Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson and Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore have announced a collaborative agreement to help Moore win election in her mayoral runoff against City Commissioner Nick Nesta.  

The announcement comes three days after Nelson finished third in his bid for a third term, collecting under 27% of the vote while Moore secured almost 32% and Nesta claimed almost 42%. Since no candidate reached 50%, a runoff election is scheduled for April 14.  

“I understand the value Bryan Nelson brought to the city, especially in growing fiscal strength, increasing high paying jobs via recruiting new industry, removing red light cameras, and generating an APOPKA PROUD program of sports, music, events and activities,” Moore said in a statement. “It is vitally important to grow on these successes from day one in office.” 

Moore met with Nelson and his wife Debbie at the Nelson home Thursday evening to hammer out the collaborative agreement.  

“With the runoff election a month away, Moore and Nelson will be reaching out to their citizen supporters to get out the vote for Christine Moore on April 14th,” a joint press release said.  

The release stopped short of saying Nelson endorsed Moore, who has a long history with Nelson that turned into a political rivalry, but it said the two would work together on the campaign and the ensuing government transition.  

“I value and know that the current employees have years of valuable institutional knowledge to help me and my new executive team hit the ground running on day one,” said Moore, who is seeking to become the first woman to occupy the mayor’s seat in Apopka.  

The release said Moore has a “comprehensive plan” to build on city programs and tackle infrastructure, utilities and other challenges. Referencing two new City Council members, the release said it is “important and appropriate” for Moore and Nelson to “work collegially.” 

“I love this city, my lifelong home, and want to contribute any way I can to keep it on the right path,” Nelson said in a statement. “Debbie and I have Apopka in our blood, and we aren’t going away. With God’s grace, we will just have more time to help the community even more.” 

Nelson had signaled that an agreement might be in the offing when he dropped his residency lawsuit against Moore on Wednesday, telling The Apopka Chief he “wanted her to be in play” for the runoff.  

Despite Tuesday’s anti-establishment wave, voters chose to keep the strong mayor form of government, rejecting a proposal to shift to a council-manager form of government. That means the next mayor will continue to serve as the city CEO that every other mayor has since Apopka’s founding.  

Nelson’s 2,147 voters will play a pivotal role in deciding whether Moore or Nesta will be the next mayor. Most observers expect a lower turnout for the runoff, but if the electorate remained the same, Moore would need to win more than 75% of Nelson’s voters to close the 10-point gap with Nesta.