By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
In Summary:
Former Apopka City Commissioner Sam Ruth is returning to local politics, challenging incumbent Alexander Smith for Seat #1 in the March 2026 election. After watching a decade of development marked by rising traffic and strained infrastructure, Ruth says the city has lost its way by prioritizing speed over planning. He argues his prior experience on the dais allows him to step in immediately and ask the tough questions he believes have gone unanswered.
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Sam Ruth was a fixture on the Apopka ballot from 2010 to 2016. A lifelong resident of Apopka, Ruth ran three times for the city commission before winning the Seat #3 election in 2014, but ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2016.
Then 10 years passed.
Nine different people have sat on the Apopka City Council dais since Ruth’s departure, and in March 2026, he hopes to become #10.
After watching a decade of rapid growth, rising traffic, and what Ruth describes as a steady erosion of the city’s identity, the former city commissioner is back on the ballot—arguing that Apopka’s future hinges less on how fast it builds and more on whether its leadership is willing to ask hard questions before it does. Ruth is stepping back into the political arena, challenging incumbent Alexander Smith for Seat #1 on the Apopka City Commission. He says he’s concerned over the city’s direction—and a belief that Apopka has lost something essential along the way drives his decision to run in 2026.
“I took 10 years off and stayed out of it,” Ruth said. “But I’m not liking what’s going on with the current administration. It’s time to have tough discussions about changing the direction the city’s heading.”
A decade away—and a deliberate return
Ruth said his absence from four election cycles and three special elections was intentional. After leaving office, he stepped aside to give new leadership a chance. He refocused on his career in industrial mechanical contracting, where he now holds an upper-level management position at a national firm employing more than 15,000 people across 32 companies, including about 200 locally.
“I didn’t want to be an obstacle,” he said. “I buried myself back into work. I enjoy it, and I’ve been very blessed.”
But that distance also sharpened his critique. Looking back, Ruth believes Apopka has moved backward rather than forward.
Experience—and unfinished business
Ruth says that his previous term gives him a practical advantage. He says he can return to City Hall ready to work on day one, without a learning curve.
“I’ve looked at the budgets. I know how ordinances work. I know Robert’s Rules,” he said. “I know how the system works, and I know how to move it faster and better.”
During his time on the commission, Ruth points to a series of accomplishments he says still matter today. Personnel decisions, including the hiring of City Administrator Glenn Irby, Fire Chief Chuck Carnesale, and Police Chief Mike McKinley; revitalizing the CRA board; upgrades to city facilities and parks; installation of generators at City Hall and fire stations; and traffic safety improvements, such as new stop signs.
One of his signature efforts, he said, involved changing Apopka’s building height restrictions to allow AdventHealth to construct a multi-story hospital on Harmon Road.
“Instead of going horizontal, we went vertical,” Ruth said. “That was a pretty good accomplishment.”
He also advocated for local business preferences in city bidding and pushed for infrastructure planning to precede development.
Infrastructure before expansion
At the core of Ruth’s campaign is a familiar message: infrastructure first.
“We’ve developed all the property around us, but we didn’t build the infrastructure,” he said. “Those major roads—Apopka-Vineland, Apopka-Ocoee, Welch, Wekiva Springs—they’re still two lanes. There were two lanes 40 years ago.”
Ruth says that decades of tension between city, county, and state governments have left residents paying the price in traffic congestion, overburdened utilities, and unclear boundaries.
“We all pay city and county taxes, but you can’t tell where you are,” he said. “For that increase in taxes, our roads ought to look as good or better than the county’s.”
He says residents, not developers, have paid the consequences of growth without adequate planning.
“I live here. Those people don’t,” Ruth said. “I have skin in the game.”
A community advocate, not a rubber stamp
Ruth draws a sharp contrast between himself and Smith, saying the incumbent reliably votes with the current administration.
“I want five chairs there, not four,” he said. “Whatever the current administration does, he’s guaranteed to vote for it.”
Ruth describes his own approach as independent and constituent-driven, saying he brought resident concerns directly into council discussions and wasn’t afraid to ask hard questions.
“I’m not married to a developer,” he said. “I advocate for the people who live here.”
Identity, loss, and what’s at stake
A sixth-generation Apopkan, Ruth speaks personally about what he sees as the city’s loss of identity. He coached youth sports and high school teams for decades and calls himself “one of Apopka’s biggest cheerleaders.” Yet none of his four sons, now adults, wants to live in the city.
“I might be the last,” he said. “Apopka was a destination. Now we’re just an extension of Orlando.”
Looking ahead 10 years, Ruth says his vision is simple: transparency, infrastructure that works, and an environment that might one day draw his grandchildren back home.
“I want homeownership. I want young entrepreneurs to want to be here,” he said. “If you don’t take care of the infrastructure, people aren’t going to come.”
Back with perspective
Asked what’s different about him now compared to 2016, Ruth believes he's aged well..
“I’m a lot smarter. I’m a lot more mature,” he said. “I learned so much the first time.”
He says he’s not running for mayor or personal credit, but to be an effective council member who can help move ideas forward, whether they’re his or someone else’s.
“I’ll be the loudest cheerleader they’ve got,” Ruth said. “I know how to do the job, and I want to do it for the community I live in.”
Key Points:
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Sam Ruth ran for the Apopka City Commission three times between 2010 and 2016, winning Seat #3 in 2014 and losing his re-election bid in 2016.
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After a decade away, Ruth says concern over the city’s direction—not ambition—motivated his return to the ballot.
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He points to past accomplishments including key personnel hires, CRA revitalization efforts, infrastructure upgrades, and policy changes that enabled construction of the AdventHealth hospital.
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Infrastructure before expansion is central to his platform, with Ruth citing decades-old roadways, utility strain, and unresolved city-county boundary issues.
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Ruth contrasts his independent voting record with incumbent Alexander Smith, saying Apopka needs five independent voices—not a rubber stamp—for the administration.
