Four candidates running for Orange County District 5

Voters in east Orange County will have the chance to make their vote count on Aug. 30 as four candidates are in the running for the District 5 seat.

District 5 stretches from the east Orange County boundary, encompassing the north half of the county all the way west to downtown Orlando, including Goldenrod, Baldwin Park, Winter Park, Maitland and College Park. Looking to defend his seat for a final term is Commissioner Ted Edwards, who believes that Orange County is in much better shape today than it was when he took the seat in 2010 after Bill Segal resigned midway through his term. Edwards also served as commissioner for District 5 from 1996 to 2004.

“If you look at 2010 when I first got elected, we were in the midst of a financial turmoil – the largest recession since The Great Depression,” Edwards said. “During the six years I’ve been in office, Orange County has run the county government efficiently, provided services at a top-rate manner and has held the line on tax.”

“When I first got elected, unemployment was at 11 percent, now it’s 4.7 percent. Tourism is also at an all-time high.”

Edwards told the Observer that he’s championed several efforts as a District 5 commissioner, including a tree ordinance that prevented clear-cutting, a new garbage cycle to encourage more recycling and partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build more affordable housing in Bithlo.

But here’s still more work to be done, he said.

“We need to continue the fight the fight for gas taxes and funding for transportation projects,” Edwards said. “A lot of funding has gone toward SunRail and we’re looking at expanding that further. Another priority is public safety. We’ve worked very well with the Sheriff’s Office and provided funding for body cameras.”

“A lot of good things should happen in the next four years – I’d like to be part of that.”

Three candidates challenging Edwards for his seat contend that the district is in need of new leadership – and that they’re just the right person for the job.

Challenger Tim McKinney said he would do a much better job of bringing the community and neighboring commissions together to get things done. He added that he’s gained that experience as the CEO of nonprofit United Global Reach, which leads a grassroots effort to “undo over 80 years of generational poverty” in Bithlo. The Bithlo Transformation Effort focuses on everything from education and transportation to health care and housing.

“I’m working to improve the quality of life in the Bithlo community and in east Orange County,” McKinney said. “For the past five years that Commissioner Edwards has been the commissioner, we’ve tried every possible technique to get him on board with cheerleading and prioritizing things that have been neglected in the 20 years that he’s been the commissioner off and on: illegal dump clean, quality of water issues, lack of access to public transportation….”

“Without a change in county commissioner, several important issues throughout District 5 – from the west side to the east side – are not going to be addressed that have been ignored for too long.”

McKinney said his other priorities include everything from water quality in Wedgefield to improving transportation surrounding the University of Central Florida.

“There’s a shocking lack of access to the commissioner, meaning that the county commissioner is not responsive to the residents of district,” McKinney said.

“We’re going to change that and that’s why I’m running.”

Candidate Emily Bonilla has made fighting controversial development projects like the Lake Pickett Developments the focal point of her campaign. Bonilla said she’s the candidate who will properly manage the county’s growth and help preserve precious environmental resources. She demonstrated her ability to gather resident support when she started Save East Orlando, a community initiative now known as East of the Econ that is battling encroaching development east of the Econlockhatchee River.

“We moved out here to get away from the city,” Bonilla said. “For them to encroach upon that choice that everyone out here chose wasn’t right.”

“As for our commissioner, he’s not listening to us…. I decided to run.”

Other priorities include improving traffic and creating new jobs in the county, Bonilla said.

“We have one of the worst job markets here in Orlando, and it’s all because of the irresponsible growth,” she said. “We’re not growing in a way that’s sustainable.”

Challenger Gregory Eisenberg said his campaign for Orange County District 5 stands out for one simple reason: actual, planned-out solutions to the county’s problems. The candidate said he hopes to bring about real change in District 5 when it comes to innovative industry growth, transportation synergy between Lynx buses and SunRail, and a more sustainable infrastructure – solutions to all of which are broken down on his website in detail.

“I am the only candidate that has put out real solutions, because I’m an analytical person and I’m a voter,” Eisenberg said. “I personally could not vote for any of the other candidates, because for me I need to know what the return on investment is going to be, I need to know how somebody is going to pay for their plan and I need to know step-by-step how it’s going to be executed. And so to cover that, I’ve laid all of that out.”

Eisenberg suggested that the key to industry growth is to push STEM education both in school and for adult retraining. More training in STEM throughout the county will attract conventions, conferences and competition, which will also ripple to the hospitality industry, he said.

“To be honest I have no political history or experience,” said Eisenberg, who manages UCF’s off campus-affiliated housing. “I’m just a local business manager that hates inefficiencies, stagnant ideas and stagnant solutions. I’m looking to bring some fresh ideas and a fresh vision to the board.”

In addition to electing a County Commissioner, voters will have one lone state amendment to consider on the ballot: a tax break for homes with solar panel technology, exempting the devices from being calculated in ad valorem taxes.