Gabrielle Russon
Longtime Orlando City Council member Jim Gray has filed to run for re-election in District 1.
To retain his seat, Gray must face challenger Tom Keen, who is running for the Orlando City Council after he lost his bid for re-election in House District 35.
Gray and Keen previously ran against each other for the City Council in 2017, when Gray captured 53% of the vote in a three-way race.
Ahead of their rematch, Gray argued that he has the experience to lead District 1, home to Lake Nona, which is the fastest-growing part of Orlando.
“There’s still more work to be done,” said Gray, who was first elected to the nonpartisan seat in 2012. “My main role is to kind of be an advocate for the area, and that’s why I enjoy what I do, and I want to keep doing it because I think we’ve had some really good success.”
Gray said one of his biggest accomplishments has been pushing more funding for parks and advocating for Mayor Buddy Dyer to create a park impact fee in recent years. Before that, the city had no dedicated park funding source, so the city had to pull from general funds or elsewhere, Gray said.
Fast forward to today, Lake Nona is in the process of building three regional parks with amenities, including a pickleball court and a skate park, that Gray said will make a big difference for families.
Seeing those projects get finished is one of the reasons why Gray is seeking re-election.
“I enjoy helping people,” said Gray, 67, who works as the Orlando Managing Director for CBRE, a commercial real estate services and investment firm.
“I challenge people and ask people to check with people at the city and check with the staff and say, ‘Hey, does Gray do a good job? Is he prepared for Council meetings? Does he fight for his constituents?’ And I ask people to ask their HOA leaders and say, ‘What kind of job has Jim done for us?’ And I stand by that record.”
According to his campaign, Gray has picked up endorsements from several District 1 neighborhood leaders: Carly Daly, Vista Lakes HOA President; Deb Moskowitz, former North Lake Park HOA President; Gary Clarke of East Park; Gene Thatcher, former head of Laureate Park Neighborhood Watch; Wayne Alleyne, President of Lake Nona Rotary and member of the Chamber of Commerce; and Tom Rose, former President of the Village Walk Neighborhood Association.
