Races set for Orange property appraiser and three County Commission seats

Three Orange County commissioners face challengers to keep their seats and Property Appraiser Rick Singh, burdened by a pending state investigation into alleged misconduct in office, faces an August primary against a pair of fellow Democrats in his bid to win a third term.

In order to run, candidates had to qualify in local races by Friday at noon.

Commission races are nonpartisan, meaning candidates will not be identified on the ballot by party affiliation in the August 18 primary or the general election Nov. 3.

Singh, who announced June 4 that he had COVID-19 but expects to recover, will face former state Rep. Amy Mercado and real-estate broker Khalid Muneer in the August Democratic primary. Two others qualified to be write-in candidates in November, former Orange Commissioner S. Scott Boyd and former Groveland Mayor Tim Loucks.

The late addition of write-in candidates was posted on the Election Supervisor’s site while Singh, first elected in 2012, awaits word from State Attorney R.J. Larizza of Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties who was asked by Gov. Ron DeSantis to review a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation alleging official misconduct.