Mayor Buddy Dyer wins reelection in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer trounced three challengers Tuesday to win a seventh full term as mayor in what he said will be his final four years as the city’s chief executive.

He’ll be joined again on City Council by Commissioners Patty Sheehan and Bakari Burns, who also won new terms. Sheehan, first elected in 2000, avoided a potential runoff with 64% of ballots in her favor, according to unofficial results from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office. Burns received 82% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Mail-in ballot counts were partially completed at press time.

Dyer’s runaway win — he received 72% of the vote, according to unofficial results — means his run as mayor will last until 2027, marking essentially a generation as the city’s chief executive.

A few hundred supporters gathered at The Abbey in downtown Orlando awaiting the results to come in erupted in cheers when Dyer declared victory with his largest margin by percentage ever.

“It’s a win. It’s a night. It’s a moment,” said Dyer, while surrounded by his family and campaign staff. “It’s a validation of everything we’ve done.”

In Orlando, Dyer has been at the helm since first elected in 2003. It has been a transformative time for the city, which has exploded in growth. He oversaw the construction of venues like the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the Amway Center.

In his final term, Dyer, 65, has said he hopes to see through more defining developments like starting construction of a rail line extending the existing SunRail commuter train to Orlando International Airport and beginning a reshaping of downtown Orlando with two-way streets. More park space and a sweeping renovation to the signature Lake Eola Park are on his list, too.

In a new challenge, his administration wants to see through the construction of a permanent Pulse memorial at the site of the mass shooting in 2016 that killed 49 and wounded 53. The city purchased the land from the fledgling onePulse Foundation last month for $2 million.

“Now I’ve got 21 years of experience, so I think I can give you a damn good four years,” Dyer said at his campaign party. “So let’s celebrate tonight. ... And back to work tomorrow.”

Sheehan defeated Katie Koch, a business executive, and Randy Ross, a conservative political consultant, for a seventh term on the City Council. Her District 4 includes neighborhoods east and south of downtown Orlando, including many popular small business districts like Mills-50, The Milk District and Curry Ford West.

Burns, who also works as the CEO of the Healthcare Center for the Homeless, won a second term representing District 6 neighborhoods in west and southwest Orlando. He defeated Rufus Hawkins, a businessman, and has advocated for infrastructure improvements in the district, as well as educational and youth programming at neighborhood centers in his district.

Voters trickled into the Dover Shores Neighborhood Center Tuesday afternoon. Dale and Jean Smith, residents of the city for more than 30 years, said they vote in every election, and learned about Dixon, one of Dyer’s opponents, in a Facebook post and thought he was the best alternative.

“I think Buddy Dyer has been in too long,” Dale Smith said after casting his ballot.

Another voter, who declined to give his name, said he voted for Dyer because he thought the incumbent was doing a good job.

“You know what you’re getting,” he said.

In Oviedo, Mayor Megan Sladek was elected to a third term after holding off challenges from two political opponents, in a race dominated by the issues of controlling growth and easing traffic congestion in this Seminole County city.

Sladek, an attorney and real estate broker, received more than 54% of the votes, according to unofficial results from the Seminole Supervisor of Elections Office. Challengers Brady Duke received nearly 41%, and Judith Dolores Smith garnered just over 5%.

In Lake Mary, voters reelected accountant George Duryea to another two-year term on the city commission after he held off a challenge from Kristina Renteria, making him one of the longest serving elected officials in Florida.

Duryea received nearly 53% of the votes cast, according to unofficial results.

Duryea was first elected in 1987. He did not respond to several requests to talk about his campaign, and he did not have a campaign website.

_____