Nelson makes his candidacy for mayor official

Begins campaign with petition drive

With The Catfish Place Restaurant as the backdrop, Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson made his candidacy for mayor of Apopka known to the public.

"After several long discussions with my family and close friends, I have decided to run for mayor here in our great city of Apopka," he told the gathered crowd. "I am excited about the opportunity to serve in a new role and will bring my passion for our city to this campaign. I want to work on what we can do to make Apopka a better place to live, to work and to play."

In his prepared statement, and in his speech, Nelson referenced civility as an issue he would like to change in the current City Council meetings.

"We've got a lot of opportunities, but we have a lot of challenges as well," he said. "There has to be civility in leadership. We've got to get that back. You can't let your emotions get in the way of good policy."

He also announced his first campaign event, which will be a kick-off fundraiser to be held at The Catfish Place on Sunday, March 26th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.

Nelson is pursuing a unique strategy by filing by petition instead of paying the filing fee.

Bryan Nelson, his wife Debbie (r) and daughter Linda (l) completing the first candidate petitions.

"No one has ever qualified for mayor by petition. We are going to be the first. It shows fiscal responsibility and that you have community support."

Nelson is a first-term County Commissioner for District 2 which represents all of Apopka, Plymouth, Zellwood and parts of Ocoee, Orlando and Eatonville. He is also Vice Mayor of Orange County. Before that, he was in the Florida House representing District 38 for six years (2006-2012) and District 31 for two years (2012-2014). Both districts included Apopka within its borders.

He is also the owner of Nelson Insurance Services in Apopka for approximately the past 20 years and Nelson's Roses for 20 years before that. He has lived in the Apopka area since 1958, and at the residence that he annexed into Apopka (in 2016) for 23 years.

The announcement sets up an anticipated showdown against Mayor Joe Kilsheimer that could prove to be both candidate's greatest challenge. Kilsheimer is an incumbent that has never lost an Apopka municipal election (2 wins no losses). He defeated a five-decade incumbent (Mayor John Land) in 2014.

Nelson is also undefeated (5-0 with two elections going unopposed), and has been in an election every two years since 2006.