Roger Chapin secures victory in Orlando City Council runoff

Business consultant Roger Chapin has narrowly but firmly prevailed in the runoff election for Orlando City Council District 3, succeeding longtime commissioner Robert Stuart, who opted not to run for reelection this year.

With a voter turnout of about 22 percent, Chapin secured 200 votes more than his opponent, Mira Tanna. Unofficial election results show 3,684 votes for Tanna as of Wednesday morning and 3,884 votes for Chapin.

Chapin and Tanna both competed in the November general election, a crowded race featuring five candidates vying for the basically open and technically nonpartisan seat. Although Chapin and Tanna — both Democrats — came out on top in that election, neither candidate secured more than 50 percent of the vote last month, thereby advancing the two candidates to a competitive runoff.

Chapin, a repeat candidate who ran a deep-pocketed though ultimately unsuccessful campaign for City Council in 2002, secured just 14 votes more than Tanna in the November election, demonstrating how critical a strong ground game (or good relationship with maybe a solid dozen of your neighbors) can be in an off-year election.

Chapin did not immediately respond to our request for comment on his victory Wednesday morning.

A competitive runoff

District 3, home to approximately 33,000 registered voters, covers parts of Orlando north of downtown, including College Park, Rosemont, Audubon Park, the North Quarter and Baldwin Park.

Tanna, who serves as grants manager for the city of Orlando, ran on a platform focused on housing affordability and greater investment in the city’s public transportation system. As a daily user of public transit herself to City Hall, Tanna touted her 30-plus years of experience in public service as an employee of the city and formerly of Orange County Library System and Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, where she worked as a fair lending manager tackling housing discrimination.

“I want to congratulate Roger Chapin in his victory and to thank all of those who came out to exercise our precious right to vote. While this is not the outcome that my team and I worked for, I am incredibly proud of this hopeful, people-powered, grassroots campaign that we created over this past year,” Tanna said in a statement Tuesday night.

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Chapin, the son of former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin, had name recognition and close business and developer relationships on his side that undoubtedly buoyed his profile in the district.

As a public relations consultant, Chapin’s biggest client is Mears Transportation, a city contractor and his former employer. Chapin has served on various municipal boards over the years — helping to oversee the development of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, for example — and notably earned endorsements this election cycle from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and outgoing commissioner Robert Stuart.

Tanna, on the other hand, received endorsements from local progressives such as State Rep. Anna Eskamani (a 2027 candidate for Orlando mayor) and U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost. She also earned nods from Orange County commissioners Nicole Wilson and Mike Scott, in addition to local labor unions such as SEIU, the Orange County teachers union, and advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club, Ruth’s List of Florida and the Young Democrats of Orange County, which helped host Tanna’s election watch party last night at Ivanhoe Park Brewing.

Campaign finance records show Chapin outraised Tanna in campaign contributions more than two to one, replicating the kind of savviness with fundraising that he demonstrated more than two decades ago.

Chapin, in addition to endorsements from Dyer and Stuart, also received endorsements from the Orlando Realtors Association, the police and firefighter unions, and the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association — an influential industry group for hospitality companies that has advocated in favor of weakening child labor protections (to put more kids to work in hospitality jobs) and against using hotel tax revenue for investments in public transit and affordable housing.

The group reportedly favors candidates in the endorsement process who will pledge to advocate for maintaining current restrictions on that revenue, also known as tourist development tax (TDT). State law, as it is, largely restricts the use of that TDT revenue — hundreds of millions of dollars annually in Orange County alone — for anything other than tourism promotion. Some local Democrats in the state Legislature have been trying to change that.

A spokesperson for Chapin’s campaign told Orlando Weekly on Tuesday that, while they wouldn’t comment on the CFHLA’s endorsement process, “Roger has advocated both to them [CFHLA] and publicly for expanding the TDT to add transit and affordable housing benefits.”

A boost from a former opponent

Chris Durant, a former candidate who placed third in the November election for the District 3 seat, spoke highly of Chapin in an interview with Orlando Weekly.

Five days after the November election, the 24-year-old political newcomer publicly endorsed Chapin for city commissioner following his own defeat, and became a paid canvasser and consultant for the Chapin campaign. According the campaign finance records, Chapin’s campaign has paid Durant at least $6,000 since Nov. 10. Durant denies that there was any semblance of a “pay to play” deal.

“When people see the payment, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, Roger paid for Chris’ endorsement.’ That had nothing to do with it,” Durant told the Weekly Tuesday. “The people of this district mean much more to me than money,” he argued. “And my standards, my ethics and my moral character means much more to me than some money.”

Durant, a realtor by trade, said he was struck by how personable and forthcoming Chapin was with him on the campaign trail, even when they were still competitors. He said he and Chapin were the only two candidates to attend a meeting at the local police union’s hall, seeking their endorsement. After, Chapin offered him a lift as he was waiting for a ride home.

“I really appreciated that, and I really appreciated his, just his candor,” Durant shared. “I appreciated the fact that he was very nice, friendly and kind.” Chapin was also endorsed by Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who helped create a cop mentoring program for youth, Dueling Dragons, that Durant himself participated in. “I really look up to John Mina, so when he gave his endorsement to Roger, that really meant a lot to me,” Durant said.

With his victory Tuesday, Chapin will join five others on City Council, including incoming commissioner Tom Keen, who beat Jim Gray for his long-held District 1 seat.

Chapin ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2002, angling to become one of the youngest city commissioners in history at just 31 years old. Looks like the second time’s the charm.

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Roger Chapin secures victory in Orlando City Council runoff

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