Apopka City Commissioner Nick Nesta and Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore have qualified for the April 14 mayoral runoff, defeating incumbent mayor Bryan Nelson in a sweeping rejection of the city’s current direction. 

“We’ve done just an incredible job as a community coming together,” Nesta said at his mayoral watch party at Highland Manor. “It’s been such an efficient campaign, and clearly community based, so that’s resonated very well with our residents.” 

The Orange County Supervisor of Elections posted preliminary results around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday night, showing Nesta with 41.62% of the votes and 3,365 votes total. Moore followed behind him at 31.83% with 2,574 votes. Nelson finished third with just 26.55% and 2,147 votes. Only 20.12% of eligible voters appeared at the polls, a slight increase from 2022, which had a 19.3% voter turnout. 

The mayoral percentage and vote ranking remained consistent throughout the night. Nesta led with approximately 40% of the votes when only early voting and mail-in ballots were counted. 

Moore hosted her mayoral watch party at her home, where she emphasized the importance of respectful, consistent dialogue. 

“We’re going to continue to speak that same message of trying to control growth,” Moore said. “I’ll talk more about the trails and the natural spaces, and I think we’re going to talk about all of the projects in detail that Mr. Nesta has voted for. He can’t claim to be anti-development when he’s approved over 10,000 homes in the last four years, so we will certainly talk about that.” 

Gary Wilkerson, who voted at the Apopka Community Center on Election Day, gave Moore his support. 

“I was looking at both of their backgrounds, and Bryan has been mayor for two different terms, and there’s been some changes, but I think there could be some more, probably better changes,” Wilkerson said. “We need to improve a little bit more on commercialism in Apopka, especially around the Piedmont Lake areas.” 

Apopka resident Kevin Conner said he voted for Nesta due to his emphasis on “transparency and a resident-focused approach to Apopka’s future.” 

“When I ideated a project to him, as a regular citizen, he was incredibly responsive and proved to be a clear, direct communicator who did not hesitate to engage,” Conner said in an email to The Apopka Chief on election night. “This level of accountability is reflected in his platform, where he advocates for a managerial form of government to ensure the city runs efficiently and remains answerable to its citizens.” 

Nesta filed to run for mayor in November, listing city infrastructure, support of city employees and public safety personnel, and the restoration of fiscal accountability as his campaign’s top three priorities. 

“Our city faces crumbling infrastructure, skyrocketing utility rates, and unchecked growth masked by low millage rates, promised projects (which end up incomplete or extremely disappointing), and fictional budgets,” Nesta said to the Chief in January. “I can no longer sit on the sidelines while Apopka continues down this path. I have the knowledge, experience, and determination to address these challenges immediately.” 

Nesta’s filing for mayor required him to resign as commissioner, opening City Council Seat 4 for a special election. Since his filing, Nesta has participated in mayoral debates and continued to serve on the City Council. 

This election cycle, Nesta was also involved in an altercation with Moore, and emails obtained by The Apopka Chief from two city officials who accused him of intimidation and harassment. Nesta said the timing of the email leak was an attempt to distract voters from the important issues of the campaign. 

Nesta founded Nesta Real Estate Consultants in 2013 and has said he has utilized that experience to inform his role as city commissioner, which began in 2022. 

Moore is a veteran politician who has not lost a race. She served on the Orange County School Board for 10 years before beginning her current role as Orange County District 2 commissioner in 2018. 

She told the Chief that Apopka voters’ primary concerns include overdevelopment, the need for beautification in downtown Apopka, and poor infrastructure. 

“I’m uniquely positioned to address Apopka’s transportation and infrastructure woes because I chair MetroPLAN and serve on Central Florida’s Expressway Authority,” Moore told the Chief in January. “Because I pushed passage of a rural boundary amendment, Apopka’s rural west areas can now fight off additional sprawl development.” 

Moore first announced her campaign in April of last year and was the first to secure the amount of petitions required to run for mayor.  

In January, Nelson sued Moore, claiming she did not meet the residency requirements in time to run for mayor. Moore has since filed a motion to dismiss the Nelson lawsuit, and most voters seemed to brush it aside as a concern.  

“Rather than trust in the people of Apopka to decide, Nelson has elected to pursue an eleventh-hour litigation strategy designed to eliminate his strongest opponent from the ballot altogether,” the motion stated.  

Outside of her political roles, Moore describes herself as a “professional flautist, music teacher, and aspiring historian.” 

Nelson has served as mayor of Apopka since he was first elected in 2018, after serving in the Florida House of Representatives and the Orange County Commission. His campaign website touts several of his mayoral achievements, including the elimination of red-light cameras, the start of Apopka’s Economic Development Department and the Apopka Restaurant Incentive Area, and the increase of city reserves by $42 million. 

Some voters expressed appreciation for Nelson on Election Day and voted to keep the status quo in Apopka. 

“We don’t really have any chaos in Apopka where we’re at,” said Rock Springs Ridge resident Robert Diroff. “There’s not a lot of crime —especially in our area; I don’t know about this side [at the Apopka Community Center]. I mean, I love our neighborhood, love where I live.” 

Husband and wife Orlando Matta and Lily Matta said they appreciated Nelson’s work on tax rates and eliminating red-light cameras.  

“He’s doing a great job,” Orlando Matta said. “He’s doing whatever he said he was gonna do.” 

The new mayor is set to take office on April 28.