Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore.
By Apopka Mayoral Candidate Christine Moore
Hello Apopka! I’m Commissioner Christine Moore, and I invite you to share my vision for Apopka’s Downtown transformation should you elect me your new mayor on March 10, 2026.
Related: Moore wants to turn experience into action as Apopka's next mayor.
Apopka has been my home and my heart for 37 years now. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to think that I may get the opportunity to finally guide Apopka’s transition to a thriving downtown, complete with robust shopping, dining, entertainment, a business center, places to meet up, and places to live. In fact, I love downtown so much, I bought an historic home just blocks from City Hall (so I can walk to work if you elect me mayor!)
In short, my goal, if mayor, is to create a Downtown Main Street where all of us come together to live, work, and have fun.
But be assured, the changes I hope to make are strategic and well-thought-out, not random. They’ve evolved from years of studying urban planning, successful small towns, and the reasons our sister cities in Central Florida, like Winter Garden and Mt. Dora, have thrived and progressed while we've remained mediocre. The classes I’ve attended on developing a thriving downtown have been offered by Harvard, the Florida Association of Counties, Strong Towns, and the Florida Main Streets program. I’ve read and re-read Character Main Streets by well-known planner Bill Kercher. From him, I’ve absorbed the importance of creating a downtown that is safe, has stores, restaurants, and businesses, and offers spaces for socializing, all while evoking a sense of comfort.
So, here’s a peek at just 10 of the specific actions in my downtown plan:
- Revise citywide design standards, zoning, and codes to control housing sprawl and rethink future approvals of more fast-food restaurants, dollar stores, car washes, etc.
- Use CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) funds to install new and additional lighting, sidewalks, landscaping, and crosswalks
- Utilize CRA funds to finally create the 6th Street Promenade connecting 5th Street to the City Center redevelopment area
- Hire an Arts Director to plan and schedule nighttime concerts and events downtown and citywide
- Add festivals on 5th Street, accessed by the West Orange Trail
- Create advertising to publicize all downtown events
- Provide spaces for downtown artisans to showcase and sell their crafts, foods, vintage goods, antiques, etc.
- Reimagine Station Street with a hotel and structured parking
- Plan collaborative city, business, and resident clean-ups of Main St., Park Ave., Old Dixie Highway, etc.
- Create a downtown Historic District
But wait! There’s more.
Additional plans are in the works:
- To enhance our other commercial centers (Errol, Welch, Kelly Park, Wekiva Riverwalk, and Keene Rd.)
- Put art, lighting, upscale housing, and senior housing in our Trail areas
- For safety on our Trails, I propose Apopka police patrol daily on E-Bikes
So, fellow Apopkans, I’m asking you to vote for me for mayor on Election Day (March 10), during Early Voting (March 2 through March 8), or by Vote-By-Mail. Together we can shape the Apopka we long for, and we’ll cherish…now, into the future!
With Warm Regards,
Christine Moore…APOPKA DESERVES MOORE!!
Political ad paid for and approved by Christine Moore for Apopka Mayor, non-partisan
Editor's Note: The preview paragraph was corrected from "Apopka City" Commissioner Christine Moore to "Orange County" Commissioner Christine Moore on February 18, 2026.
