Political rivals, first-time candidate vie in three-way Ocoee mayor’s race

The first Black candidate elected to serve on the Ocoee City Commission wants to be the city’s first Black mayor.

But to make history again in the west Orange County city where Election Day racial violence erupted 103 years ago after a Black voter tried to cast a ballot, George Oliver III will have to defeat two opponents, first-time candidate Chris Adkin and incumbent Rusty Johnson.

Oliver and Johnson have often clashed in their years on the commission. They disagree on many issues.

Oliver, 56, wants the mayor to be a full-time, better-paid position with more authority. Johnson does not.

”You’re [working] full-time but you do this out of the mercy of your heart,” Johnson said during a Feb. 16 candidates’ forum staged by the Ocoee Women’s Club. “You’re here serving your community that you love and that you want to help, not to try to get paid.”

Early voting for the March 14 election began Monday.

Ocoee voters, who also will decide two commission seats, can find sample ballots and other details at the Orange County Elections Supervisor’s website, ocfelections.com. The races are nonpartisan, meaning the candidates won’t be identified on the ballot by party affiliation.

Ocoee, by charter, is guided by a full-time executive, a city manager appointed by the city commission.

By ordinance, the mayor’s salary is $4,500 a year and a city commissioner’s $4,000 a year. They also get free health insurance.

Oliver said his proposition to change the nature of the mayor’s position is a long-range proposal for future generations.

His top priority now is an operational audit that he estimates would cost about $80,000.

“We need to know exactly where we are financially,” he said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “We need an audit to look at our internal controls and put them up against Florida statutes and laws and to ensure we’re doing everything above board.”

His other positions are listed on his website, georgeoliverformayor.com.

Johnson, 77, mayor for seven years, declined to participate in a candidate forum with the Orlando Sentinel editorial board. He later agreed to speak with a reporter for the newspaper but only if the discussion was “off-the-record,” meaning he could not be quoted.

His remarks in this article are taken from the women’s club forum that was posted on YouTube.

Johnson brushed off the need for the audit Oliver wants.

“We have an audit every year. Now, you can call it what you want to call it. [But] this is a state-mandated audit,” he said. “For 23 years, we have received a high, clean bill of health.”

Johnson does not have a campaign website, relying instead on Facebook posts and videos.

“We’ve cut property taxes eight years in a row all while bringing in new restaurants, shopping and more local jobs,” he said in one video touting the city, which now has 50,000 residents. “That means less commuting, a stronger economy and less out-of-scale development.”

Adkins, 46, an Ocoee resident for 26 years, would not say whether he favored higher mayoral pay.

But he promised he would work as if he was full-time regardless of compensation.

Adkins took issue with the mayor’s claim, arguing that cuts in the millage rate have been replaced with increases in other fees.

He said the city should be more transparent about delays on promised projects from new retention ponds to road upgrades.

“Problems need addressed,” Adkins said. “The first thing I want to do is look at infrastructure issues that we have.”

If elected, he said, he would focus on improving Clarke Road and other traffic arteries.

A first-time candidate, Adkins has never served on any city boards but has lived in Ocoee for about 25 years.

The other races on the ballot are for district commission seats 1 and 3.

In District 1, incumbent commissioner Larry Brinson Sr. decided not to seek reelection setting up a two-person race to replace him.

Shuantae Bellamy, 45, who has asked to appear on the ballot as HOPE Bellamy, faces Scott Kennedy, a member of the city’s planning and zoning board.

In District 3, former Fire Chief Richard Firstner, the incumbent, will face Shante Munn, who ran for Congress in November.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com