{"id":202509,"date":"2026-03-03T18:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/202509\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T18:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:14:09","slug":"travel-grant-seeking-budget-dominate-discussion-in-oakland-candidates-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/202509\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel, grant-seeking, budget dominate discussion in Oakland Candidates Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This story originally appeared in Vox Populi<\/a>, which also hosted the forum.<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s budget, Tallahassee travel and funding the town\u2019s water projects were among the issues discussed last week during the virtual Oakland Seat 4 Candidates Forum, featuring Commissioner Joseph McMullen who has held the seat for 20 years, and first-time candidate Anne Fulton, running on a platform of change.<\/p>\n

VoxPopuli hosted the forum on Zoom. It was moderated by veteran journalist Steve Mort, host of the new podcast Talking Central Florida from the News Collaborative of Central Florida, which includes VoxPopuli as a partner.<\/p>\n

Nearly 30 people tuned in for the live discussion, including Kathy Stark, the former mayor of Oakland, and Oakland Commissioner Sal Ramos.<\/p>\n

Grant-seeking and travel to meet and mix with legislators in the state and nation\u2019s capitols were two issues that consistently came up \u2014 no matter the topic \u2014 with Fulton pushing for less travel and McMullen making the case for why face-to-face meetings are essential. (Full disclosure: Fulton is a VoxPopuli donor and former board member.)<\/p>\n

And in a surprise revelation toward the end of the evening, McMullen accused Fulton\u2019s husband of threatening him during Fulton\u2019s 2024 recall, which Shaun Fulton immediately called a lie in a message to the forum chat, and said was \u201ccategorically false\u201d in a post on Oakland Residents. We\u2019ll come back to that further down.<\/p>\n

Why run?<\/p>\n

Before getting into the nitty gritty on specific issues, the two candidates spoke first about their motivations for standing for election.<\/p>\n

McMullen said it was \u201cnot the time for me to walk away\u201d just as the town was about to level up in terms of growth, infrastructure and commercial development. \u201cI\u2019ve been involved with that for the last 12 to 13 years, and I want to continue that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulton said McMullen\u2019s efforts for the town for the past 20 years have been \u201ccommendable,\u201d but said that \u201ctwo years ago a lot of the residents spoke up and said, Okay, we\u2019re ready for a change. We\u2019re ready for something new. I\u2019m here to be the something new. I\u2019m here to be the voice of the new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, for her talk of bringing a different perspective to the commission, Fulton said she agreed with McMullen seven times during the 75-minute forum, indicating that on many issues, if elected, she would take similar action.<\/p>\n

Need for travel?<\/p>\n

One area, though, where Fulton has differentiated herself from McMullen is travel to Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. She\u2019s made McMullen\u2019s travel a signature campaign issue and has argued that much of the town\u2019s business with legislators can be conducted from Oakland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that we need to be in D.C. doing things when all of our leaders, all of our state, all of our county, all of our national leaders have offices here in the Orlando and Central Florida area, and we can call and talk to them,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

McMullen pushed back on that idea and explained the value of being in the Capitol to meet with legislators, especially when wooing them for appropriations \u2014 something he said that prior mayors, town staff and officials did with regularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 160 legislators. You can\u2019t have just our two legislators telling our story,\u201d he said. \u201cSo when we go to those different places like Tallahassee and D.C. to tell our story, those other legislators and the appropriations office wants to see the town, the staff and the elected [officials] that\u2019s really asking for those dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

He circled back to the point later in the forum, emphasizing that Florida League of Cities conferences is where elected officials learn how to be elected officials. He said Commissioner Kris Keller, new on the commission, attended a conference and \u201clearned so much,\u201d and that he would urge Yumeko Motley, who will assume Seat 3 in March, to go so as well.<\/p>\n

Budget and taxes<\/p>\n

At 6.7 mills, Oakland\u2019s millage rate is among the highest in the Orange County area \u2014 Eatonville\u2019s is higher at 7.2938 mills. Both candidates were asked how they would go about reducing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not really room to cut much,\u201d said Fulton. She envisioned a scenario in which the elimination of property taxes necessitated cutting $2 million from the budget and excised the Oakland Nature Preserve, the Arts and Heritage Center budget, all special events, public works, human resources, the town clerk, the commission from the town. \u201cOur finance department has been amazing at keeping a slim and trim budget while still providing nice things that bring the town together,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile it is expensive to live here in Oakland, I believe that the benefits far outweigh the cutting a few percentages off and not having those amazing things in the town.\u201d <\/p>\n

