Jacob Ogles
Orlando City Commissioner Tony Ortiz has switched his party registration from Republican to Democrat as he ponders a run for Orlando Mayor.
“Though my current role is nonpartisan, I’ve long been affiliated with the Republican Party,” Ortiz said in a statement to local media. “I once believed it stood for duty, accountability, individual freedom, and family values. But over time, that party has changed. And I can no longer stand by in silence as it turns its back on the very people I’ve sworn to protect.”
Ortiz has served on the Orlando City Council since 2008. During his time in office, the Orlando area has been among a small number of places in Florida to become more Democratic as the state trended Republican.
But Ortiz said he has been more upset by the shift in GOP politics against marginalized people.
“We’ve seen efforts to suppress voting rights, especially in communities of color,” he said.
“We’ve seen attacks on Medicaid expansion and the erosion of social safety nets that support families with disabilities, seniors, and the working poor. We’ve seen political theater used to target the LGBTQ+ community, punish public school teachers, and erase inclusive history from classrooms. These are not abstract issues to me. I have an elderly mother. I have loved ones living with disabilities.”
He said that creates problems for his constituents that run deep.
“I represent a diverse, working-class district — Black, Latino, White, immigrant, LGBTQ+, young, old, and everything in between,” Ortiz said.
“These are people who rise every day and fight for a better life. But too often, they’ve become the targets or casualties of policies coming from a party that used to claim to stand for them. And let me say this clearly: the marginalization of Latinos and immigrants — many of whom have helped build this country and proudly served in its defense — is not leadership. It’s fear-based politics.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried welcomed Ortiz into the fold.
“I’m happy to welcome Commissioner Ortiz to the Florida Democratic Party,” Fried said. “As (Donald) Trump and the Republican Party move forward with their extreme anti-immigrant, anti-veteran, and anti-worker agenda, we’re building a coalition that can fight back — one that’s based on a dedication to people and to democracy. Anyone who’s willing to join us in that fight will be welcomed with open arms.”
4 comments
GeeWoo
May 6, 2025 at 6:32 pm
Tony, you’ve always been a Democrat, in this case a false Republican. We can tell by your absurd accusations.
Earl Pitts American
May 6, 2025 at 7:17 pm
America, this is unheard of …. a Sage Patriot converting to an Evil HomerTestical Dook 4 Brains Lefty????
For Shame,
Earl Pitts American
Earl Pitts American
May 6, 2025 at 7:44 pm
On to more important news from The Sage Earl Pitts American:
America its a sad day for Joe 8iden’s Dook 4 Brains Lefty supportors here in The USA.
Yes America 8iden’s & Iran’s Hoothies are now wanting to kiss Trump’s ring having stated that they are tired of bombing shipping traffic in The Red Sea.
DOOK-A-CRATS all over America are sad while SAGE PATRIOTS see the HOOTHIES backing down as a Sage Victory for 47, “Don “THE DONALD” TRUMP”.
Earl Pitts American
*QUEUE SUPER LOUD USA USA USA MAGA MAGA MAGA MUSIC TO FURTHER WHIZZ-OFF ALL DOOK 4 BRAINS LEFTYS AND DOOK-A-CRATS WORLD-WIDE*
Amaro Lionheart
May 6, 2025 at 10:25 pm
*OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN STATEMENT* -Amaro Lionheart, Candidate for Florida State Senate, District 16
Tony Ortiz has crossed a line that no man of honor should ever cross. He has betrayed the people of Orlando and surrendered to the most radical, dangerous, and morally bankrupt political machine in American history. He is no longer a public servant. He is a political coward seeking validation from the same party that has burned cities, crippled economies, and sold our sovereignty to foreign enemies and cartels.
Ortiz has joined the party of open borders. A party that allowed our country to be flooded with violent criminals, child traffickers, drug smugglers, and transnational terrorists. From MS-13 to Tren de Aragua, the blood-soaked Venezuelan death gang, our streets have been invaded and our families targeted. The Democrats opened the gates. Innocent Americans paid the price. Every race. Every neighborhood. Every city. The victims of this terror wave are not just statistics. They are our brothers, our sisters, our children.
Tony Ortiz now stands with that legacy. With the party that placed migrant children into the hands of predators. With the party that facilitated a child trafficking pipeline while lying to the public. With the party that allowed American citizens to be raped, robbed, murdered, and terrorized under the banner of compassion. There is nothing compassionate about criminal invasion. There is nothing just about chaos.
Where was Tony’s outrage when Barack Obama deported more immigrants than any president in history? Where was his voice when children were locked in cages like animals and families were ripped apart, by Obama? Where was his moral compass when Biden’s DHS allowed children to be delivered into the custody of rapists and traffickers? Tony Ortiz had nothing to say. Because his switch was never about truth. It was about power.
While Ortiz defected, Republicans stood strong. From Tallahassee to Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers defended our borders, protected our children, and stood between the American people and the foreign gangs Democrats let in. We commend them all. They had the courage to act while Tony sold out.
President Donald J. Trump is not anti-immigration. He is pro-American. He believes in law, order, and the sacred duty to protect our people. In just 100 days of his second term, President Trump has accomplished more for this nation than any president in modern memory. He secured our borders, backed our police, fought the cartels, and put the American worker first.
Tony Ortiz did the opposite. He abandoned the rule of law. He abandoned the Hispanic community. He abandoned Orlando. He now serves a party that promotes drag shows for kids, defunds the police, and weaponizes government against its own citizens. This is not leadership. This is surrender.
If you want Orlando to become the next Chiraq, vote Democrat. If you want to live in a city where lawless gangs and foreign criminals rule the streets, support Tony Ortiz. But if you want to live in a city that honors God, protects families, and defends freedom, vote Republican. From the school board to the White House. From city hall to Congress. The future of our country is on the ballot.
We stand for truth. We stand with the American people. We stand with President Trump.
FYI To the Liberal Propaganda Rag FloridaPolitics your headline might as well have read: “Tony Ortiz Defects to the Party of Border Chaos, Child Trafficking, and Terror.” A party that proudly embraces pro-pronoun ideology, pro-crime policies, lawfare as a weapon, and tyrannical control over every facet of American life. A party that is anti-family, anti-faith, anti-business, anti-Israel, anti-morality, and anti-God. And as if that weren’t enough, it is also the party of drag shows in elementary schools, permanent inflation, state-sponsored censorship, and men competing in women’s sports.