Jacob Ogles
Former Rep. Tom Keen filing for the Orlando City Council in District 1. The seat is up for election later this year.
Keen won a closely watched Special Election in House District 35 last year, but lost re-election to Republican Erika Booth in November. Now, he said he’s anxious to run once again.
“After I got derailed by the (Donald) Trump train in November, I asked, do I want to sit idly by or do I want to continue to serve?” Keen said. “I decided I wanted to continue to serve.”
Trump won Florida’s electoral votes for President by more than 13 percentage points in November, a higher margin than any presidential candidate since 1988. That enthusiasm helped Republicans expand a supermajority in the Florida House.
Booth beat Keen by more than 4 percentage points, but Keen won the portions of the district in Orange County and dominated in the Lake Nona portions that make up most of the city’s District 1.
“I began my career in public service by spending 21 years in the Navy and continuing that service in the Florida Legislature. My mission has always been the same: serving my community,” Keen said in a statement, “This new step allows me to continue that mission by representing the people of the 1st District of Orlando as a City Commissioner.
“Our city is growing incredibly fast, and we need leaders who are focused on protecting working families across Orlando. I’m launching my campaign because I’ve seen our citizens be put on the back burner, and we have glaring issues that need to be addressed. I will be a vocal advocate for public safety and clearing traffic as well as encouraging smart growth policies that put citizens first while prioritizing small businesses. I’m looking forward to beginning this campaign, talking to voters, and traveling across the district to earn their support.”
He plans to bring the door-knocking strategy that led to his successful flip on HD 35 last January to prove effective as he runs for the city election in an off year. He notes with a constituency of 35,000 voters, less than a third the population of a House district, he has the opportunity to try and meet every voter at their door.
The district is currently represented by Orlando City Commissioner Jim Gray, who has held the seat since 2012. The only other candidate currently filed for the District 1 race is Kevin Kendrick.
Should Keen win a seat, he could have a larger voice on city issues as one of six City Commissioners on the council than he had as one of 120 members of the House, particularly considering he was in the House minority caucus.
He plans to immediately begin attending community forums on city issues and to participate in any candidate forums over the next year.
“I want to center this camp on voters and what their needs and wants are,” Keen said.
“I’m not ant-development and I’m not pro-developer. I just want to bring the voice of the people. Developers bring a lot in terms of housing and places to live, but developers seem to have tipped balance in their favor. We need someone to be the voice of the people. Developers have lobbyists, engineers, marketers. People in the district will have me.”
Keen also announced several endorsements from the jump, including from state Sens. Kristen Arrington and Carlos Guillermo Smith, state Reps. Jose Alvarez, Lavon Bracy Davis and Leonard Spencer, Public Defender Melissa Vickers, Orange County Commissioners Kelly Semrad, Ocoee Commissioner George Oliver III, Orange County School Board Members Anne Douglas, Maria Salamanca and Stephanie Vanos, Miami-Dade School Board Member Joe Geller, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, former state Sen. Victor Torres, former state Rep. Ricardo Rangel and West Lakes Partnership Executive Director Timothy Ayers.