McMullen pointed to infrastructure and \u201crooftops\u201d to lower the millage rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solution is top-line growth, having a mixed tax base,\u201d he said, acknowledging that the town has been relying \u201cheavily\u201d on ad valorem taxes. But he added that a dozen years ago, commercial businesses weren\u2019t interested in setting up shop in a town with 2,000 to 3,000 residents. But these days with a town population of 6,000 and the availability of sewer in commercial areas, \u201cnow people are knocking on our doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the drivers of Oakland\u2019s high millage rate is the high fees the town is obligated to pay to Orange County for fire rescue service. Mayor Shane Taylor has described the town\u2019s partnership with Orange County Fire Rescue as \u201ceconomically unviable\u201d as a result of the county jacking up its rates by $500,000 in 2024 and 2025. The mayor has said a few times that he wants to explore \u201calternative sources\u201d to replace Orange County\u2019s fire service. But both McMullen and Fulton offered stay-the-course answers when asked for their ideas.<\/p>\n

Fulton said that since the town can\u2019t afford to build its own fire department, \u201cI think we are going to have to continue with the way that we\u2019re going now unless some magic money falls out of the sky. I think we just need to budget with what we have now versus trying to build something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMullen maintained that \u201cwe have to have that partnership with the county. We looked at that for years as what\u2019s our possible options. \u2026 But a town our size, even when we get to our capacity, we cannot do our own fire [department].\u201d<\/p>\n

Both agreed that educating residents about why eliminating property taxes would be harmful to the town was important. Fulton noted that Taylor had recently proposed holding town meetings to help explain how voting to eliminate homestead property tax would be detrimental to the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put it perfectly when he said Sitting on the commission side of the table is a lot different than sitting on the resident side of the table. As a resident, we all want lower taxes. But on the town side of it, taking out those expenses was $2,000*, and those are critical things. So like Mayor Taylor said, sitting down with residents, doing educational workshops, letting them know exactly where that money goes is going to be the key.\u201d<\/p>\n

[*Editor\u2019s note: The potential loss to the town is $2 million.]<\/p>\n

McMullen pointed out that the workshop Fulton referenced was created by the Florida League of Cities, which also organizes the trips to Tallahassee. \u201cThat\u2019s why being a part of these organizations helps because it helps us prepare to make sure we are doing our best to save our cities and towns from unfunded mandates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Septic-to-sewer project<\/p>\n

Perhaps the town\u2019s most ambitious undertaking \u2014 besides shifting the irrigation system from drinking water to reclaimed water \u2014 is the move off of septic tanks and onto a sewer system. Only about 8 percent of the town\u2019s 921 septic tanks have been removed. But the town is committed to the process \u2014at a cost of about $71.7 million over 20 to 25 years. Candidates were asked where the money would come from to fund the project.<\/p>\n

McMullen immediately said they needed to work Oakland\u2019s network to bring in grant money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to talk to our county people. We\u2019ve got to talk to our state and our D.C. people. There are billions of dollars and grants at the federal level. Billions,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only way we can do it is going after those appropriations.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that Republican Congressman Daniel Webster of District 11 recently sent out a request for appropriation projects. McMullen also said he\u2019s been conversations with Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost of District 10. Even though Oakland isn\u2019t part of Frost\u2019s district, McMullen said his staff has been helpful.<\/p>\n

In addition now that Mike Parker is no longer splitting his time between working as a grant writer and public works director, but is writing grants full time, McMullen said they have the wherewithal to apply for the large-dollar grants. He added that developers also kick in money to put the sewer infrastructure in their developments. McMullen said that developers don\u2019t bring in a lot, but it\u2019s enough that the town isn\u2019t wholly dependent on grants.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s the solution,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing outside this area. Grants on the state level. Corporations on the state level. Water project grants. \u2026 Going after those billions of dollars on the federal level,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Fulton agreed with McMullen that grant money was the answer, but added that the town pays two lobbyists $102,000 annually to work on behalf of the town to bring them in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should be doing that without extra added expenses to go and hold their hand and say, Hey don\u2019t forget about us,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that making face time is very important, but again, I stand by the fact that $102,000 is plenty enough money for them to go to D.C. and get the billions and go to Tallahassee and get the millions. Yes, going one or two times is great, but spending in excess of $5,000 a year, for a pipe dream it seems because I haven\u2019t seen billions come back into town, is ridiculous.\u201d <\/p>\n

