Three Orange County Commission seats are up for grabs in a high-stakes election

Voters in Orange County will decide Tuesday on three races that could potentially reshape the County Commission.

The competitions have billions of dollars at stake for developers and the tourism industry.

In District 1, incumbent Nicole Wilson has a rematch against the challenger AustinArthur after neither won a majority in the August primary. Wilson surpassed Arthur with only two votesby Arthur has surpassed her with a war chest of nearly $350,000. Wilson has raised about $70,000.

County Commission races are nonpartisan, but politics still seeps into the race.

Wilson, a Democrat, has angered special interest groups by supporting the environment over developers and wanting to free up tourism development tax dollars to spend on community needs rather than just tourism.

That has paved the way for Arthur, a Republican, to raise money with the support of Republican mayors and even some surprising allies, like Orlando’s Democratic mayor. Friend Dyer, according to Orlando Weekly.

Arthur may not seem like the perfect candidate on paper. He was arrested in his early 20s, although he was not charged with any crime, and has faced financial and legal problems running his business in recent years. But Arthur has said that his problems make him relatable and that he has learned valuable lessons from his mistakes.

In District 3, two Democrats are competing after neither gained enough support to win in the primary. Commissioner Mayra Uribe is against Sen. Linda Stewartwho is serving a term-limit in Tallahassee.

Uribe made headlines this summer after public records were revealed she gave hundreds of cards to her husband’s small nonprofit since 2019. It is unclear how he has benefited from access to some of Orlando’s biggest entertainment events, as his nonprofit has not filed recent 990 tax forms.

County Commissioners may transfer two tickets for the county Skybox at the Kia Center and Camping World Stadium to a nonprofit organization of their choice. But Uribe’s ticket transfer to her husband’s organization raised red flags, an ethics expert told Florida Politics. The Province closed the loophole end of October.

Meanwhile, Stewart faced her own scandal involving the provincial government.

Stewart got behind Orange County leaders to work with a county lobbyist to write a bill that would have limited the county’s ability to make cuts to Visit Orlando. The bill never gained traction, but it still angered local officials. After the Orlando Sentinel broke the storythe province fired the lobbyist in February.

And for the final seat up for grabs, District 5 is an open seat to replace the term-limited commissioner Emily Bonilla.

Former mayor of Winter Park Steve Learya Republican, outraged Democrat Kelly Semrad with his $260,000 in campaign donations, compared to her funds of just under $100,000.

Leary has the support of the tourism industry and developers, while Semrad is an avid environmentalist and professor at the University of Central Florida.

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