Jacob Ogles
Challenger Iliana Ramos Jones has unseated Winter Garden City Commissioner Ron Mueller.
She won a runoff with 52.6% of the vote, according to unofficial final election results from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections.
The results come three years after Mueller defeated Jones by just 66 votes in the last contest in District 2. This time, Jones held a lead of 57 votes with all precincts reportedly counted.
The candidates also faced off in March, where Jones won 48% of the vote in a three-way race, just shy of a majority to win the seat outright. Mueller earned 42% of the vote as third candidate DJ Culberson Jr. took the remaining 10%.
Jones ran on a platform of protecting Winter Garden from the dense development seen in other parts of Orange County. Any talk of “smart growth” in the city, her website said, needs to prioritize a desire from residents for low-density development.
“We love Winter Garden, and with your help, we can preserve it,” she said in a campaign video on her website.
Mueller, meanwhile, defended a record of supporting road improvement and park beautification efforts. He shot his own campaign video at Lake Cove Point, a conservation area overrun by invasive species a few years ago.
“I was able to secure a $35,000 Grant to help restore the natural beauty and the nature of this community in this wetland,” he said. “Today we have this beautiful park that everyone can enjoy.”
Since the first election, Culberson has endorsed Mueller. While he said he was inclined initially to support Jones as a woman and immigrant with a story similar to his own family, he said he disagreed with the negative tone of her campaign. He said he more appreciated Mueller running on his own record.
“What sort of community do we want to be?” Culberson said. “Do we want to be the one that supports and allows for hate politics? Or are we a community that wants our leaders to speak our values and represent our best interest?”
Winter Garden in March saw another election deliver a blow to Orange County Democrats when Republican Chloe Johnson flipped another City Commission seat red.
Jones is a no-party candidate, but Mueller’s loss marks another blow in Winter Garden for the party in largely blue Orange County.
