LAKE MARY, Fla. - A number of municipalities held elections on Tuesday.
In Orange County, Apopka's incumbent Mayor Bryan Nelson won a second term, fending off challenger Kyle Becker. Nelson won 54% of the vote to Becker's 46%. Diane Velazquez defeated Wes Dumey by a margin of over two to one, winning 70% to 30% in the race for Apopka's City Council, Seat 2. Meanwhile, Nicholas L. Nesta III carried 62% of the vote to defeat Eric Mock for Apopka's City Council, Seat 4.
Voters in Winter Park went to the polls to choose two city commissioners and to decide on a number of charter amendments focusing mainly on zoning and development. Kris Cruzada defeated Anjali Vaya, 52% to 48% in the race for Commission Seat 3. Meanwhile, Todd C. Weaver beat Elijah J. Noel, 55% to 45%.
Lori Wurtzel won 50% of the vote for an open seat on Maitland City Council, Seat 1, defeating challengers Bev Reponen and Colleen Lilling.
Oakland Town Commission Seat 1 incumbent Rick Polland was re-elected with 71% of the vote, defeating his opponent Matthew Bunevich. Polland was appointed to fill a vacancy on the council in 2012. Seat #4 incumbent Commissioner Joseph McMullen was re-elected unopposed.
Belle Isle's incumbent Mayor Nicholas Fouraker won a second term, defeating Holly Bobrowski 59% to 41%.
Full Orange County election results can be viewed here.
In Brevard County, Peter Filiberto is the winner of Palm Bay's race for City Council, Seat 5 having garnered 6,400 votes or 51%. Filiberto, 32, is a program analyst who campaigned on issues such as lower taxes, affordable housing, and safer streets.
Full Brevard County election results can be viewed here.
In Flagler County, voters in Bunnell and Flagler Beach went to the polls to choose a commissioner in each of those cities. In Bunnell, Robert Edward Barnes was leading his opponents, Tina-Marie Shultz and Peter Young, by 43% to 31% and 26%, respectively. Meanwhile, in Flagler Beach, Jane Mealy was leading her opponents, James Patrick Sherman and Rick Belhumeur, by 37% to 32% and 30%, respectively.
Full Flagler County election results can be viewed here.
Osgood, Edmonds Cruise in Special Elections
Democrats Rosalind Osgood and Tae Edmonds were headed Tuesday evening toward easy wins in special elections for two South Florida legislative seats. With 156 of 165 precincts reporting, Osgood had captured nearly 81 percent of the vote in Broward County’s Senate District 33, according to the county supervisor of elections website. Republican Joseph Carter had received about 19 percent.
Meanwhile, in Palm Beach County’s House District 88, Edmonds had captured 81.2 percent of the vote, while Republican Guarina Torres had 18.8 percent.
The special elections were held because former Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, and former Rep. Omari Hardy, D-West Palm Beach, submitted resignations to run for a congressional seat that became open because of the death last year of longtime U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla. Thurston and Hardy lost in a November Democratic primary for the congressional seat.