A group of labor unions that collectively represent more than 70,000 workers in Central Florida are calling on Orange County mayoral candidates who are currently in an elected position to resign from office ahead of a state-imposed deadline, in order to prevent Gov. Ron DeSantis from unilaterally choosing an appointee to replace them.
Under a 2021 state law, elected officials who are seeking a different office must resign from their current position no later than 28 months before their term ends in order to allow for a special election to be called to replace them. If they resign after that deadline, the governor may appoint any person of their choosing to replace the official, without allowing voters any say in the choice. A special election could also be called, but that’s not guaranteed.
Delegates to the Central Florida AFL-CIO — including representatives of the Orange County teachers union, the United Auto Workers, Transport Workers Union and Unite Here hospitality unions — voted unanimously last Wednesday to approve a resolution calling for local mayoral candidates to “protect elections” and prevent a situation where DeSantis could, theoretically, appoint a right-wing ideologue to local office without voters’ consent.
This call-to-action, emailed to the campaigns of mayoral candidates last week, would specifically apply in this case to sitting Orange County commissioner Mayra Uribe and Orange County clerk of courts Tiffany Moore Russell — two of six candidates who are in the running for Orange County mayor this year.
“Labor unions have often played a key role promoting civic engagement and protecting democracy. This commitment includes bringing the democratic process into the workplace and protecting it at the ballot box,” the Central Florida AFL-CIO shared in a statement. “Elections traditionally ensure every voter, regardless of wealth or access to power, has an equal vote and workers have the means to hold their representatives accountable.”
The Orange County board of county commissioners is currently comprised of all Democrats, with one vacancy for District 2, following an unsuccessful campaign by District 2 commissioner Christine Moore for Apopka mayor.
The deadline for Uribe and Moore Russell to resign from their own offices, in order to guarantee elections for their seats, is May 28. Not everyone is convinced that doing so is the best idea, however. Both candidates only learned about the new rule change within the last couple of weeks.
“This new system … it’s horrible”
Commissioner Uribe, for her part, told the Weekly in a phone call Wednesday that she’s decided against resigning from her county commission seat early, despite concerns from organized labor and the local Democratic Party. Like Moore Russell, Uribe is a Democrat running for a position that is officially nonpartisan.
“Of course it’s a very serious decision, but the biggest decision that worries me is my community, not politics,” Uribe said. “Not my political future, but the community, and what’s at stake.”
She cited upcoming decisions on the county budget, tourist development tax spending, and the proposed construction of a new homeless shelter in the Goldenrod area — a project she led — as reasons why she believes it’s the right decision to stay on the job and continue serving as a county commissioner during her mayoral campaign.
“This new system that we all just found out about two weeks ago, it’s horrible, but what’s at stake is already big,” she argued. “There could be a special election, there could be an appointee — there could be so many things, but what we can’t do is revert back what we need to protect, which is our residents for Orange County.”
Uribe, a mom of two born and raised in the community, was last elected to her current seat in 2024 for a four-year term and launched her campaign for mayor last May.
Moore Russell — also most recently elected to her office in 2024 — told the Weekly, however, that she does plan to resign from her seat ahead of the state-imposed deadline.
“My last day as Clerk of Court will be August 31, 2026,” she confirmed over email. “Pursuant to the statute, this date will allow for a special election to select my replacement.”
Other candidates in the mayoral race who are not currently in elected office include former U.S. House Rep. Stephanie Murphy, tech entrepreneur Christopher Messina and IT specialist Randy Fust Jr. Uribe is currently leading the pack in fundraising, with more than $311,000 raised for her campaign, according to campaign finance records, followed by Murphy, who’s raised $289,474.
It’s a testy issue. The Orlando area, of course, is no stranger to the Republican governor’s appointments — and historically, it hasn’t ended well for the appointed, or rather, unelected. After DeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Democrat, from her office in 2023, Worrell ran for re-election against his hand-picked replacement for her, Andrew Bain. She ultimately won back her seat in 2024, besting Bain with 57.5 percent of the vote.
Crowded races ahead
The Central Florida AFL-CIO described the issue of early resignation, under the current circumstances, as “a matter of democratic principle and respect for the electorate.”
It’d also accelerate the campaigns of those vying for Uribe’s seat. Seven candidates have already filed paperwork to run for her District 3 seat, including former state senator Linda Stewart, Curry Ford West Main Street District executive director Stephanie Ziglar, and Republican influencer and media personality Randy Ross, among others.
Due to Moore Russell’s decision to resign early for her mayoral campaign, her seat will also be up for grabs this year. In the running for County Clerk of Courts are county commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero, former property appraiser Rick Singh, former county commissioner Emily Bonilla and Roberta Walton Johnson, who currently serves as general counsel for the clerk of courts.
Current Mayor Jerry Demings, first elected to the office in 2018, is term-limited from running for re-election this year and has filed instead to run for governor as a Democrat. His main competition for the Democratic nomination this August is former Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly, who previously served in the U.S. House. Whoever wins that election, of course, will face tough competition in the November general election against the Republican nominee — Florida hasn’t elected a Democratic governor since 1994.
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