ORLANDO, Fla. — Four candidates vying to become the next mayor of Orange County took part in a debate Tuesday night where they sounded off on several issues.
Top of mind was Amendment 3, a measure that if approved by voters, would lower the homestead exemption for about 60% of Floridians.
When asked by Channel 9 Eyewitness News Anchor and Debate Co-Moderator Martha Sugalski who supported Amendment 3, Mayoral Candidate Chris Messina was the only one to raise his hand.
“We’ll eliminate programs that don’t work and aren’t meeting their objectives,” said Messina.
But all the candidates agreed that county agencies should restructure their budgets to find the revenue needed for essential services, something they said they’ll facilitate as mayor.
“We would be able to find resources to ensure that we don’t affect services,” said Stephanie Murphy, Orange County Mayoral Candidate.
“We have to look for ways to create efficiencies,” said Tiffany Moore-Russell, Orange County Mayoral Candidate.
“If businesses and families are doing more with less, so should county government,” said Mayra Uribe, Orange County Mayoral Candidate.
Each candidate also took a strong position on affordable housing. Messina said he supports renovating and converting old properties into affordable apartments and pivoted to job creation.
“If you don’t have a great job, lot of things are unaffordable,” he said. “So the first thing we need to do is to bring in great jobs.”
The other candidates’ positions ranged from public private partnerships, building units near public transportation hubs and investing in existing inventory.
“I want to make sure we’re building affordable housing where the jobs are, closer to our transportation corridors,” said Moore Russell.
“We should take the approach of seeing housing more as an economic development project than just a pure permitting project,” said Murphy.
“We have apartments that are already existing, inventory that is out there,” said Uribe.
All candidates said public safety and the reduction of crime will remain a top priority in their respective administrations and supported measures that created jobs and opportunities for young people.
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