Chapin did not immediately respond to our request for comment on his victory Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
A competitive runoff<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Tanna said in a statement Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Related Stories<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tDemocrats celebrated election results Tuesday night, even though city commissioner races are officially nonpartisan\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n As a public relations consultant, Chapin\u2019s biggest client is Mears Transportation, a city contractor<\/a> and his former employer. Chapin has served on various municipal boards over the years \u2014 helping to oversee the development of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, for example \u2014 and notably earned endorsements this election cycle from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and outgoing commissioner Robert Stuart.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tanna, on the other hand, received endorsements from local progressives such as State Rep. Anna Eskamani (a 2027 candidate for Orlando mayor<\/a>) 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\u2019s List of Florida and the Young Democrats of Orange County, which helped host Tanna\u2019s election watch party last night at Ivanhoe Park Brewing.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 an influential industry group for hospitality companies that has advocated in favor of weakening child labor protections<\/a> (to put more kids to work in hospitality jobs) and against using hotel tax revenue for investments in public transit and affordable housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The group reportedly favors candidates<\/a> 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 \u2014 hundreds of millions of dollars annually in Orange County alone \u2014 for anything other than tourism promotion. Some local Democrats in the state Legislature have been trying to change that<\/a>.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Chapin\u2019s campaign told Orlando Weekly on Tuesday that, while they wouldn\u2019t comment on the CFHLA\u2019s endorsement process, \u201cRoger has advocated both to them [CFHLA] and publicly for expanding the TDT to add transit and affordable housing benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n A boost from a former opponent<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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<\/a>, Chapin\u2019s campaign has paid Durant at least $6,000 since Nov. 10. Durant denies that there was any semblance of a \u201cpay to play\u201d deal.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people see the payment, they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my gosh, Roger paid for Chris\u2019 endorsement.\u2019 That had nothing to do with it,\u201d Durant told the Weekly Tuesday. \u201cThe people of this district mean much more to me than money,\u201d he argued. \u201cAnd my standards, my ethics and my moral character means much more to me than some money.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s hall, seeking their endorsement. After, Chapin offered him a lift as he was waiting for a ride home.<\/p>\n \u201cI really appreciated that, and I really appreciated his, just his candor,\u201d Durant shared. \u201cI appreciated the fact that he was very nice, friendly and kind.\u201d Chapin was also endorsed by Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who helped create a cop mentoring program for youth, Dueling Dragons<\/a>, that Durant himself participated in. \u201cI really look up to John Mina, so when he gave his endorsement to Roger, that really meant a lot to me,\u201d Durant said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Chapin ran unsuccessfully<\/a> 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\u2019s the charm.<\/p>\n Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tWhether the GOP-controlled Legislature will act on the request is questionable\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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