The rainbow crosswalk honored the 49 victims of the 2016 mass shooting at the LGBTQ+ club, but the city of Orlando also argued the bright paint kept pedestrians safer crossing the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was at the time our nation\u2019s largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety data or discussion, is a cruel political act,\u201d Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s crackdown led to advocates decorating the street with chalk and a flurry of rainbow flags to appear in neighborhoods throughout the city. Advocates from other communities sounded off to support Orlando.<\/p>\n Months later, the Orlando Sentinel sued<\/a> to get records about the state\u2019s decision to remove the crosswalk.<\/p>\n Joining the Race<\/p>\n Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings officially joined the race to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.<\/p>\n Demings announced his candidacy<\/a> during a November rally in Orlando\u2019s tourism corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a right or left moment, but a right or wrong moment in our history. The power of the people is greater than the people in power,\u201d said Demings, who has been pushing back against DeSantis throughout 2025.<\/p>\n Demings, the former Orange County Sheriff, retorted, \u201cIt\u2019s time for a new sheriff in town.\u201d<\/p>\n As a Democrat, Demings faces a tough challenge to win the Governor\u2019s mansion and beat Republicans, who are polling higher. First, of course, Demings must also win the Democratic Primary against his biggest opponent: former U.S. Rep. David Jolly<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Demings is making the case that he has the experience leading the county through the pandemic, hurricanes and the Pulse mass shooting.<\/p>\n In Memoriam<\/p>\n At age 76, Sen. Geraldine Thompson died unexpectedly<\/a> in February from knee surgery complications.<\/p>\n With her no-nonsense attitude, fierce motivational drive and a flair for colorful scarves, Thompson was a lion in the Legislature, advocating for Orlando for decades.<\/p>\n Even before she was elected into office, Thompson was a civil rights leader. She organized Black history bus tours in Orlando, wrote a book about Orlando\u2019s African American community, hosted Juneteenth events, and was involved in the efforts of creating Orlando\u2019s first Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations. Her biggest sense of pride was the Wells\u2019Built Museum of African American History and Culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n To honor her, the street by her museum in downtown Orlando was renamed \u201cSenator Geraldine F. Thompson Way\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in December.<\/p>\n On the Rise<\/p>\n Thompson\u2019s death left her Senate seat open, which set off a chain of Special Elections.<\/p>\n Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis won a Special Election in September<\/a> to fill the rest of Thompson\u2019s term in Senate District 15. In her move to the upper chamber, Bracy Davis beat her brother, former state Sen. Randolph Bracy, as well as former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson in a Democratic Primary<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bracy Davis\u2019 ascent freed up the House District 40 seat. Bracy Davis\u2019 Chief of Staff, RaShon Young, won his Special Election<\/a> to represent his boss\u2019s old district.<\/p>\n To read more about the special bond between Bracy Davis and Young, pick up a print copy of \u201cIn Session\u201d when the Legislature reconvenes.<\/p>\n Immigration fight<\/p>\n Orange County, a bright blue part of Florida, was continuously in the crossfire of the DeSantis administration in 2025.<\/p>\n One of the most heated fights was about immigration and whether Orange County should be required to transport immigration detainees as far away as Alligator Alcatraz in South Florida. <\/p>\n Local officials argued their jail is chronically understaffed, making it dangerous to divert corrections officers on the road to handle the federal government\u2019s immigration responsibilities.<\/p>\n The state rejected that argument. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier went as far as threatening<\/a> to have Demings and County Commissioners removed if they did not approve a federal immigration contract addendum.<\/p>\n Under pressure, Demings reluctantly signed the deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I signed the damn thing because we really had to. We were put in a tough spot. I can\u2019t let our entire Board of County Commissioners and myself be removed from office,\u201d Demings said in August, adding that he worried DeSantis would \u201cinsert his minions\u201d into the county.<\/p>\n Immigration wasn\u2019t the only contentious issue between state Republicans and Orange County Democrats.<\/p>\n Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia<\/a> brought his traveling Florida Department of Government Efficiency press conference to Orlando too, calling out Orange County\u2019s spending<\/a>.