In Apopka, 3 well-known candidates qualify for mayoral race

Three candidates have qualified to run for Apopka Mayor, setting up a competitive 2026 race that carries bigger implications for the rest of Orange County.

The Apopka City Clerk’s Office confirmed that incumbent Mayor Bryan Nelson, Apopka City Commissioner Nicholas Nesta and Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore, who lives in Apopka, have all qualified for the race ahead of the deadline earlier this month.

The Apopka municipal elections are set for March 10.

Moore has said she is planning to resign from the Orange County Commission “win or lose,” which could set up Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint her replacement. She previously said she plans to resign from the Orange County Commission effective April 27, before the new Apopka Mayor is sworn in April 28.

DeSantis has been at odds with the Orange County Commission and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, a Democrat who is running for Governor. DeSantis’ appointments have caused problems for Orange County Commissioners before.

DeSantis appointed Glen Gilzean to the Orange County Elections Supervisor job in 2024, which led to a lawsuit and back-and-forth allegations within months. Demings accused Gilzean of overspending after Gilzean tried to create a scholarship in his own honor at Valencia College and made other questionable spending choices.

Gilzean fired back, suing county officials when they refused to give him additional money and arguing that as an independent constitutional officer, he had control of his own budget.

Gilzean lives in Ocoee, which is in Moore’s district on the County Commission.

In addition to deciding its city races, Apopka voters will also choose whether to change their structure of city government. An amendment on the ballot would change the strong Mayor position currently in place and instead move the day-to-day operations under a City Manager who would follow the guidance of the City Council, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

“The mayor’s post, now a full-time job paying $133,350 annually, would become largely ceremonial and pay $17,400, the same as other city council members,” the recent Sentinel story said.

Incorporated in 1919, Apopka has a long history in Orange County.

“As the only incorporated town in the northwest part of the county, it is today, the center for schools, churches, businesses, banking and medical facilities serving the communities of Plymouth, Zellwood, Piedmont, and Lake Apopka,” the Apopka Historical Society’s website said.