Gabrielle Russon
A third candidate is entering the race for Orlando City Commission’s District 1 race.
Sunshine Linda-Marie Grund, who unsuccessfully ran for Orange County Supervisor of Elections last year, has filed to run for the city office.
“District 1 has been my home for more than a decade, and Orlando has shaped who I am since 2002,” Grund in a statement. “I owe this city so much. I’m running to give back — and to ensure our neighborhoods have the kind of people-first leadership they deserve.”
The District 1 race already includes incumbent Commissioner Jim Gray and challenger Tom Keen.
Grund is a Realtor managing Sweet Dreams Realty.
“Sunshine’s platform will be formally released in September, shaped by neighborhood input,” her campaign said in a press release. “Her previous platform — Safe, Smart, and Sustainable — remains a guiding vision. Until then, her focus is on qualifying through petition signatures.”
She placed second in a four-way race for the Supervisor’s race last year, winning 102,000 votes.
Her background includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida and a master’s in nonprofit management, also from UCF.
Grund shared her life story, where she said she was in foster care as a child and then enlisted in the Army National Guard before she aged out of the system.
Foster care has been an important issue for Grund, she said.
“Orlando gave me a chance at life,” Grund said in a statement. “I’m running to make sure every neighbor has that same opportunity — to be safe, heard, and supported.”
The race also includes Gray, who was first elected to City Commission in 2012, and Keen, a former Representative who won a Special Election in House District 35 before losing re-election last year.
The city government is being shaken up with longtime Mayor Buddy Dyer and Commissioner Robert Stuart saying they are not running for re-election.
