressing the affordable housing crisis, developing long-term solutions to our regional transportation issues, economic development and enhancing public safety,” he said. “But we cannot adequately address these issues if we do not further diversify our economy and create higher wage jobs.”
He also announced he would seek commission approval to create three new positions — a chief technology officer, a chief sustainability officer and a chief community and opportunity officer, all of which were recommended by his 37-member transition team.
“This will give us the leadership and focus to achieve success in developing and maintaining high standards of living for our residents for decades,” Demings said.
Staff writer Jeff Weiner contributed to this report.
shudak@ orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6361.