KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Mayor Jackie Espinosa is encouraging her constituents to vote in the upcoming November election.
“What I want people to know is that what happened yesterday requires all of us to go out and vote November 3,” said Espinosa in response to a question by Channel 9’s Ethan Stein after she bonded out of jail Thursday evening. “That’s what I want to say. And to the constituents of Kissimmee, we will be okay.”
This was Espinosa’s first public comment since her arrest on October 21 on grand theft and fraud charges.
Espinosa’s remark appears to be a reference to State Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is running for re-election. Uthmeier filed charges against Espinosa after the State Ethics Committee found probable cause over her handling of the city’s “Boost 2.0” program, which provided COVID-relief money to struggling businesses during the pandemic.
Espinosa helped create that program, and her family business received $50,000 from it.
Espinosa posted a $70,000 bond and was released from the Osceola County Jail on October 22nd. She is due back in court December 1st.
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