Gabrielle Russon
Candidate Steve Leary is urging the Orange County government to stop giving officials free tickets to use a luxury box for concerts and games.
Leary sent a letter to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings last week following the revelation that Commissioner Mayra Uribe gave hundreds of free tickets to her husband’s small nonprofit since 2021.
Leary said the county’s ticket policy “has created a perception … of abuses” and “has cast shade on the entire Commission.”
Uribe’s husband, Kevin Sutton, runs All Star Dads, which helps new fathers get ready for parenthood.
County Commissioners are allowed to allocate some of their tickets to a nonprofit of their choosing, but Uribe’s actions crossed a line and raised serious concerns, one state watchdog told Florida Politics.
Leary echoed that sentiment in a letter he wrote last week.
“I felt that access to taxpayer-owned tickets and suites for events should not be an exclusive privilege for elected leaders or their chosen charitable organizations,” Leary wrote. “Perhaps placing these suits on the open market, which would generate additional revenue for greater community benefit, would be most accepted.”
It’s unclear how much All-Star Dads and Sutton financially benefited from the tickets, which county officials get via an agreement after the tourist development tax helped build the Kia Center and Camping World Stadium. Sutton’s nonprofit has failed to file a 990 tax form since 2019, and the IRS recently revoked its tax-exempt status.
Earlier this month, Demings said he plans to talk to his county board about updating its ticket policy to add additional oversight.
“The Orange County standard operating procedure concerning the dissemination and use of the County’s skybox tickets for Orlando venues is under review and will be discussed at an upcoming Board of County Commission meeting in the near future,” Demings said in a statement Monday.
Uribe has not responded to repeated requests for comment from Florida Politics.
To the Orlando Sentinel, she defended her husband’s work and the free tickets she gave.
“I’m proud of what he does,” she told the Sentinel.
The Sentinel story added, “Uribe also said she believes the focus on her use of the tickets is being driven by her political opponents.”
Uribe in District 3 and Leary in District 5 are both facing runoffs in the November General Election in Commission races that have billions of dollars at stake over tourism funding.
Leary was endorsed by the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, while the organization is backing Uribe’s opponent, Linda Stewart. Leary is running against Kelly Semrad.
