After the March 10 election sent mayoral candidates Christine Moore and Nick Nesta to an April runoff, The Apopka Chief sat down for an interview with Mayor Bryan Nelson to discuss his tenure, his final weeks in office, and his retirement plans.
Nelson was first elected as mayor in 2018, winning reelection in 2022, after serving in the Florida House of Representatives and on the Orange County Commission. He also operated Nelson Insurance and worked for the family business, Nelson’s Florida Roses.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Were you surprised by the election results?
I was definitely surprised. I figured it would be a runoff — just thought I would be one of the top two candidates — but I guess if it’s meant to be, then that gives me a little more time to get everything organized around here.
Looking back over your years as mayor, is there an accomplishment you’re most proud of?
We came in with a deficit. We were down to an overall general fund reserve of what would have been $4 million by the end of that year. We’ve got to a point now where, at the end of the year, we’ll have over $30 million in reserves. We’ve shored up a lot of the other accounts. We’ve got a cemetery reserve fund, and all three of the pension plans are now more financially stable.
So we’ve done a lot of those things — which, unfortunately, a lot of people see the shiny object and don’t look at what it takes to get there. It’s taken me eight years to get there, and we’ve got the city in a great position to move forward, especially if property tax cuts are on the horizon. They’ve got a financial cushion there that will give them at least a year or two to figure out how to balance the budget.
I’m also proud of the staff we’ve got here. They’ve done amazing work for the city and for our residents, and so I couldn’t be more proud of them.
Do you have a biggest regret as mayor?
I just wish we started getting the water meters fixed earlier, but we’re there now. We got the rate down to where it’s sustainable. A lot of people don’t realize that utilities are their own cost center and profit center — not that you’re looking to make a profit, but they have to stand on their own. They can’t be subsidized by general funds.
What would you say is the largest change you’ve seen in Apopka from when you started as mayor until the present?
Growth has overwhelmed us — a lot of it is good growth. We’ve got a lot of warehouses that hopefully turn into a lot of jobs. We’ve always been known as a bedroom community, so what you want to do is to turn it around and have as many jobs in Apopka as you have residents. We’re trying to get to that balance between commercial, industrial, and residential, so that you can live, work and play here in Apopka. That’s always been one of my goals. I think over the next four to 10 years, you’ll start to see more jobs created here in Apopka, which will then give more opportunities for people to stay here and work here and spend their money here.
Photo by Dana O’Connor Mayor Bryan Nelson and his wife Debbie Nelson wave at the 2026 Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade.
Would you say the number of jobs has increased along with the growth?
We need more jobs. Obviously, we want high-paying jobs, if you can get those, along with the blue-collar worker jobs. All those are important. As the nursery industry has dwindled down, trying to replace those jobs with other construction or retail jobs will be critical.
What is the single most important lesson you’ve learned as mayor?
You have to look at the long term. How can you plan for the next 10, 20, 40 years? Unfortunately, the general public wants something today or tomorrow, so it’s trying to manage the long-term planning versus short-term goals. It’s always a challenge.
What are your top three priorities for your final days in office?
We want to do a groundbreaking on Kelly Park Road. We’ll get that Kelly Park Road Interchange pioneering agreement started. Hopefully we can get the six soccer fields started. Hopefully the amphitheater at Kit Land Nelson Park will be completed. I’m hoping to get the liners at Golden Gem finished. Hopefully we’ll do a groundbreaking for the pickleball and tennis court complex. So those are some of the ones we’d like to at least get started.
Sarah Merly Mayor Bryan Nelson poses with his portrait in City Hall.
We also had one of our first Ocoee-Apopka Road meetings Tuesday, so we’re getting that $17 million project started, and then the $13 million project at Northwest with the amphitheater improvements and the four new softball fields.
Another one we’d like to get started is the long-term Border Lake fix. It’s in the works. We’ve got $6.25 million in grants, so we got some money to be able to complete a lot of that, which will then not only relieve the flooding in the Piedmont Lakes area, but also give us some additional water for our reclaimed customers.
A lot of these projects are longer term than people expect. We’re all impatient. For instance, the ribbon cutting for the water tank—that was four years from conception to ribbon cutting. So these projects have been in the works for a long time.
What do you hope your successor will do to help Apopka flourish?
The rumors are that they’re going to get rid of a bunch of quality, seasoned staff, and I think that’s a big mistake. I think we’ve got a great team. When I came in eight years ago, there was only one person that I released from their duties, and I even gave them a long run out so they were able to find another job. But other than that, I didn’t lay off anybody. There’s a lot of institutional knowledge in this building, and we’ve built a really good team, and for them to put a bunch of people on the chopping block makes no sense.
What are you hoping your successor will do positively?
Complete a lot of the projects we’ve got in the hopper. Hopefully they’ll retain the staff and give them a chance to prove themselves.
What would you hope your legacy in the community?
One of them would be saving Camp Wewa. I think getting this financial house in order was a huge one across all those departments. I’d love to see the mountain bike park come to fruition. That would be a great addition to our ecotourism reputation. I’m trying to capitalize on that with Camp Wewa, the birding park, and the Northwest Recreation Complex. We’ve got a lot of great outdoor opportunities.
What are your plans for retirement?
I don’t know what the next chapter brings, but we’re putting feelers out there. Hopefully something will come along. I don’t want to work as hard as I’ve been working. I get in the office at 6:30 in the morning and stay till work’s finished, plus all the other events we’ve got on.I’d like to definitely spend some more time with my wife, kids and grandkids.
We’ll find something to do — I’m sure of that. I’m just waiting for the right opportunity where I can help. I don’t want to be a burden on anybody. But I’ve got a skillset that not many people have, and so hopefully something will come along that will benefit whoever the employer is and will give me some satisfaction of something I can accomplish.
Sarah Merly is an editorial assistant and reporter for The Apopka Chief. She joined the Chief in May 2025 after graduating from Patrick Henry College’s journalism program in Washington, D.C. In her spare time, Sarah loves watching rom-coms, visiting Disney, and throwing parties.