By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
It's funny the crowds an open seat can bring.
On June 21st, Apopka City Commissioner Kyle Becker said he would not seek re-election for Seat #3. Now, 141 days removed from his announcement and 130 days from the election, there are already three candidates running for the open seat.
According to the bio sent by Tucker, he grew up in Apopka and has been here for the majority of his adult life.
Tucker was the Senior Class Vice-President and Homecoming King for the Apopka High School Class of 2003. He graduated with a BS Degree in Behavioral Science from Bellevue University in 2009 and currently runs the Orlando location for Service Partners, the largest insulation distributor in the country.
Tucker has been married to his wife Megan for 16 years and has three children - Kendall (15), Hudson (14), and Griffin (11).
"I love Apopka, and I am proud of our city," Tucker said. "I think there are some things that we are doing right and some things that we need to do better, and I want to be part of the solution. While raising young kids in Apopka, I want to make sure that they graduate and grow up being as proud to say they are from Apopka as I am."
He believes growth is at the core of Apopka's biggest issue and wants the Council to manage it better.
"Apopka has experienced an insane amount of growth over the past ten years," he said. "Growth can be good when managed the right way, but I think there are some areas we have fallen short on. We need to spend a lot of time and energy right-sizing our infrastructure to align with our recent growth. Our roads need a lot of care and attention to account for the influx of residents and traffic. Our police and fire departments need to be adequately staffed and resourced to meet the needs of a growing city, and our citizens need small businesses, entertainment, and amenities in their city that they are proud of and keep their dollars local."
He wants to partner with Orange County to get the roads fixed.
"First things first... our roads need immediate attention. We need to work hard to partner with Orange County where necessary to get things done in shared space, and we need to budget and plan accordingly to tackle the things we are responsible for in a timely and effective manner.
He also wants better dialogue with the Apopka Fire and Police departments.
"When it comes to our first responders, we need to listen," he said. "We have to ask the right questions, whether we like the answer or not, and we need to be ready to respond. We have to make sure we are putting our police and fire departments in positions to be successful while staying safe. I pride myself on being a person who asks good questions and actively listens, and I think those two qualities are what someone in the position of city commissioner needs in order to act in the best interest of the people they serve... who, in this case, are the residents of this great city."
Tucker will face Nadia Anderson and Darryl Richardson in the Seat #3 election. Anderson owns a local real estate agency and filed to run in September. Richardson is part owner of Three Odd Guys Brewing. He filed in October.
Eric Mock, who is a real estate agent and a member of the Apopka Planning Commission, filed to run for Seat #4 in September as well. He will presumably face incumbent Commissioner Nick Nesta.
Apopka municipal elections are scheduled to coincide with the Florida Presidential Preference Primary on March 19th, 2024.
