The races for the city election are set.
Qualifying ended Tuesday, January 9, and 10 people have signed up to run for three offices that will be on the ballot of the March 13 election.
All candidates were expected as they had previously announced their intentions to run for office.
Mayor Joe Kilsheimer will face opposition in his quest for a second term as current Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson has qualified to run against Kilsheimer.
The candidates for Seat 1 on the City Council will be: Suzanne Kidd, Gene Knight, Theresa Mott, and Alexander Smith. All four will be looking to replace longtime City Commissioner Billie Dean, who is not running for re-election.
The Seat 2 candidates are: incumbent Diane Velazquez and challengers Leroy Bell, Alicia Koutsoulieris, and Alice Nolan.
The full-time mayor’s salary is $150,000, while the salary for each part-time commissioner is $13,500.
The deadline for registering to vote in the March 13 city election is February 12 at 5 p.m.
If a runoff is necessary, it will be held April 10.
A new feature in the election will see city voters divided into two precincts for the first time in Apopka’s history.
The City Council approved the use of two precincts at a meeting in October and in December gave the OK for the map that will delineate where each voter must cast his or her ballot.
One of the voting sites will remain at the Apopka Community Center/VFW at 519 S. Central Ave., where city elections have been held for several years. The new polling place will be at the conference room at the Northwest Recreation Complex offices at 3710 Jason Dwelley Parkway.
All Apopka voters will receive a sample ballot prior to the election. It will list the candidates for the three positions that are up for election, including the mayor’s job and two City Council seats.
This story appears on page 1A of the Friday, January 12, issue of The Apopka Chief.
