Growth, rural boundary, lobbyists among key topics in Seminole’s GOP primary
Zembower, Walker vying for District 2 commission seat
Managing growth, protecting the rural boundary and requiring lobbyists to register before meeting with county officials are some of the top issues among the two Republican candidates — incumbent Jay Zembower and political newcomer Brittany Walker — vying for the District 2 Seminole commission seat in the Aug. 23 primary election.
The winner will face Democrat and environmentalist Katrina Shadix in the Nov. 8 general election.
Seminole commissioners are elected countywide, but they must live within their districts. District 2 stretches roughly from the center of the county to the Brevard County line at the east. It includes the communities of Geneva, Winter Springs and portions of Sanford and Longwood.
A lifelong Seminole resident, Walker, 29, of Lake Mary, said she is concerned about “a rapid surge” in apartments and other forms of high-density rental housing being built in Seminole, particularly along the International Parkway corridor and near suburban neighborhoods.
She would like to see the county approve and developers build more affordable single-family homes.
“It’s nothing against apartments. … But we continue to build rental community after rental community,” she said. “I believe the reason that we’re in an affordable-housing shortage is because we’re not increasing the supply of starter homes and townhomes.”
Zembower, 61, of Winter Springs, said many apartment residents are middle-income workers — including teachers, firefighters and police officers — who are saving to purchase their first home, or retirees who can no longer afford or care to maintain a house.
He noted that the county’s population is projected to grow from 475,000 today to nearly 600,000 over the next 20 years and that Seminole has designated the U.S. Highway 17-92 corridor for high-density, multifamily developments, where public services and infrastructure are in place.
“The 17-92 corridor is the spine of the county in
the urban core with direct access to mass transit,” he said. “In addition, water and sewer infrastructure exists in that area.”
Walker is the owner of Eques Consulting, a network marketing business. Zembower is a consultant in automotive investigative forensics for law enforcement, government agencies and law firms.
Both candidates said they are committed to protecting Seminole’s rural boundary.
Approved by voters in a countywide referendum in 2004, the rural boundary covers nearly one-third of Seminole’s eastern portion and is generally the area west of the Econlockhatchee River.
Development densities are mostly limited to one home per 5 acres or one home per 10 acres.
Seminole commissioners, however, can vote to approve a developer’s request to carve property out of the rural boundary as a way of building a development with a greater number of homes.
“The voters made a decision in 2004 about the rural boundary,” Walker said. “It is our responsibility to uphold their decision.”
Zembower, whose home sits in the rural boundary, helped lead the referendum initiative establishing the development-restricted area. He has often said land within the rural boundary “lacks the infrastructure” and government services for large residential developments.
Walker proposes Seminole enact regulations similar to what Orange County enacted in 1994 that would regulate lobbying. It would require anyone who is a paid lobbyist, or someone trying to influence a county board, to register with the county.
That would allow the public to find out who is meeting with commissioners or members of other county boards, what they’re talking about and what they’re trying to influence before the issue comes to a vote for approval, she said.
“It keeps transparency within our system,” Walker said. “One of the main frustrations is the lack of transparency when it comes to developments.”
Zembower said that in 2019 Seminole began requiring everyone to sign in and present identification at the county administration building before meeting with county staff or a commissioner.
“I have an open-door policy,” he said. “If a citizen or a businessperson or a developer, the public, whoever it might be, if they want my calendar they can have it. And they can see my schedule.”
Zembower said county staff thoroughly reviews development requests and other agenda items before they are presented to commissioners.
Walker said she was spurred to run after Seminole’s emergency order in response to the COVID19 pandemic in early 2020 when Zembower was commission chairman. She called the order an unnecessary and “heavy-handed government” action that hurt businesses financially.
That county order, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, limited the capacity of public buildings to 30% of the maximum allowed by the fire code.
It also required patrons of stores and other businesses to stay at least 6 feet apart.
Zembower noted Seminole’s restrictions did not amount to a “stay-at-home” order, as officials in Orange and Osceola counties and Orlando enacted. And Seminole never required any businesses to shut down, he said.
Walker filed a lawsuit last year against the Seminole County School Board, which alleged the district violated its own policies when it hired Superintendent Serita Beamon. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by Walker.
This came after the School Board on Feb. 9, 2021, voted to hire Chad Farnsworth as superintendent. But two weeks laterboard members voted to rescind that decision and hired Beamon.
Walker said the decision was “embarrassing” for Seminole County and she accused board members of defaming Farnsworth.
In the District 4 county commission race Republican Commissioner Amy Lockhart will face Patricia Lynn Smith, who is running without political party affiliation, in the Nov. 8 general election.
Seminole commissioners are elected to four-year terms. They earn $91,989 a year.