Orlando Police Chief John Mina files to run for Orange County sheriff

John Mina

Orlando Police Chief John Mina has officially entered the race to run for sheriff, seeking to succeed his longtime partner in Orlando law enforcement Sheriff Jerry Demings, who is running for county mayor.

Long expected to be a candidate, Mina filed his candidacy paperwork Wednesday morning with the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office.

He has served as Orlando police chief since 2014, and with the Orlando police department since 1990, having worked in patrol, criminal investigations, community policing, and drug enforcement, and as a commander of the SWAT team, among other assignments. Mina also is a former military police officer with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

He becomes the third candidate to enter the race for Orange County sheriff, joining retired Florida Highway Patrol Maj. Jose “Joe” Lopez and retired Orange County Sheriff Capt. Thomas Stroup. Mina officially filed for the partisan race as an independent, while Stroup is a Republican, and Lopez is a Democrat.

Scott Powers

Scott Powers is an Orlando-based political journalist with 30+ years’ experience, mostly at newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Columbus Dispatch. He covers local, state and federal politics and space news across much of Central Florida. His career earned numerous journalism awards for stories ranging from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to presidential elections to misplaced nuclear waste. He and his wife Connie have three grown children. Besides them, he’s into mystery and suspense books and movies, rock, blues, basketball, baseball, writing unpublished novels, and being amused. Email him at [email protected].


One comment

  • Roxana De la Riva

    February 18, 2018 at 11:51 am

    Scott I have a question this race is partisan?
    Or no partisan? I have no idea since the winner need reach 50 por cent plus 1. This is right?

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