Vote-by-mail ballots for the March 13 city of Apopka election will be sent out February 6, Bill Cowles, Orange County supervisor of elections, said this week.
Cowles said his office is required to send out the vote-by-mail ballots – what used to be called absentee ballots – 35 days ahead of the election. As of this week, there are about 4,800 of those types of ballots that have been requested, Cowles said. As of December 31, there were 31,171 registered voters in Apopka, Cowles said. That number will be updated at the end of January.
On the ballot will be the race for mayor and two city commissioner races.
Mayor Joe Kilsheimer, who is finishing up his first four-year term as the city’s CEO, faces a challenge from Bryan Nelson, current Orange County commissioner from District 2, which is the Apopka and Northwest Orange County area. The mayor’s salary is $150,000.
Running for Seat 1 on the City Council are: Suzanne Kidd, Gene Knight, Theresa Mott, and Alexander Smith. All four will be looking to replace longtime City Commissioner Billie Dean, who is not running for re-election.
Seat 2 Commissioner Diane Velazquez has three opponents, Leroy Bell, Alicia Koutsoulieris, and Alice Nolan.
The salary for city commissioners is $13,500.
For the first time in Apopka’s history, voters in the city election will cast their ballots in one of two assigned precincts.
The City Council approved the use of two precincts at a meeting last October and in December gave the OK for the map that will delineate where each voter must cast his or her ballot.
One of the voting sites will remain at the Apopka Community Center/VFW at 519 S. Central Ave., where city elections have been held for several years. The new polling place will be at the conference room at the Northwest Recreation Complex offices at 3710 Jason Dwelley Parkway.
Residents must vote in their assigned precinct, Cowles said.
The map divides the city into basic north and south precincts with all of the new precinct – No. 9204 – located north of U.S. Highway 441 and most of traditional precinct No. 9104 south of U.S. 441, although parts of downtown Apopka and all of Errol Estate are in the traditional precinct, as well.
The full story appears on page 1A of the Friday, January 26, issue of The Apopka Chief.
