What's on the Aug. 20 ballot in Winter Park?
There’s big focus on November because of the presidential election, but August is key for local races
July 1, 2024
By Beth Kassab
With so much attention already on November because of the presidential contest, it’s important for Winter Park voters to know Aug. 20 is just as crucial of an Election Day when it comes to deciding how your local tax dollars are spent or how our schools and our elections are run.
The way the August primary works in Florida can be something of a mystery even for those of us who have lived here for a while. A series of state and local rules determine whether races are decided in August or November based on whether the races are partisan and how many candidates are running.
Here’s a preview of what to expect on the Winter Park ballot and keep following the Voice for more coverage of these Orange County races:
You are likely already hearing about (and being asked for money) for the most competitive races heading into August.
They are:
Orange County Commission District 5: This is a technically non-partisan seat that is open because current Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who represents Winter Park, has reached her term limits. The candidates are: Former Maitland City Council member and former legislator Joy Goff-Marcil; former Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary; attorney Joel Antonio Montilla and Kelly Semrad, a UCF associate professor of tourism economics. If none of the four candidates receives 50% plus one of the vote in August, then the top two vote getters will face off in November.
Supervisor of Elections: Glen Gilzean, who was appointed to the post earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis after longtime Supervisor Bill Cowles left the job early, decided not to run. Vying for the now open partisan seat as registered Democrats are current School Board member Karen Castor Dentel, former Orange County Democratic chairman Wes Hodge, attorney Dan Helm and “Sunshine” Linda-Marie Grund, a real estate broker. Cynthia Harris, a non-profit executive who has also served as chairwoman of Valencia College Black Advisory Committee, according to her LinkedIn profile, qualified as a candidate without a party affiliation. Because there is an NPA candidate in the race, only registered Democrats can vote in August on the Democratic candidates. Then the winner will face Harris in November.
Tax Collector: Scott Randolph, the incumbent, and David Nelson Freeman qualified as Democrats for the partisan seat. Dennis Spencer Levy also qualified as a write-in candidate. Once again, because there is a write-in candidate, the August primary will be only for — and likely decided by — registered Democrats. The winner will appear on the November ballot with the write-in candidate.
School Board District 6: This seat, which represents Winter Park, is open because Castor Dentel is leaving to run for Supervisor of Elections. The candidates are Jeni Grieger, a former teacher, and Stephanie Vanos, an education advocate. Because this is a nonpartisan race and there are only two candidates, it will be open to all voters and will be decided in August.
Property Appraiser: Amy Mercado, the incumbent, and Kevin Pribell are the only candidates in the race and both are Democrats. As a result, the ballot will be open to all voters and decided in August.
State Attorney: Andrew Bain was appointed by DeSantis after the governor suspended Monique Worrell from office. Bain is running as an NPA and Worrell is running as a Democrat. In November, they will face whoever wins the August closed Republican primary. The Republican candidates are Thomas Feiter and Seth Hyman.
Public Defender: Bob Wesley is retiring from this post after 24 years, leaving the seat open. Melissa Vickers, a 21-year veteran of the office and former chief assistant, and Lenora Easter, also a former public defender in the district, are both running as Democrats. As a result the race is open to all voters and will be decided in August.
Automatically elected because of no opposition:
Clerk of Courts: Tiffany Moore Russell, the incumbent, is the only candidate who qualified and is automatically elected.
Comptroller: Phil Diamond, the incumbent, is the only candidate who qualified and is automatically elected.
Sheriff: John Mina, the incumbent, is the only candidate who qualified and is automatically elected. This is the first time an incumbent sheriff ran unopposed in Orange County since 2000.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
THANK YOU, BETH! WOW it is confusing and a lot to keep straight. Go to the polls on August 20 and you can’t go wrong.
Beth please do not forget that there will be several county and circuit judicial races on the August ballot. These elected officials play a crucial role in our democracy.
Haven’t forgotten. Will get to those as well!
Thank you! FYI the Orlando Sentinel is currently completing judicial candidate interviews and will be posting the video recordings of these. Additionally the Orange Cty League of Women Voters will have all judicial candidates at their next Hot Topics and will facebook live the event as well as post their annual 411 voters guide.
Our Former Winter Park Mayor ,Mr. Leary would be a Great choice of Winter Park residents. Having a resident on the Orange County Commission would serve all of us well. I also noticed that you did not mention that Stephanie Vanos is an attorney running against an educator, Jeni Grieger for school board.
Yes! Very big distinction! Would much rather have someone who has actually taught kids and knows the school system representing us on the Orange County School Board!
Leary way too cozy with big development for my liking. He also proved unable to deliver Winter Park’s largest civic project within the voter approved budget. The library/event center was approved at $30 million and is still clocking away…at $45 million + and counting. We are now spending many more tens of thousands to try to provide parking for the joint. (Which was supposed to be included in that first $30 million.) Can’t imagine what might happen with if all the county tax $$$ was at his disposal. Not to mention all the TDT money sloshing around by the millions.
Just curious how former Mayor Leary was able to deliver the Library and Events Center all by himself. I didn’t realize the other Commissioners at the time had nothing to do with the project. The stuff you learn on here!
Although it would be nice to have a Winter Parker on the OC Commission, I’m very concerned about Steve Leary and his friends. He’s very cozy with big developers who don’t always listen to the residents. I believe Kelly Semrad will be the best candidate to represent Winter Park well. She has strong support here in WP due to her accessibility, her work ethic, her experience as a UCF economics professor, and her ability to build consensus.
Agree. Leary is way too developer friendly. I see his most recent mailer does not mention that he voted to pass the largest upzoning in Winter Park history, known as the OAO. He also seems embarrassed enough about the huge library & event center budget overruns that he doesn’t mention the project though it was the most expensive project in city history. Looking back, Leary made a lot of city history in WP. Just not in a good way. The mailer tries to make it seem like he was focused on parks when he was really more of a concrete focused mayor. Those clever campaign consultants strike again.
Excellent article- ty
Thanks for all this information. I urge everyone to look up all these candidates and become educated on their platforms and motivations. Beth, if there were a way to link the candidates to their websites next time, that would be a huge help. Thanks.
Also State Representative District 42 (includes Winter Park)
Greg Pull and Anna Eskamani