Orlando City Council elections: Tom Keen and Shan Rose win; Roger Chapin and Mira Tanna head to runoff

More than 15,000 Orlando residents took to the polls (or to the dropbox) Tuesday, Nov. 4, to cast their vote for city commissioners representing Districts 1, 3 and 5, according to unofficial election results from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office. This represents a voter turnout of about 17 percent, as of Wednesday morning.

In District 1, former Florida Rep. Tom Keen clinched a victory over incumbent commissioner Jim Gray, who has served on Orlando City Council since 2012. Gray, the lone Republican on the council, received about 31 percent of the vote in the four-way race, while Keen received about 54 percent of the vote.

In District 3, candidates Mira Tanna and Roger Chapin will head to a runoff election on Dec. 9, since neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. Chapin, a businessman and son of former Orange County mayor Linda Chapin, received 34 percent of the vote, while Tanna received 33 percent.

And in District 5, interim commissioner Shaniqua “Shan” Rose handily won reelection with nearly 52 percent of the vote, followed by former city commissioner Regina Hill, who received 32.7 percent of the vote.

The District 1 and 3 races were particularly competitive, with four and five candidates throwing their hats into the ring for the seats, respectively. City commissioners serve four-year terms and, unlike Orange County commissioners, are not subject to term limits in Orlando. (You can tell, based on who’s been sitting on City Council for decades.)

Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried celebrated Rose’s and Keen’s victories Tuesday night, as did the Orange County chapter of the Florida Democratic Party and the progressive advocacy group Florida Rising. “We defined the choice in District 1 clearly — between a 13-year incumbent tied to Republican special interests and the Democratic candidates focused on people, not politics,” said Orange County Democratic Party chair Samuel Vilchez Santiago in a statement. “Voters chose change, and this win shows that when Democrats organize, we win.”

Tanna, meanwhile, said she was proud of the votes she received, adding that her campaign knocked on more than 11,000 doors in her district and made more than 3,000 direct calls to voters. “As the campaign turns towards December 9 and another Election Day, I am honored by the trust so many supporters, donors, volunteers and endorsers have placed in me to serve our needs and our stories from City Hall. I look forward to knocking on more doors, sharing my vision and learning more about the stories of each future constituent in the coming month.”

Orlando, one of Florida’s tourism capitals, is home to approximately 320,000 residents, nearly 15 percent of whom live below the poverty line, according to 2023 U.S. Census data. The city is governed by a mayor and six city commissioners, all roles that are officially nonpartisan.

Here are the full election results, as of Wednesday morning:

District 1 Winner: Tom Keen

District 1 covers Lake Nona and areas surrounding the Orlando International Airport, including Vista Park, Boggy Creek, and Meridian Park and Sunbridge to the east.

Manny Acosta: 5.16 percent (283 votes)

Jim Gray (incumbent): 31.24 percent (1,714 votes)

Sunshine Linda-Marie Grund: 9.62 percent (528 votes)

Tom Keen: 53.97 percent (2,961 votes)

District 3 Runoff: Mira Tanna and Roger Chapin

District 3 lies north of downtown, covering College Park, the North Quarter, Ivanhoe Village, Audubon Park and parts of Baldwin Park. The district has been represented since 2006 by sitting commissioner Robert Stuart, who opted not to run for re-election this year.

Samuel Chambers: 4.76 percent (347 votes)

Roger Chapin: 34.01 percent (2,477 votes)

Chris Durant: 18.09 percent (1,318 votes)

Kimberly Kiss: 9.31 percent (678 votes)

Mira Tanna: 33.83 percent (2,464 votes)

District 5 Winner: Shan Rose

District 5 is west of downtown and includes the Pine Hills and Parramore neighborhoods, in addition to the areas of Metro West further south and surrounding Mercy Drive.

Lawanna Gelzer: 15.45 percent (365 votes)

Regina Hill: 32.71 percent (773 votes)

Shaniqua “Shan” Rose: 51.84 percent (1,225 votes)

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Orlando City Council elections: Tom Keen and Shan Rose win; Roger Chapin and Mira Tanna head to runoff

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