Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, who is running for county mayor, faces increasing pressure from Democratic party leaders, community organizers and some constituents to resign from the commission by August.
Uribe said she plans to continue to serve on the commission until the November election.
But due to changes in state campaign laws, if the District 3 commissioner doesn’t step down by Aug. 1, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would be able to call a special election for the seat or appoint an interim commissioner without input from her constituents.
Uribe, a Democrat, is sticking by her November resignation timeline even after the Orange County Democratic Party raised the issue with her.
The letter formally declaring her resignation date is due next week, on May 28..
Local priorities
Uribe denied that staying on the commission through November was a “political move,” and countered that resigning earlier would “jeopardize everyone's well-being for partisan politics.”
If she resigns by August, Uribe could miss votes on tourism money, a homeless shelter in her district and the county budget. Those topics are too important to ignore, she said.
The commission is already short one member, after District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore resigned during a failed race for Apopka mayor. And state Republicans are interested in a constitutional amendment to cut property taxes this year, which could disrupt the county’s budget.
“We have a huge budget, or lack thereof, and loss of property tax, that we're going to deal with,” she said. “You don't need an empty seat trying to figure out the future of Orange County.”
Also, though the commission is officially nonpartisan, all of its members are registered Democrats. Even if DeSantis appointed a hardline Republican ally to the commission, the rest of its board would check their influence, she said.
The governor wouldn’t be obligated to fill the vacancy. He hasn’t appointed a replacement to the open District 2 seat that became vacant a month ago.
County Commission District 2 is on the November ballot, along with districts 4 and 6 and the newly drawn District 7.
Uribe also observed that DeSantis has not filled a Miami-Dade state House seat that’s been vacant for more than seven months.
A choice for voters
At an Apopka event Wednesday commemorating Emancipation Day in Florida, community organizers rejected Uribe characterization of the issue.
“She has publicly stated that this is not a political decision, but I would say that it is either naive or disingenuous to say that that is not a political decision,” said Sam Delgado, lead organizer for Jobs With Justice.
Another speaker, Genesis Reyes, said giving the constituents the chance to pick Uribe’s successor would actually put their interests first.
“This is not about DeSantis' ability or lack thereof to choose,” Reyes said. “This choice does not belong to him. It belongs to the voters.”
On Wednesday night, Uribe was the guest speaker at an Orange County Democratic Party meeting.
Many attendees demanded an explanation for her decision. Some said they felt she was depriving them of a chance to shape the county’s future.
“I am not going to abandon my community for politics,” she explained, to gasps and snickers from attendees. “This is a nonpartisan race, and this is not a political process, and I will stand firm on that, because my obligation is to the people of my district.”
More contenders
Another elected county official, Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell, is also running for county mayor. Moore Russell has told some media outlets that she’ll resign before the deadline.
Four others have likewise announced their intent to run for Orange County mayor on Nov. 3: Brandy Griffin, Randy Fust Jr., former U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy and Chris Messina.
