An Ocoee city commissioner who gave up his seat last year to run for mayor hopes to rejoin the board.
But voters in Ocoee District 4 will decide March 19 whether George Oliver III gets to serve the year remaining on his term or first-time commission candidate Nate Robertson takes the seat until the city’s 2025 municipal election.
The contest is one of several on the presidential preference ballots in Orange County cities this month.
Voters in the town of Oakland will pick a new mayor for the first time in nearly three decades while those in the Orlando suburb of Edgewood will be asked to resolve several charter issues, including a possible pay raise for the mayor.
Oliver, 57, was added to the ballot in December after a judge overruled Ocoee City commissioners who disqualified their former colleague as a candidate for his vacated post. State law required Oliver to give up the seat for a mayoral run.
His first election in 2018 was historic as no Black candidate had ever won a municipal race in Ocoee.
Robertson, 41, called Oliver’s failed bid for mayor a broken promise to the constituents in District 4.
“He failed to follow through on his word” to represent them when he abandoned his seat to bid for the higher post, Robertson said.
An ordained minister who serves as national vice president of the anti-abortion organization Sidewalk Advocates for Life, Robertson ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for Florida House District 40, losing to Democrat Lavon Bracy Davis.
Robertson said, if elected, he will be a commissioner the district can count on.
“I don’t bring any baggage with me,” he said. “I come into this race with a fresh voice and fresh perspective.”
Oliver said Ocoee needs to prioritize pedestrian and traffic safety on its busy corridors.
“Our city is badly in need of updated strategic goals to address our continuing growth,” he said.
The Ocoee ballot also asks voters to decide 11 amendments to the city charter.
Suggested by a review panel, the proposed changes include requiring mayoral and commission candidates to submit to background checks to verify their eligibility for office. Mayoral candidates would have to provide proof of city residency of at least a year before qualifying to run, and commission candidates would have to reside in their district at least a year.
OAKLAND
After 30 years of community service, 25 as town mayor, Kathy Stark is stepping away from her leadership role.
Town commissioner Sal Ramos and Shane Taylor of the planning and zoning board are vying to replace her.
The small town, known for its lush oak canopies, a shady segment of the West Orange Trail and the Oakland Nature Preserve, has grown from fewer than 1,000 residents in the 2000 U.S. Census to about 4,000, thanks in part to the additional of sewer lines.
“I want to keep it quaint,” said Ramos, head of Empire Finish Systems, a construction services company.
But Oakland needs commercial development along super busy State Road 50, which has a turnpike interchange nearby, said Taylor, construction manager for Dr. Phillips Charities which is developing Orlando’s Packing District.
“The town is a small town, but listen, you don’t have to think small,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people in town who are ready for some fresh vision, fresh faces and change, smart change. I think that’s what I can bring to the table.”
EDGEWOOD
Voters in Edgewood will be asked to decide nine charter questions including a proposed amendment that would permit City Council, if it chooses, to raise the mayor’s monthly stipend from $1,000 to $3,000. Most other changes are minor tweaks to processes and schedules — one fixes a grammatical error in the governing document.
The final amendment proposes a coin flip to resolve a deadlocked result in a city election.
But what happens if the coin-flip amendment ends in a tie vote?
The city won’t resort to rock-paper-scissors.
A tie would mean the amendment fails, Edgewood Mayor John Dowless said.
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