Three candidates will battle to become Apopka’s next mayor while a major question looms over the race: What job are they running for?
Incumbent Mayor Bryan Nelson, Seat 4 City Commissioner Nick Nesta and District 2 County Commissioner Christine Moore qualified to run by Friday’s noon deadline. Attorney Matt Aungst announced Wednesday he was suspending his campaign after declaring in August he’d run.
But if Question 1 of eight proposed charter amendments is adopted at the same election, on March 10, it will dramatically change the structure of government in Orange County’s second-largest city that dates back to 1919.
The mayor’s post, now a full-time job paying $133,350 annually, would become largely ceremonial and pay $17,400, the same as other city council members.
Under the current structure the mayor has significant control over the city’s daily operations. But the amendment, which Nelson said was suggested by a former city administrator, hands that authority to a city manager who takes direction from council and mayor but oversees employees and day-to-day operations.
The mayor would still run council meetings. The amendment allows 120 days after passage for transitioning.
Nelson and Moore said they support retaining the “strong mayor” form of government, while Nesta wouldn’t reveal his stance but said he’ll back whatever voters decide. The candidates, all lifelong Apopka residents, said they’ll serve if elected no matter the outcome of Question 1.
Bryan Nelson
Nelson said his extensive experience — along with his connections at local, regional and state levels — are why voters should give him a third term.
“I’m involved in all the the major decisions that take place at the city be it water quality, roads, community development, economic development,” he said. “All those areas I’ve touched and continue to touch, so who better than me to continue what I’ve started.”
Bryan Nelson (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Nelson served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 until 2014 representing District 31, which includes Apopka. In 2014 he was elected to the District 2 seat on the Orange County Commission, serving until he was elected mayor in 2018 and reelected in 2022.
He said the top issue for him is growth and how to manage it now that the state has “handcuffed” local governments by limiting what they can do under SB 180, which took effect in June.
His next-highest priority is to increase the city’s financial stability at a time when state lawmakers are considering plans that would reduce incoming property tax revenues.
Along with that he wants to improve quality of life by focusing on the “work” portion of “live, work and play.”
“If we can get more high-paying jobs in Apopka it brings home everybody and it makes more restaurants available, it makes more shopping available,” Nelson said.
Christine Moore
Moore said she’s a problem-solver and that’s exactly what the city needs.
“I’d be excited to serve as mayor because my service in office has always been about fixing problems and Apopka is certainly at a crossroads struggling mightily and needs many things repaired,” she said.
Christine Moore (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Moore was elected to the District 7 seat on the Orange County School Board in 2008 then reelected in 2012 and 2016. She left the board in 2018 when she became the first woman elected to the District 2 seat on the county commission. She was reelected in 2022 but can’t run again because of term limits.
She said as Apopka mayor she’d make addressing the city’s growth her top priority.
“We are the top growing area of the county and people are very angry of how the city has grown,” Moore said.
And that dovetails with her next-highest priority — infrastructure. She said one thing most in Apopka agree on is that the city must spend more time working on its roads.
Moore said another top priority is to improve the “blighted” downtown — “and everybody has talked about this for decades.”
Nick Nesta
Nesta said he’s running because he understands what’s great about the city and what can be done better.
“I see where there’s so many pitfalls that the city is falling into through its current leadership and those being costly to our residents,” he said, citing double-digit increases in utility rates for two consecutive years as an example.
Nesta is a Realtor with his own business, Nesta Real Estate Consultants. He was first elected in 2022 to finish the term or another commissioner and reelected last year. He announced Dec. 4 his resignation effective April 28, the date the next mayor will be sworn in.
Nesta said as mayor he’ll make his top priority to provide, and put into action, a plan for the city’s future.
Nick Nesta (Courtesy Nick Nesta)
“Our biggest issue that we have right now is no plan for the future,” he said. “That’s what I’ll be bringing in, a true roadmap, is what I’m calling it, for success for our city.”
His next-highest priority is infrastructure — specifically roads and water — which he said the current administration fails to address in a proactive way.
Nesta said he also wants to restore trust in a government he believes has been lost and will help do that by adding a new staff position of communications director.
“To rebuild trust we need to have easy access to information, not only on the financial side, but also just in general information, the good and the bad,” he said.
Other races on ballot
In addition to picking a mayor, voters will choose council members for Seats 1, 2 and 4. The special election taking place for Seat 4 is to fill out the remainder of Nesta’s term — with qualifying in January.
Commissioner Alexander Smith is the Seat 1 incumbent and Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez is in Seat 2.
Former Commissioner Sam Ruth is trying to return to the council in Seat 1 while George Smith, a real estate agent, and Angela Turner, an entrepreneur and mental health program director, seek to unseat Velazquez.