From Staff Reports
Good morning Apopka. Welcome to Primary Election Day 2022. Today, we will learn who will be the next Apopka City Commissioner, who will compete to represent us in Tallahassee, and who will emerge in the Orange County Commission.
The Apopka Voice will closely track three races today:
- Apopka City Commission Special Election for Seat #3
- Florida House District 39 Republican Primary
- Orange County Commission Seat #2 primary/election
Apopka City Commission Seat #3 Special Election
Former Commissioner Kyle Becker is taking on political newcomer Lynetta Johnson in the election to claim the seat vacated by two-term Commissioner Doug Bankson - who is running for Florida State House District 39.
Becker, who was a two-term Seat #4 commissioner, vacated that post to run for mayor - narrowly losing to incumbent Bryan Nelson in the March election. Becker returned to the campaign trail and another bite at the apple on City Council.
Johnson is a first-time candidate for office and the Director of Operations for Prime Electrical Services. She served in the US Air Force from 1990-2000. In 2012, she was the Senior Contract Administrator for Moog Inc., where she managed the revolutionary aircraft, Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
It was a fairly quiet campaign for both candidates until Johnson posted a racial allegation about Becker on August 7th.
Florida House District 39
Apopka City Commissioner Bankson vacated his seat on the City Council to run for the Florida Legislature in a district that seems to be tailor-made for an Apopka politician.
His opponents are Orange County Republican Chair Charles Hart and Republican activist and conservative radio talk show host Randy Ross.
District 39 includes Apopka, parts of Winter Garden, the Wekiva Springs area, and southwestern Seminole County - including parts of Altamonte Springs and Longwood. It has no incumbent. It is considered a battleground district because it is evenly split between registered voters in the Republican and Democratic parties and based on past elections.
The winner of this primary will face Tiffany Hughes in the general election - who is running unopposed as a Democrat.
Hughes is the former Orange County NAACP President, the owner of KBI Staffing Solutions, and a Longwood resident.
Orange County Commission District 2
Incumbent Christine Moore is taking on two opponents in her defense of the Orange County Commission District 2 seat - Chris Delgado and Sandra Fatmi-Hall.
Delgado is an Apopka business owner who has basically self-funded his campaign, while Fatmi-Hall was in the banking industry for 17 years and then 12 years as the founder and director of the United Foundation of Central Florida non-profit.
Moore served on the Orange County Public School Board before winning the District 2 seat in 2018.
If Delgado, Fatmi-Hall or Moore win a majority of the votes (50%-plus-one) today, they will claim the District 2 seat. But if no candidate can get a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.
A reputation for comprehensive election coverage
This is the fourth Primary Election Day event The Apopka Voice will cover and the 15th election event (runoffs, primaries, special elections, and November elections) overall. As always, expect no less than comprehensive reporting that ends only after the last ballot is counted.
Stay with The Apopka Voice all day for wall-to-wall coverage of these elections... plus breaking results as soon as they are known after the polls close at 7 PM.
And check back tomorrow for an analysis of the races... who won, who lost, why, what lies ahead for the City Council, and what it means for Apopka. So grab a steaming hot cup of coffee, settle in and watch democracy in action.
And be sure to get out and vote if you haven't already.
