Politics
Apopka’s heated Mayor race is going to a runoff
The race, which got ugly, drew big crowds at the polls.
In the race to be Apopka’s next Mayor, Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore and Apopka Commissioner Nick Nesta are heading to a runoff election since no candidate in the three-way race won a majority of the vote in Tuesday’s election.
Nesta received 42% of the vote compared to Moore’s 32% which distanced them from incumbent Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson who fell third and out of the running with 27% of the vote.
Moore and Nesta will face off April 14.
Also in Tuesday’s election, challenger Sam Ruth beat Apopka City Commissioner Alexander Smith for Seat 1. Ruth won with 51% of the vote, according to unofficial election results.
Meanwhile, City Commissioner Diane Velazquez won another term for Seat 2 by defeating challengers George Smith and Angela Turner. Velazquez received 58% of the vote with 100% of precincts reporting.
City voters also voted against changing the structure of city government and hiring a City Manager. About 57% of voters rejected the No. 1 ballot question which will keep the city’s strong Mayor structure in place.
The race to decide the City Council drew big crowds.
Some Apopka voters stood in line and finished voting more than an hour after polls officially closed, said Orange County Supervisor of Elections spokesperson Blake Summerlin. The elections office originally sent over five poll workers to check in voters and then deployed two more as lines increased. By comparison, a presidential election requires four check-in poll workers, Summerlin said.
The Mayor’s race was overshadowed by Nelson’s lawsuit accusing Moore of living in unincorporated Orange County instead of Apopka. Nelson unsuccessfully tried to get Moore’s name thrown off the ballot ahead of Tuesday’s election.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Moore argued the residency requirements enforce “eligibility to hold office, not eligibility to run for office” and accused him of “an attempt to circumvent the will of the voters by weaponizing the judicial process.” Nelson’s side called her defense “absurd.”
