Terry Roen
Attorney Michael Barber won the District 1 seat in Orange County’s Soil and Water Conservation race.
The former assistant state attorney beat Environmentalist Maria Bolton-Joubert and Star Grayson, Congressman Alan Grayson’s daughter, for the win.
Barber garnered 159,987 votes or 42 percent of the vote over Bolton-Joubert’s 145,714 (38 percent), and Grayson’s 76,628 (20 percent).
“I know it was a tight race with Maria Bolton-Joubert and her heart was in the right place,” said Barber, an Orlando resident. “I connected with the people through social media and she took a more traditional approach with signs. I didn’t see much campaigning from Star Grayson at all.”
Barber said he is hoping to become an advocate for water quality and to use his seat to bring more public awareness to this important issue. He practices criminal and education law with the Umansky Law Firm in Orlando.
All three candidates are young. The 30-year-old Barber beat Bolton-Jobert, 34, and Grayson, who turned 18 this month.
Grayson filed for the seat when she was 17 and turned 18 in time for the election. The loss means the Grayson family lost all three of their election races this year. Alan Grayson lost his bid for the U.S. Senate and his wife, Dena, lost a race for the U.S. House.
