Tiffany Moore Russell was elected Orange County mayor Tuesday, according to unofficial results, and will succeed term-limited Mayor Jerry Demings; she is expected to make a formal Transition Announcement at 2 p.m. Wednesday, November 4, at the Orange County Administration Building.
Moore Russell received about 63% of the vote, compared to about 37% for Republican businessman Chris Messina, according to Associated Press figures.
Moore Russell finished first in the nonpartisan August 18 primary with about 32%, ahead of Messina at about 27%, former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy at about 26% and County Commissioner Mayra Uribe at about 15%. The top two advanced to the November runoff.
Moore Russell was Orange County clerk of courts for 12 years and resigned in August to run for mayor. She served as a county commissioner from 2006 to 2014. She will lead a county of about 1.5 million residents that sees roughly 75 million visitors a year. The job pays $261,209 a year and oversees a budget of nearly $9 billion.
During the campaign, Moore Russell called for more efforts on housing affordability and said she would improve planning and permitting, modernize zoning where appropriate, and increase housing inventory. In a debate covered by our friends at Central Florida Public Media, she said: “The longer a permit sits on someone’s desk for approval, the more it’s costing to that project.” She said she wants to make “critical changes internally.”
On transportation, she supports expanding SunRail to nights and weekends and better links between neighborhoods, transit stations and jobs. In her ClickOrlando voters guide answers, she said she wants roads and stormwater considered before new development is approved and a dedicated funding source for multimodal transportation. She also listed workforce development, small businesses, and good-paying jobs as priorities.
Concerning the budget, she said government should modernize operations with technology and improve efficiency before asking taxpayers for more revenue. At the debate, she said she would consider delaying some capital projects instead of canceling them, and she declined to name programs she would cut. She opposes the proposed statewide property tax amendment, arguing it could cut local revenue for public services. She also said public funding for the Orlando Dreamers baseball effort should depend on “a demonstrated return on investment through increased tourism.”
