Kelly Semrad wins County Commission seat over Steve Leary

The UCF professor delivered a clear victory despite being outspent by the former Winter Park mayor

Nov. 5, 2024

By Beth Kassab

Kelly Semrad, who ran on an Orange County Commission race focused on limiting sprawl and diversifying how tourist tax dollars are spent, clinched a decisive victory over Steve Leary, who outspent her by 4 to 1.

Semrad took 57% of the vote compared to Leary’s 43% of the vote for the commission’s District 5 seat, which represents a swath of Orange from downtown Orlando through Winter Park to the eastern rural edges of the county.

“Orange County stood up really loud and proud and said they’ve had enough with irresponsible growth and development,” Semrad said Tuesday night.

She also pointed to clear victories for county charter amendments that voters approved by wide margins to protect the rural boundary and give the County Commission veto power over landowners who want to annex into another jurisdiction such as the city of Orlando.

“It’s really clear that people are fed up with overdevelopment,” Semrad said.

That trend appeared across the county where Nicole Wilson hung on to her District 1 seat and and Mayra Uribe defended her seat in District 3.

Wilson, like Semrad, was far outspent by her opponent, Austin Arthur, who was also heavily backed by development interests.

Leary spent more than $400,000 through his campaign and a political committee he controls compared to about $100,000 spent by Semrad’s campaign, according to campaign finance reports.

“We made a commitment to refuse special interest dollars to prove we were without a doubt standing with the community when it comes to decisions that affect our quality of life,” Semrad said.

Leary did not respond to interview requests throughout the campaign season. Late Wednesday, he posted on his campaign Facebook page that he conceded to Semrad.

“I am very proud of the race that we ran and the support we had district and countywide,” he wrote. “I spoke to Kelly earlier and congratulated her on her victory and offered my assistance in any way possible moving forward.”

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