In terms of helping residents with the $6,200 fee to connect to a sewer line once it becomes available in their area, both candidates said grant money and developer money was the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there is any other idea,\u201d said Fulton. \u201cOur budget is perfectly balanced, so it\u2019s going to have to come from grant money and we\u2019re going to have to be patient just like we have been all of these years. \u2026 Some homeowners are going to have to pay their portion to go from their house to the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

John\u2019s Lake outfall canal<\/p>\n

Candidates were asked if they were concerned that without maintenance on the canal, John\u2019s Lake could overflow its banks and flood homes in a 500-year event. The clogged canal had been a campaign issue during the 2024 mayoral race after the commission voted 3-2 to spend $120,000 to dredge sediment from the area \u2014 twice \u2014 only to have the problem recur.<\/p>\n

While neither candidate addressed the potential flooding risk, both agreed the canal remained a problem.<\/p>\n

\u200a\u201cWhen that issue came up, I said, I will vote for this if we have a plan,\u201d said McMullen, reminding viewers that he and former mayor Kathy Stark were the No votes on the commission\u2019s decision to take action in 2023. \u201c\u200aThat was my position. We needed a plan. We still need a plan. This is not a town of Oakland issue only. This is a multi-agency issue that we all need to be a part of fixing that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. McMullen is correct. He did vote No, and he voiced his concern. Although I wish he would have been a little louder, he did vote No,\u201d said Fulton.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem that the Town of Oakland has is regardless of the two nay votes, there were three yay votes, and the town spent $250,000 and started doing things without proper planning or proper engineering. \u2026 Things went haywire. We spent more money, more money, more money. And now we are on the hook if anything happens in that area because the Town of Oakland went and started messing with stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cI agree with Commissioner McMullen that we need to wait and get a full plan, a fully engineered scope of how to proceed with this and not touch it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Affordable housing<\/p>\n

Fulton said bringing affordable housing to Oakland was \u201csomething that is near and dear to my heart\u201d and explained that neither her mother nor her son, on their incomes, could afford to purchase homes in Oakland.<\/p>\n

She pointed to Habitat for Humanity, which builds lower-cost housing; and Bright Community Trust, which functions as a land bank and home builder and suggested working with people with homes in disrepair or owners of vacant lots to create affordable housing.<\/p>\n

McMullen said that between Habitat for Humanity, Community Development Block Grants, \u201cwhich we have used to bring in housing and help people with their housing, whether major rehab or total rebuild,\u201d and the Home At Last program, which aids with transitional and permanent housing, \u201cthat\u2019s all we can do.\u201d He noted that most land within the town is privately owned.<\/p>\n

The candidates were also asked about the possibility of the Bin Laden property being turned into apartments. Fulton and McMullen both said it would be premature to weigh in. <\/p>\n

McMullen said he wouldn\u2019t offer an opinion on any project until it had gone through the Planning and Zoning Board and the Architectural Review Board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure whatever comes to that area is approved and something that they want in that area, and at the same time, it meets our overlay district outlook and meets the same small town feel that we have,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo it has to go through the proper process. I would not give you an opinion until it goes through that process, and we have those voices being heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulton was fully on board with that. \u201cI agree with Commissioner McMullen. He said it exactly right,\u201d said Fulton. \u201cThere are rules that the town has set for what can be developed in what particular area and we do not have the right to say you cannot develop XXX here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seat 3 nomination and recall<\/p>\n

Both candidates responded to questions about the Seat 3 nominating process and the subsequent 2024 recall, started by Fulton.<\/p>\n

Fulton was asked how she would work toward unity since she had attempted to recall McMullen and former Commissioner Rick Polland (who resigned in December 2024) and planned to recall Vice Mayor Satterfield and Ramos, who did not run for re-election.<\/p>\n

