Four Candidates to Run for City Commission

by Geri Throne / December 11, 2019

Winter Park will have a full slate of candidates when its city election is held March 17. As qualifying closed Tuesday, four candidates had qualified for the two open city commission seats.

Jeffrey Blydenburgh and James “Marty” Sullivan both qualified for Seat 1, now held by Commissioner Greg Seidel, who did not run for reelection. Carl E. Creasman Jr. and Sheila DeCiccio qualified to run for Seat 2, now held by Sarah Sprinkel, who also did not run for reelection.

SEAT 1

Marty Sullivan, 72, said he decided to run because “I served on a lot of boards in the city and really enjoy the town. I believe the city is at a juncture where we want citizens to cooperate with business and development to make it a win-win for all three, with particular attention to citizens.” Sullivan, whose profession was in environmental and geotechnical engineering, is retired and has lived in the city 37 years. Among the city boards we served on were the Utility Advisory Board, Stormwater Board of Appeals and Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Board, all of which he chaired, and the Lakes and Waterways Advisory Board and Transportation Task Force.

Jeffrey Blydenburgh, 71, a retired architect and planner, has lived in the city 22 years. “I saw there was an opportunity to continue to serve the community,” he said, describing the city as “well led” in the past. He noted that others see him as having a “balanced view” on how the city will address growth. Blydenburgh is board member and past chair of Mead Botanical Garden Inc., a volunteer group that operates the city-owned park. He previously served on the city’s Historic Preservation Board, as vice-chair of the city visioning process in 2016 and past president of Winter Park Rotary.

SEAT 2

Creasman, 55, a history professor at Valencia College, is youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Winter Park. He has lived in the city 26 years. He served five years on the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the last four as chair. He could not be reached for comment, but, according to his web site, his vision includes “defending the future charm and wonder of Winter Park.” His focus, the site says, will be to continue to invest in and expand parks; strengthen city partnerships with Rollins College and Valencia; have “courageous conversations” about transportation, traffic, biking and accessibility, and encourage “healthy business and entrepreneurship.”

DeCiccio, 63, a lawyer, has lived in the city 37 years. She was inspired to run while serving on the planning and zoning board, she said. “The issue of the library came up, and there were so many unanswered questions” related to such issues as parking, drainage and size. She became worried about all the development happening in the city, she said, and realized, “we’re either going to look like the great wall of Maitland or we’re going to preserve our charm.” Besides the planning and zoning board, DeCiccio has served on the city’s Economic Advisory Board, the Code Enforcement Board and the Orange Avenue advisory steering committee.