A newly elected mayor and two city commissioners were sworn in during the Oath of Office Ceremony on Tuesday, April 24, at the Apopka Community Center/VFW Building.
Bryan Nelson was sworn in as mayor by Judge Eric Wooten; Alexander Smith as city commissioner by the Rev. Dr. H.L. Dericho; and Alice Nolan, also as city commissioner, by her husband Joe Nolan.
In each of their speeches after the oath taking, all three elected officials acknowledged their families, friends, campaign supporters, and the overall community for helping them win the office.
Nolan, an administrative assistant for Catholic Charities of Central Florida, said she “does not take … lightly” the responsibility as public servant to the community.
“The many hours that those around me put into their community and the many hours I have worked side by side with them will only continue as I start my job as a public servant.”
Smith recognized his predecessors Billie Dean, who retired from the City Council after serving on it for 24 years, and Alonzo Williams Jr., the first African American to serve on the Apopka City Council. Smith is a retired Orange County Public Schools teacher and is now an associate pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Apopka.
“Had he not been the first, there could not have been a second nor a third,” Smith said.
Nelson, who spoke without a prepared speech, called his experiences “a journey,” from his college days at the University of Florida where he met his wife Debbie, to telling her his dreams about becoming an elected official. He also said he felt as if he didn’t perform as well in the campaign because of pressure.
“I may have told people I feel like didn’t perform as well as I should,” Nelson said, “and the reason is that there is pressure. I feel pressure that you expect me to do a good job, and I sure want to make you proud of me. I’ll need your help.”
Nelson, an insurance agent with his own company Nelson’s Insurance Services, served as a State House representative from 2006 to 2012, followed by his time as Orange County commissioner since 2012.
Following the oath taking, the trio held a ceremonial cake cutting and there was a reception.
An expanded version of this story appears on page 1A of the Friday, April 27, issue of The Apopka Chief. Watch videos from the ceremony on the newspaper’s YouTube channel.
