Incumbent Orange County District 6 Commissioner Michael “Mike” Scott faces a primary field of mostly familiar faces to hold onto his post.
Three of the four challengers — Lawanna Gelzer, Cynthia Harris and Hedder Pierre Thomas — were part of a similar cluster of candidates four years ago that led to a tight race and forced a recount of primary election ballots. Ultimately Scott slipped past Harris for the last of two spots on the ballot in the general election.
Scott then edged Gelzer by 656 votes in a run-off in which 4,597 voters did not mark their ballot for either.
While the candidates are mostly the same — the Aug. 18 ballot also includes first-time candidate Loody Delice, who heads the Haitian Community Center — the district was reshaped by a countywide process to add two new commission seats. District 6 no longer includes any part of Pine Hills or Orlovista.
It still includes International Drive, the Orange County Convention Center, Universal theme parks and SeaWorld Orlando.
Voters in District 6 who identify as Black dominate the district with 42% of its 62,250 registered voters, while those identifying as White total 24% and those identifying as Hispanic at 22.1 %.
Registered Democrats are a majority of the electorate at 52.6%.
The job, which paid $91,000 four years ago, now pays $130,262 a year, but could rise to $135,000 under the proposed county budget.
Scott, who works for the city of Orlando with nonprofit groups providing mentoring, literacy and life-skill services to youths, represents Orange County on the Central Florida Expressway Authority, appointed recently by Mayor Jerry Demings, who also is a member of the road-building agency’s board.
He said he has prioritized connecting with constituents and adding affordable housing, and would keep those priorities in a second term, too.
He has advocated for diversifying the inventory of affordable housing to include cottages and so-called “tiny homes.”
“We need more than just single-family homes and apartments,” Scott said.
He said he also knows the challenges of the district’s residents. “I understand what it is like to work two jobs just to be able to provide for my family,” he said. “I understand what it’s like to be on public assistance, food stamps, rental assistance and unemployment because I have experienced these challenges within the past 10 years, most recently in 2022.”
Lawanna Gelzer, an outspoken community firebrand, said housing affordability and transparency are her top priorities.
A long-time owner of a child-care business, she said district residents need someone like her on the commission who “understands the art of negotiation, who’ve had to make payroll, who’ve had to hire . . . I’m bringing that to the table to make sure that District 6, and not just District 6, but all of Orange County grows in the right direction.”
She pledged to create a community council of neighborhood leaders “from every corner of District 6” with regular, open meetings. “I’ve spent more than forty years organizing on the ground, and I know that real change only happens when the community drives the agenda.”
Gelzer said she’s never been shy about “making noise” and will encourage constituents to be heard and seen.
“We aren’t going to just sit around and wait for the government to notice our crumbling roads, broken sidewalks or failing drainage systems,” she said. “We are going to empower our residents to snap pictures of potholes, broken streetlights and flooding issues to upload as indisputable evidence.”
Cynthia Harris, who runs an Orlando nonprofit that teaches business skills, also would prioritize housing.
“Too many working families, seniors, and young adults are being priced out of their communities,” she said.
Harris said she would focus on expanding attainable and workforce housing throughout the district, strengthening tenant protections and working with nonprofit organizations and private partners to increase homeownership opportunities and housing assistance for residents who need it most.
“I am committed to listening first, leading with integrity, and making decisions based on what is best for our community,” she said.
Harris insisted district residents are too often kept in the dark about projects that affect them. “Usually, when we find out about developments and things of that nature, the developers are already in place and the bulldozers are already coming,” she said. “I would be transparent and make sure residents are not invisible.”
Hedder Pierre Joseph, a small business owner, wants to “broaden the benefits” of tourist-tax revenues to include transportation improvements.
She also would focus on adding affordable housing. “The need for sustainable housing is paramount in our community,” sahe said on her campaign website. “Our teachers, first responders, young adults, and seniors must be able to afford housing to live and contribute to our community.”
She noted the district has a high number of low to moderate income households, complicating housing solutions. “I will work with Community Development Block Grant program leaders to ensure we maximize the number of homeownership opportunities” to help renters become home-owners.
She said she wants to be the people’s voice.
“I have advocated for others and for myself my entire life,” she said in response to a candidate questionnaire. “I have lived many of the same struggles as the residents of District 6, and I have overcome many of them. I want to use my voice and my experience to help those who find themselves struggling.”
Loody Delice, an Orlando-area resident for nearly 30 years, serves as director of the Haitian Community Center, which he founded.
He said he also has volunteered with the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Delice said he would prioritize creating affordable and workforce housing while protecting existing neighborhoods. “I will work with public and private partners to increase housing opportunities, encourage redevelopment of underused properties, and promote policies that help residents remain in their communities,” he said.
Delice said he supports expanding parks, preserving more green space and encouraging developments that promote environmental stewardship.
“Protecting our natural resources today will ensure a healthier and more resilient Orange County for future generations,” he said
Scott and Gelzer, who finished 1-2 in the race four years ago, are neck-and-neck in campaign funding with both raising more than $70,000.
Scott’s $74,000 campaign total includes $4,000 from donors associated with RIDA Development Corporation, which manages the Hilton Orlando on I-Drive; $3,000 from donors associated with Rosen hotels; $2,000 from the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association’s political action committees; $1,000 from a firefighters union; and smaller donations from people associated with the Orlando Dreamers’ appeal for tourist-tax money to build a baseball stadium near SeaWorld.
Gelzer’s campaign total of $73,000 includes more than $52,000 she loaned herself.
Both Scott and Gelzer have spent about $41,000 so far, about the same.
Hedder Pierre Joseph raised about $16,600 for her campaign.
Harris and Delice have each raised about $5,600.
shudak@orlandosentinel.com