While Fulton did not answer the question about unity, she acknowledged the recall was \u201ccontroversial\u201d and \u201cruffled a lot of feathers in the town.\u201d But she said that she stood by what she did.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aEverything I did, I did with facts. Any accusations that I made, I had facts to back it up. I know that speaking up, even when there\u2019s someone in your face pushing back, speaking up when it\u2019s not the popular opinion is hard to do, and it makes people uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I wholeheartedly believe that when there\u2019s an injustice, as the majority of the town felt after Commissioner Ramos was re-seated, that someone needed to stand up and say something. Someone needed to stand up and do something because apathy and complacency get us nowhere. So whether you supported my decision to do that or not, I hope that that shows the community that anytime something comes up, anytime someone feels unheard, I will be the one to stand up and say, This is not right.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMullen answered questions about the nominating process and whether there had been a coordinated effort to put Ramos back in the seat he\u2019d vacated to run unsuccessfully for mayor. McMullen said there was no coordinated effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose Mr. Ramos because of experience,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not going to get myself in trouble for a $599 [a year] job and come together and do some kind of plan. It was all about experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMullen also explained the rationale for his applicant scoring sheets. Applicants were scored 1 to 5 on professional experience, community involvement, volunteer engagement, public speaking and educational background. All are subjective categories, with the exception of educational background.<\/p>\n

Attorney Yumeko Motley was Mayor Taylor\u2019s choice for the commission. With her law degree, McMullen gave her a 5 for educational background. McMullen also gave Ramos a 5 for his high-school diploma. How the two equate has long been a question.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy has a business for over 30+ years. That\u2019s experience. That\u2019s experience. \u2026 Just because somebody\u2019s a lawyer, being a lawyer doesn\u2019t make you the best elected official. It was experience,\u201d McMullen said, sidestepping the question about education.<\/p>\n

Accusation of a threat<\/p>\n

Between the questions about the recall and the nominating process, McMullen asked if he could say something about the recall experience. He said that Fulton\u2019s husband Shaun posted a photo of his home on social media with the address blurred, that he\u2019d taken a picture of him leaving a polling place during the 2024 mayoral election and that he\u2019d been \u201cthreatened\u201d with \u201cIn box stuff.\u201d He said it was \u201cscary\u201d and that at the time, his daughter was \u201cconcerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when it got personal to me,\u201d McMullen said.<\/p>\n

Shaun Fulton immediately sent an all caps message to the forum chat, visible only to moderators, that said, \u201cHE\u2019S LYING!\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in the evening, Shaun Fulton posted a public response in the Oakland Residents Facebook group where he said, \u201cAt no time did I threaten Mr. McMullen, for any reason, at any time. That allegation is categorically false.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaun Fulton acknowledged posting the photo of McMullen\u2019s home, which he said was six doors down from his. But he said it was a yard sign issue and that McMullen had too many \u201cSal Ramos for Mayor\u201d signs in his yard \u201cin violation of the town\u2019s sign regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe photograph was shared solely to highlight what many residents perceived at the time as an \u2018old boys\u2019 culture within the Commission (sic), a culture where rules did not appear to apply evenly. Once the sign issue was corrected, the photograph was promptly removed,\u201d Shaun Fulton said in his post.<\/p>\n

Wrap up<\/p>\n

As they closed, Fulton again commended McMullen on his \u201cdedicated service\u201d and \u201cgreat love for this town,\u201d but insisted that the lobbyists could manage on their own, and that one could stay plugged to legislative matters in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. via MyFloridaHouse.gov, FlSenate.gov and govtrack.us. “\u200aYou can stay in the loop without spending extra money going out of town without spending thousands of dollars to go on trips,” she said.<\/p>\n

McMullen pointed out that they were quibbling over $7,000 \u2014 the cost of his last three years of travel \u2014 on a $10 million budget.<\/p>\n

“\u200aEvery mayor I\u2019ve served with has gone to Tallahassee. You can\u2019t have someone else that\u2019s telling our story,” he said. \u201cThis is not a Zoom\/Teams process. We have to be there. So when I talk about experience, experience matters during these times. Stability matters when decisions have lasting impact because the decisions we make today are going to make a big difference. … Oakland success is not by luck; it\u2019s by leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early voting for the Seat 4 election takes place March 2 through March 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. See our guide for locations. Election Day is March 10.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NOTE: This story originally appeared in Vox Populi, which also hosted the forum. Oakland\u2019s budget, Tallahassee travel and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[35072,93997,143,145,144,611,13],"class_list":{"0":"post-202509","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-election-2026","9":"tag-know-your-vote-central-florida","10":"tag-oakland","11":"tag-oakland-headlines","12":"tag-oakland-news","13":"tag-orange-county","14":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}