Orange County Political Voice (OCPV), a Facebook group of over 1,350 engaged Central Florida residents, announced they will conduct Orange County’s first “Online-to-Offline” Candidate Forum. The October 8th forum will take place at the Orange County Commission Chambers and will feature head-to-heads in the Supervisor of Elections race as well as the Property Appraiser race, while spotlighting various local Orange County candidates.
The “Vision 20/20” forums are much different than the average political event, as OCPV members seek to openly discuss what the candidate’s “vision” will be for the future of our community. Some of the candidates participating have the potential to be elected through the year 2020.
OCPV, a grassroots effort, was launched in part due to the lack of voter participation in local Orange County and Orlando elections this year, hovering around 15% in some key local races. The group has sparked numerous lively political discussions daily, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum. The discussions are limited to Orange County/Central Florida politics and issues only, keeping the focus local. Posts are created and solutions are sought through the membership.
Orange County Political Voice is moderated by Randy Ross (creator), Mary Tiffany (co-creator) & Emmett O’Dell, local community advocate. OCPV was spearheaded out of the feeling that there were many opinions that were being expressed regarding local politics, and issues regarding local government in general, but no avenue to vent those. “Through the Facebook page, members discuss everything on a local Orange County slant. The moderators work hard to keep the discussions healthy and non-attack driven which isn’t always an easy task. However, getting more constituents/citizens engaged is already having a positive impact on our community,” said Tiffany. OCPV will now carry that same mission to the candidate forum:
OCPV Candidate Forum
Monday, October 8th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Featuring:
Orange County Supervisor of Elections:
- Bill Cowles (D) Incumbent
- Daniel Fanelli (R)
Orange County Property Appraiser
- Bill Donegan (R) Incumbent
- Rick Singh (D)
The following candidates CONFIRMED but because their opponents declined our invite…we will be allowing them to be spotlighted during our event. They will have the opportunity to share with you their vision.
-Commissioner Linda Stewart (D) Candidate for Florida House 47
-John Tegg (R) Candidate for Orange County Sheriff
-Jim Huckeba (R) Candidate for Orange County Tax Collector
-Pete Clarke, Candidate for Orange County Commission District 3. Orange County Supervisor of Elections:
WHERE: Orange CountyBoard of County Commission Chambers
201 S Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Additional Details: Each candidate will be given a 3 minute opening, receive questions from our moderators (3 Democrats, 3 Republicans, 1 Independent), and then provide a 2 minute conclusion.
Moderators:
Mary Tiffany (R)
John Heffernan (R)
Jim Duffy (R)
Susan Clary (D)
Sandra Camacho Casado (D)
Gina Duncan (D)
Emmett O’dell (I)
Seating is limited to 100 in the main room, 50 in the spillover area, plus the main lobby of the BCC.
Emmett O’Dell will be a moderator? I recently observed on Emmett O’Dell’s OCPV former Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Doug Head and his fellow friends celebrating the horrible deaths of two young people in a tragic auto-accident near Kissimmee. Apparently Head and his friends were delighted to hear that news because the two were from wealthy families, i.e., part of the 1 percent that Doug hates so much. Emmett O’Dell apparently thought that was a perfectly appropriate conversation for his forum, since no administrator on his website objected to the conversation’s topic or its obvious mean-spirited purpose.