This week and next, The Apopka Chief will run questionnaire responses for each City Council candidate who will appear on the March 10 ballot. The Seat 1 race features former commissioner Sam Ruth as he squares off against incumbent Alexander Smith.

To view Apopka Involved Voters’ City Council debate, visit The Apopka Chief YouTube channel. 

Seat 1: Sam Ruth, challenger 

What elected office positions have you held? 

I was elected to Apopka City Council Seat 4 and served from 2014 to 2016. During that time, I gained firsthand experience in Apopka’s home rule, budgeting, land management, and growth policy. The role carries significant responsibility in overseeing taxpayer dollars, development decisions, and protecting the long-term interests of residents. 

Where can voters go to learn more about you? 

Voters can contact me directly on my cell at (321) 231-3943 or by email at sammyr@sigoldmanco.com or sam.ruth@reagan.com. They can also follow my Facebook page, “Sam Ruth for Apopka,” for updates, events, and policy positions. I believe in open communication and am always available to speak with our business community and residents. 

What specifically motivated you to run for this seat at this time? 

During my previous service on the City Council, I saw firsthand how critical infrastructure, budgeting and land-use decisions shape our city’s future. Today, growth is outpacing roads, stormwater systems, public safety capacity and traffic planning. That is not sustainable. Residents who invested their lives and savings here deserve responsible leadership that prioritizes infrastructure before expansion. We must strengthen oversight, demand transparency, and ensure development decisions serve the community, not the other way around. I am running now to restore balance, accountability and a growth strategy that protects Apopka’s long-term stability. 

What do you believe has been the City Council’s biggest mistake in the past five years, and how would you have handled it differently? 

Over the past five years, the City Council’s biggest mistake has been allowing growth to outpace infrastructure and failing to provide strong, collaborative oversight at the leadership level. Too often, decisions appear reactive rather than strategic, with insufficient emphasis on drainage, traffic flow, road capacity, long-term financial sustainability and water meter billing. Residents facing flooding, congestion and rising costs deserve proactive solutions, not delayed responses. 

If elected, how should voters measure your effectiveness after two years in office?  

Voters should also expect more transparent financial reporting, including easier-to-read budget summaries and public workshops before major development approvals. Finally, effectiveness should be measured by whether growth approvals align with infrastructure capacity, not promises. If, after two years, infrastructure is being addressed before expansion and residents feel heard and informed, then I will have delivered meaningful progress. 

Special Note: As one of five elected members, progress requires collaboration, but voters should expect measurable results. Within two years, they should see a completed infrastructure audit, a prioritized capital improvement plan focused on stormwater and roadway capacity, and clear public reporting on reserves versus infrastructure needs. I would push for measurable reductions in flooding complaints, improved traffic signal timing at key intersections, and documented progress on drainage upgrades in historically impacted neighborhoods. 

Seat 1: Alexander Smith, incumbent 

What elected office positions have you held? 

Elected to Apopka City Council in 2018 and unopposed in 2022. Elected to several offices of nonprofits, professional and civic organizations. 

Where can voters go to learn more about you? 

Residents can go to my candidate campaign page on Facebook or my website at www.smithforapopka.com. 

What specifically motivated you to run for this seat at this time? 

I’ve been a resident of Apopka for 60 years. It has been a lifelong goal since ninth grade. My desire is to be a servant to the community and to influence its rapid growth with proper management. As a product of unincorporated Apopka, it is time that residents in unincorporated Apopka are united as “One Apopka.” 

What do you believe has been the City Council’s biggest mistake in the past five years, and how would you have handled it differently? 

The biggest mistake I see is selling city property to developers without guidelines. In the future, when city property is sold to a developer, they are given deadlines that must be met to develop the property or the property reverts back to the city. Additionally, they are not allowed to flip the property for gain. 

If elected, how should voters measure your effectiveness after two years in office?  

My effectiveness can be measured by the ordinances I support, infrastructure improvement, managed growth, workforce housing, expanded activities for youth, addressing the issues of the unhoused, supporting our first responders, economic development, developing a relationship with county, state and federal officials to secure funding or resources for the city, getting annexation of unincorporated Apopka on the ballot, civic engagement with other organizations and being a voice for the residents for those issues that concern them. Also important is managing a balanced budget without cutting essential services. Above all conducting myself in a manner that I maintain the respect of the residents, my fellow commissioners, the mayor and city staff.