City commission candidate clarifies her residency

 

Qualifying Week for the Apopka City Commission elections in 2024 concluded with five candidates running for two seats (3 and 4), but eligibility issues continue to swirl around one candidate.

 

Questions arose on local social media about the address of Nadia Anderson, who is running for Seat 3. The City Charter requires candidates to have residency in the city one year prior to election day to be eligible to run for office.

 

Anderson's application gave a Valmont Lane address, a lease with a February 22nd, 2023 starting date, a driver's license with the same address, and a voter's registration card with the same address.

 

Nadia Anderson

 

Anderson's proof of residency met the threshold, and Apopka City Clerk Susan Bone certified her as qualified to run for office.

 

But then, court documents from Orange County surfaced, dated May 2023, which Anderson signed, stating her residency as a Falcon Hill Drive address - which is in unincorporated Apopka and not a qualifying address.

 

According to the Orange County Property Appraiser website, Anderson owns the Falconhill Drive property but rents the Valmont residence and claims it as her primary residence,

 

Anderson sent a statement to The Apopka Voice to clarify the two different addresses.

"I have been at 1598 Valmont Lane since February 22nd, 2023," she said. "I have lived at the Falconhill address on and off for 13 years. I moved out of the Falconhill property on January 10th, 2023. Falconhill property is no longer my homestead property.  I completed an exemption status change form with the Orange County Property Appraiser's Office requesting the removal of the homestead exemption from this property; however, the removal of the exemption will not show online until the following year."

She says family members still reside at the Falconhill address, and she owns multiple properties as part of being a real estate investor.

"I still have an ownership interest in the 2920 Falconhill Drive property due to it being a material asset. Due to personal reasons, I relocated to the 1598 Valmont Lane address. I do have family that still resides at the address and I do visit the address often and still consider it one of my homes. To be clear, I have multiple residential properties; however, I only claim one property as my primary residence. That address is 1598 Valmont Lane, Apopka, Florida 32703, which is in the City of Apopka. I think it’s also relevant for your readers to know that I grew up in the Apopka area, graduated from Apopka High School, purchased a commercial property in the City of Apopka, where I operate several businesses, and now my children attend public schools in Apopka. I am an Apopka Blue Darter through and through."

According to Anderson, she signed the document with the Falconhill address because of the sensitivity of the issue and security concerns.

"As you can imagine, that form was dealing with a personal family matter," she said. "At that time, it was a safety reason why I chose not to list my current residence."

Local social media sites also questioned why Bone didn't pursue a document that seemingly runs counter to Anderson's stated address. However, according to Apopka City Attorney Cliff Shepard, that's not the role of the clerk's office.

“A City Clerk fills a ministerial role when qualifying candidates for election to council," Shepard said. "The clerk accepts the information provided by the candidate and determines whether it is facially sufficient to qualify. Conducting an investigation into a candidate’s background is neither expected nor permitted.”

Shepard says that a complaint must come from another source and make its way through the courts. 

“If there are questions about the accuracy of the information provided by a candidate, that is left to opposing candidates or concerned citizens to raise through a legal challenge.”

Apopka's 2024 Election Day is March 19th - just 84 days away.

Editor's Note: At Nadia Anderson's request, the title of the document referenced in the article was removed.