Florida Democratic Party treasurer Wes Hodge has gathered 1,152 petitions to join the Orange County Commission District 2 race. Hodge’s campaign surpassed the minimum amount of 1,046 petitions on Monday, a week after the petition drive began on May 4, according to a Tuesday press release. 

 “There were people that were gathering petitions on their own, taking them to the supervisor of elections, and turning them in on my behalf,” Hodge said in a phone interview with The Apopka Chief. “It really was a community effort to make it happen, and it’s not lost on me how much that means…I have been in Orange County politics since 2012/2013, so about 14 years, and there’s been plenty of candidates qualifying by petition — that’s not new—but to do it in 10 days is nuts.” 

Former Orange County Commissioner for District 2 Christine Moore resigned to join the Apopka mayoral race, which she lost to then-City Commissioner Nick Nesta on April 14. The now-vacant District 2 seat represents northwest Orange County, including Apopka.  

“I ran for supervisor of elections in 2024 and got 87,000 votes and met a lot of people across the county in that process,” Hodge said. “When Commissioner Moore’s term was expiring at the end of this year — it becomes an open seat because of county term limits — a lot of different people from across the community and different groups and organizations came to me and said, ‘We’ve worked with you, we know you, and we think that you would be a great fit for representing us.’” 

Hodge, a two-time cancer survivor, identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and supports “leaders who champion issues such as economic equality, social justice, healthcare reform, and environmental sustainability,” according to his LinkedIn page. However, he believes his experience serving as chief of staff for three Orange County commissioners sets his campaign apart, especially considering various upcoming changes in the commission. 

 “We’re going from six districts to eight districts — so two new districts — plus the new mayor, and with Commissioner Uribe running for mayor, we’ll have a board of nine with anywhere from as few as two to as many as only four experienced people on that board next year,” Hodge said. “I know the county inside-out, forwards and backwards, and so with experience being at a premium, I think that that’s essential for District 2, especially to have continuity of experienced leadership.” 

He noted that District 2 residents have identified rural space protection and the reduction of “urban sprawl” as crucial priorities “on multiple ballot initiatives” and agrees with their concerns, saying that the various issues are all associated with poor growth management. 

“We can talk about sustainable growth and development, we can talk about transportation, we can talk about affordability, and we can talk about preservation of environmental and rural lands, and really, they are all interconnected,” he said. “If you want to talk about those four — those are four, but really, they’re kind of one. We’ve done a really bad job about managing our growth.” 

Hodge believes that finding ways to “concentrate growth” will allow the county to more easily maintain existing infrastructure and lower costs for residents. 

“I shared a video yesterday showing the average houses in different communities across Orange County, and $400,000 was the lowest,” he said. “For our younger people, or people that are working in the tourism industry, that’s a lot of money that most people can’t qualify for. We’ve got to work on affordability and ensuring that if you work here, you should be able to live here, too. That’s my core focus, is making sure that number one, the people are represented, not mega-developers or special interests, and number two, working to fix the problems that we’re currently dealing with because of bad decision-making in the past.” 

Ultimately, Hodge said the election provides an opportunity for the region to “pivot” and “learn from other people’s mistakes.” 

“We’re really at a turning point where how we manage our growth can really set us on the right path for the next 20-30 years or set us on the wrong path for the next 20-30 years,” he said. “We have a real chance to get it right here, and I think that now is the time to do it. There’s so much change going on, but there’s a chance that we make that change be positive for all of us, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.” 

Hodge joins candidates Marsha Summersill, George Oliver III and Kamia Brown in the race for District 2, with the primary election set for Aug. 18.