Roger Chapin beats Mira Tanna in Orlando City Council runoff

Roger Chapin won his Orlando City Council bid Tuesday night, following the footsteps of his trailblazing mom into public office.

Chapin captured 51% of the vote to beat Mira Tanna in the District 3 runoff, according to unofficial election results.

Chapin had the fundraising advantage and better name recognition as the son of former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin. His war chest was $293,000 compared to Tanna’s $114,000.

Chapin and Tanna were neck-and-neck in the Nov. 4 election when they were among five candidates on the ballot. Only 14 votes separated Chapin and Tanna, and neither secured a majority of the vote, sparking Tuesday’s runoff.

Chapin will be the first new Orlando City Commissioner to represent District 3 in 20 years. Longtime District 3 Commissioner Robert Stuart said he was ready to step down and allow others to lead in city government.

District 3 covers Baldwin Park, Audubon Park, College Park, Rosemont and a few other neighborhoods north of Colonial Drive.

The four-year nonpartisan term currently pays $79,343 annually.

Chapin’s move to City Hall has been nearly a quarter-century in the making.

Chapin ran for Orlando City Council in 2002 and lost. In the years that followed, the College Park resident found other ways to get involved in public service, since he said he figured he would never run for elected office again.

Chapin got on the Municipal Planning Board, the Downtown Development Board, the Orlando Utilities Commission, the oversight Committee for the construction of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and more. Chapin argued that made him the most experienced candidate in the race. A Democrat, he promised to govern down the middle and work with both sides of the aisle.

Chapin’s supporters included Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Stuart, Orange County Sheriff John Mina, and Chris Durant, who placed third in the Nov. 4 election. Durant got paid $6,000 to help Chapin on the campaign trail in November and part of December, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Chapin also won big endorsements from the Orlando Sentinel editorial board, the Orlando Regional Realtors Association and the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association.

But the race for District 3 was tight. Tanna ran a grassroots campaign backed by popular Orlando Democrats in U.S. Rep Maxwell Frost and state Rep. Anna Eskamani.

“Mira has spent decades in public service, holding corporations and corrupt officials accountable while fighting for communities too often overlooked. But tonight, voters chose a different path,” said Moné Holder, Chief Advocacy and Political Officer of Florida Rising, a grassroots group that endorsed Tanna, in a statement. “We hope the winner in District 3, Roger Chapin, will prioritize what our communities demanded throughout this campaign: affordable housing, economic development that benefits every family, and deep respect for immigrant communities. These needs cannot be ignored; they must be at the top of the Council’s agenda.”