Winter Garden announces qualified City Commission candidates

Winter Garden’s election-qualifying period ended Jan. 26, and this year’s race will see six candidates running for three City Commission seats.

City Clerk Angela Grimmage announced all candidates — incumbents and challengers — toward the end of the Jan. 28 City Commission meeting.

The Districts 2, 3 and 4 seats all are up for re-election March 9. Current District 2 Commissioner Bob Buchanan will retire from his seat. 

For District 2, the candidates are Iliana Ramos Jones and Ron Mueller. Ramos Jones is a business owner who has lived in Winter Garden for more than 20 years. Mueller is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and also served as the homeowners' association director for Lake Cove Pointe, a community in Winter Garden.

The District 3 candidates are incumbent Mark Maciel and former City Commissioner Robert “Bobby O” Olszewski. Maciel is the developer and land acquisition principal at M.A. Maciel and Associates. Olszewski formerly held the District 3 seat and served from 2012 to 2016.

In District 4, the candidates are incumbent Colin Sharman and challenger Dawn Antonis. Sharman was first elected to City Commission in 2006. Antonis is a first-time City Commission candidate but previously put her hat in the ring for District 44 representative in 2017.