<\/p>\n Demings called the CFO\u2019s math \u201cfuzzy<\/a>\u201d and defended the county\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Chapin vs. Tanna<\/p>\n In a neck-in-neck race, Roger Chapin beat Mira Tanna in the Dec. 9 runoff<\/a> to be the first new Orlando City Commissioner for District 3 in 20 years. Chapin won by only 201 votes.<\/p>\n The runoff was needed because Chapin and Tana had been separated by a mere 14 votes out of a field of five candidates in the November General Election.<\/p>\n Chapin had the bigger political war chest and the better name recognition as the son of former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin. However, Tanna ran an impressive grassroots campaign and won the support of progressive Democrats, including U.S. Rep Maxwell Frost\u00a0and Rep. Anna Eskamani.<\/p>\n Other Orlando city races<\/p>\n The rest of Orlando\u2019s City Council races also contained some compelling storylines.<\/p>\n Underdog former Rep. Tom Keen knocked off Jim Gray, the better-funded incumbent, to win Orlando\u2019s District 1 race<\/a>. Gray was first elected in 2012.<\/p>\n The nonpartisan race got more partisan when the GOP sent mailers<\/a> that called Keen a \u201cliberal extremist\u201d and reminded voters that Gray was \u201cthe last Republican standing.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the mailers backfired, as the district leans blue. Keen is a Democrat and Gray is a Republican.<\/p>\n And the District 5 race was also full of drama.<\/p>\n Interim Orlando City Commissioner Shan Rose won re-election<\/a> by shutting down Regina Hill\u2019s comeback bid and beating late challenger Lawanna Gelzer.<\/p>\n Hill was trying to regain her old seat after DeSantis suspended her from office in 2024<\/a> after she was arrested on elderly exploitation and fraud charges.<\/p>\n Hill and Rose traded barbs. Hill even filed a post-election lawsuit to argue<\/a>\u00a0Rose\u2019s win should be voided.<\/p>\n New maps<\/p>\n After voters approved expanding the Orange County Commission, an advisory board drew new boundary lines<\/a>, which brought passionate residents and local leaders to give their feedback.<\/p>\n The biggest question in the long redistricting process was: What happens to Winter Park? <\/p>\n Winter Park officials argued they should be in the same district as their urban neighbors of Maitland and Eatonville instead of remaining in the rural east.<\/p>\n \u201cOur communities are already collaborating in drainage and lake management, transportation planning, and public safety initiatives. These are all regional challenges and demand a unified voice at the county level,\u201d Winter Park City Commissioner Craig Russell<\/a> said at a public meeting.<\/p>\n But others feared Winter Park would disenfranchise the unincorporated Pine Hills.<\/p>\n After hours of public testimony and meetings for months during the redistricting process, the Orange County Commission, which had final approval, decided to keep Winter Park<\/a> with the rural area and denied the Winter Park City Council\u2019s request.<\/p>\n TDT push<\/p>\n For years, some local officials have said they wished they could dip into the hotel tax proceeds to pay for things like more buses, nighttime SunRail service or police protection.<\/p>\n That tourist development tax (TDT) reform almost happened.<\/p>\n Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith\u2019s<\/a> proposal to free up Orange County\u2019s hotel tax money for public transportation and other needs was inserted into a larger Senate tax bill<\/a> in the 2025 Legislative Session.<\/p>\n It narrowly failed to cross the finish line<\/a>. Smith said his proposal was removed on the final day of budget talks.<\/p>\n Smith has filed five new bills for the 2026 Session as he keeps pushing for changes on TDT, which is Orange County\u2019s 6% hotel surcharge.<\/p>\n Ethic concerns<\/p>\n In 2025, Florida Politics dug deeper<\/a> into the Orange County Supervisor of Elections\u2019 Office and found that DeSantis-appointee Glen Gilzean threw himself a $16,500 swearing-in ceremony in 2024. The ceremony\u2019s tab was covered by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association<\/a>, which one expert said raised ethical questions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very rare that people in and around the government give gifts purely out of the goodness of gift-giving,\u201d Richard Briffault<\/a>, a Columbia Law School<\/a> professor who specializes in government ethics, told FP when the story published in May based on new records released after Gilzean\u2019s tenure had ended.\u00a0<\/p>\n A few months after the swearing-in ceremony, Gilzean wrote a $45,000 grant check to the Realtor Association\u2019s foundation, which Republican Rep. Susan Plasencia<\/a>\u00a0runs. <\/p>\n The Realtor Association returned $45,000 after Gilzean left office.<\/p>\n The story deepened, according to a FP investigation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sunburn-Ad-728x90-1-e1718033295481.jpg\")
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Sen. Geraldine Thompson. Image via Florida Politics.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CHAPIN-TANNA-BLUE-640x360.jpg\")
Roger Chapin and Mira Tanna.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FINAL-DAY-2025-SESSION-6.16-35-Large-640x427.jpg\")
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. Image via Florida Politics.<\/p>\n