State Rep. Johanna López entered the race for a seat on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, marking the latest high-profile entrant seeking a seat on the local board.
López, 53, a former teacher and Orange County School Board member, announced her candidacy to run in an east Orange district alongside one of her former students, Samuel Vilchez Santiago, who simultaneously filed to succeed her in the state House.
“Our district deserves leadership that feels the struggle of the people because they’ve lived them,” she said. “Leadership that understands what it means to worry about rent, about schools, about traffic, about opportunities.”
Santiago, 28, the Orange County Democratic Party chairman, said he met López as a 10th grader when he walked into her Spanish classroom, and she became a mentor and friend.
He said his candidacy will focus on Medicaid expansion and rising costs.
“Who is paying attention to the real needs that our working and middle class families are facing all across this state?” he said. “And why is it that instead of paying attention to that, we’re just targeting immigrants?”
So far, he’s the lone candidate in the race for District 43. Vilchez Santiago previously ran for the state House in 2020, losing a Democratic primary to former state Rep. Daisy Morales.
López joins the field in what is the most consequential county election in recent memory, with six commission seats on the ballot along with the powerful mayoral post.
The local ballot will be headlined by the race to take over the mayor’s office, as incumbent Jerry Demings is facing term limits and is running for governor. Six candidates are in the race so far, including Commissioner Mayra Uribe, former Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy and Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore-Russell.
López filed in District 4, currently held by Maribel Gomez Cordero, who due to term limits cannot run again. Brian Jones is also in the race so far.
In District 2, which includes Apopka and Ocoee, Marsha Summerstill is currently the lone candidate seeking to succeed Commissioner Christine Moore. Moore qualified to run for Apopka Mayor and submitted her resignation effective April 27.
In District 3, which includes downtown Orlando, Azalea Park and Conway, six candidates have filed so far to run for the seat in 2028, when Uribe’s term is up. But if she submits her resignation this year in order to run for mayor, that election would move to 2026.
Candidates include Nelson Betancourt, Gus Martinez, former State Sen. Linda Stewart, Stephanie Ziglar, Walker Smith IV and Marthaly Irizarry.
Incumbent Mike Scott is the lone candidate in District 6 in west Orange so far.
In 2024, voters approved a charter amendment expanding the board from six to eight districts. The newly drawn Districts 7 and 8 have also drawn a host of names.
In District 7, which includes Maitland, Winter Park, Eatonville and Pine Hills, Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner, former Orlando Commissioner Vicky Vargo, Aaron Lewis, Selina Carter, Sonya Shakespeare and Stacey Gordon-Ali have filed paperwork so far.
And in District 8 in south Orange, Tatiana Fernández, former State Sen. Victor Torres and Jeannette Quinones-Hernandez are candidates so far.
More candidates could enter the fray, with qualifying scheduled for June 8 to 12.