Contests set for mayor and commission seats in two Seminole cities
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Voters in Oviedo and Lake Mary will head to the polls Nov. 7 to cast their ballots for five residents vying for a mayoral or a city commission seat after the qualifying period for candidates ended last week.
In Altamonte Springs, the three incumbent candidates — Mayor Pat Bates and city commissioners James Turney and Sarah Reece — each won new terms after not drawing any opposition.
Altamonte Springs mayor and commissioners serve two-year terms and are elected citywide. For the past two decades, the mayor has earned $7,200 a year and commissioners have received $6,000 annually.
Oviedo
In Oviedo, incumbent Megan Sladek will face candidates Brady Duke and former city council member Judith Dolores Smith for the mayor’s job.
Incumbent Natalie Teuchert was elected to a second term as Oviedo’s Group 1 council member after not drawing any opposition. A mechanical engineer, Teuchert was first elected in November 2021.
In the mayoral contest, Sladek, an attorney and real estate broker, is now seeking her third term in the fast-growing city where the top issues have long been about traffic and the sprawl of new housing developments.
Duke is a former Navy Seal, minister and small business owner. He was a Republican candidate last year for the U.S. House District 7 seat that was eventually won by U.S. Congressman Cory Mills.
Smith is an editor and author who was elected to the Oviedo Council in 2019, but she was defeated by Teuchert in the 2021 city election. Smith’s generational roots in Oviedo go back to the early 1900s, when her maternal grandfather settled in the area.
Oviedo’s mayor and council members are elected citywide and serve two-year terms. The mayor earns $14,401 a year, and council members receive $12,001 annually.
Lake Mary
In Lake Mary, George Duryea was first elected in 1987 to the city commission and is Seminole County’s longest serving public official. A certified public accountant, Duryea is seeking his 19th term on the commission and is campaigning for Seat 2.
His opponent, Kristina Renteria is a small business owner and also a certified public accountant. In 2022, she ran unsuccessfully against city Commissioner Sidney Miller for Seat 3 on the city board.
Lake Mary commissioners are elected citywide and serve two-year terms. They earn $8,700 a year.
