By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
In Summary:
Diane Velazquez, first elected in 2014 to the Apopka City Council, is now the only remaining member from Apopka’s earlier council eras and holds a 5-1 electoral record, the most wins by any candidate in the last 12 years. She says her focus remains on developing clear city policies, restoring public trust, and preparing infrastructure—especially water systems—for continued growth. While challengers call for new voices, Velazquez argues that steady experience and accessible leadership are what keep local government working day to day.
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Diane Velazquez is a survivor.
The two-term commissioner of Apopka City Commission Seat #2 and vice mayor has amassed an impressive record. Since the post-John Land era, there have been 12 different members of the City Council. Velázquez is the only one left from the 2014 or the 2016 edition.
This will be her seventh time appearing on an Apopka ballot in the last 12 years. Her 5-1 record (including runoffs) is also the most victories by any candidate in that same timespan. She has received more votes than any other candidate in the last decade.
Related: Baron, Ruth, and Velazquez take fundraising leads in city commission races.
Two different mayors. Five different city administrators. Nine different commissioners.
Same Velázquez.
As you might expect, Velázquez isn’t running as a newcomer with fresh slogans or a disruptor promising to flip the tables. She’s running as the last person still seated after more than a decade of meetings, votes, budget workshops, and late nights inside the City Council chambers.
And she believes that staying power matters.
“My experience has given me the opportunity to concentrate on developing city policies where none exist,” Velazquez said. “A policy is a guide for making decisions. Procedures are steps for implementing the policy. The city lacks written policies on issues presented on a daily basis.”
It’s not glamorous work, but it’s the kind that quietly determines whether a city runs smoothly or stumbles from one issue to the next.
Velázquez has never campaigned like a politician chasing attention. Her style is smaller, closer to the ground — answering emails, talking with residents after meetings, studying agenda packets line by line, asking staff how a policy actually functions before the vote, and again once the vote is over.
Less flash. More follow-through, and over time, that has translated into a reputation for consistency.
She pushed to move public comments back to the beginning of City Council meetings, not the end, so residents speak before decisions are made, not after. She has advocated for written policies governing nonprofit funding, discretionary spending, and the use or disposal of city-owned land — the nuts-and-bolts rules that most people never see, but everyone feels when they’re missing.
“It is important to build trust in the community,” Velazquez said. “To ensure the public knows they have a voice in the process of governing our city.”
Then there’s growth.
“Aging infrastructure is a concern that affects us all,” she said. “When proposed developments are introduced to the city, the public is demanding that the infrastructure meet the impact of the future growth. Being transparent and honest about the cost of expanding or improving infrastructure is a priority.”
She points especially to the city’s water delivery and monitoring systems — the invisible backbone of daily life — arguing that modernization now saves money in the long run and prevents bigger problems down the road. It’s practical, unglamorous, preventative government.
The kind you only notice when it fails.
Ask Velazquez about downtown, though, and the conversation softens. She doesn’t describe it as a project or a district. She describes it as a feeling.
"In order to have a viable downtown, it is the density of residents living downtown and having retail space available for small businesses and restaurants," she said. "We also need to organize an advisory committee consisting of community residents and business owners who are willing to work together with the economic development director to help build and strengthen the downtown corridor.”
Not just buildings. Life. Neighbors walking to dinner. Storefront lights on at night. Local businesses that know their customers by name.
This election season, two candidates are challenging Velazquez, calling for new voices and change on the commission. But Velazquez embraces change.
“New voices are always welcome,” she said. “Any person can contact individual elected officials … attend the city council meetings and express any concern or give an idea.”
To her, participation isn’t limited to those who win in March. It happens every week, every meeting, every time a resident steps to the podium.
“The council meets to make decisions but also to listen,” she said.
In the end, her vision for Apopka isn’t complicated or ideological. It’s personal.
“A safe city, a clean city where families can say that Apopka is a great place to live,” she said. “Providing places to visit, restaurants to sit down and have dinner, and feel that they do not have to leave the city.”
She talks about schools. Seniors. Youth opportunities. The possibility of a community college presence one day. A resource center to help the unhoused. The everyday pieces that make a place feel like home.
“Our future belongs to our youth,” she said. “We need to support them.”
Velazquez’s campaign doesn’t promise fireworks or sweeping change. It promises steadiness. Experience. Work.
Monitor the charter. Write the policies. Fix the systems. Keep the doors open.
“Transparency, honesty, accessible with accountability is my strength,” she said. “I answer to my constituents.”
In a city where the political tide has knocked out plenty of incumbents over the years, Velazquez is still standing — not because she’s the loudest voice in the room, but because she never stopped showing up.
And on Election Day, she’s asking voters to let her keep doing exactly that.
Key Points:
- Velazquez is the longest-serving current commissioner and the only member remaining from the 2014/2016 councils
- Holds a 5-1 election record and has appeared on seven ballots in 12 years
- Priorities include written policies, transparency, and restoring public trust
- Advocates proactive infrastructure upgrades and water system modernization
- Supports a community-driven downtown vision and expanded youth, senior, and social services
