Residents of Winter Park won’t head to the polls in March because the races for two City Commission seats were uncontested — meaning automatic wins for a political newcomer and an incumbent.
Elizabeth Ingram, a trained opera singer who has performed with Opera Orlando, will take Seat 1 as successor to Commissioner Marty Sullivan, who did not seek a third term. In addition, Commissioner Craig Russell will return in Seat 2 for his first full term.
Qualifying in the city of about 30,000 ended Monday. Ingram will take her seat next to Russell after they’re sworn in at the beginning of the March 25 commission meeting.
Ingram, born and raised in the Winter Park house where her parents still live, said she looks forward to working on behalf of fellow residents.
“I think my number one priority is just protecting the look and special charm that Winter Park has which I think really separates it from so many other cities around here,” she said.
Among her other priorities are addressing traffic challenges and improving roadways, responsibly managing the budget without raising taxes, upholding the city’s commitment to public arts and culture, and supporting local businesses and economic growth.
The 38-year-old lives in The Vias neighborhood with her husband, Jack; their son, 10; and daughters, 8 and 7. When she joins the commission she’ll become its youngest member and she believes that’s important.
“You need a younger person, especially another woman, born and raised (here),” Ingram said. “I don’t have a full-time job or career where I’m going to have to split my time now with this, so I can really dedicate myself to doing it and representing the residents.”
She has a bachelor’s degree in music from Loyola University and a master’s degree in music from the New England Conservatory of Music. The soprano was among Opera Orlando’s 2016-17 studio artists.
Although this was Ingram’s first political campaign, commissioners previously appointed her to two three-year terms on the Winter Park Public Art Citizen Advisory Board, she served three years on the Dommerich Elementary PTA board with one term as president and is an elder at Park Lake Presbyterian Church in Orlando.
Russell first took his seat on the commission after winning an April 2024 runoff by a razor-thin margin of 32 votes of 5,704 cast. He is finishing out the nearly two years left in the term of Sheila DeCiccio, who vacated it for a successful run for mayor. Russell became the first Black member of the city’s governing body in more than 130 years — two of its initial six aldermen were Black but none had been elected since.
He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Stetson University. He’s been a teacher and athletic coach at Winter Park High for decades. In 2019 he and his wife founded Army of Angels, a nonprofit dedicated to meeting the needs of local youth.
Commissioners are elected at large to serve three-year terms and receive an annual salary of $15,555. The next planned city election is in March 2027 for the office of mayor.