The runoff election for Orlando's District 3 city council seat is drawing big money and a who's who of local Democrats lining up behind either Roger Chapin or Mira Tanna, who were separated by just 14 votes two weeks ago.
The massive interest in the race is part of the battle of the old guard vs. the new guard in the party, as moderates and progressives jockey for position in preparation for longtime Mayor Buddy Dyer leaving office next year.
On one side, Chapin has lined up endorsements from Dyer, retiring commissioner Robert Stuart, Orange County Sheriff John Mina, unions representing police and firefighters, as well as two other candidates for the seat who didn't make the runoff.
Tanna, meanwhile, has backing from Rep. Anna Eskamani, so far the lone candidate to succeed Dyer as Orlando mayor in 2027, as well as U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, State Attorney Monique Worrell and a slew of other elected progressives and organizations.
Voters are likely to see a lot of the two campaigns in the coming weeks, as the candidates and their teams have fanned out in neighborhoods like College Park, Audubon Park, Baldwin Park and Rosemont.
The race is officially nonpartisan. More than 41% of District 3 voters are registered Democrats, while 29% are Republicans and 28% are non-party affiliated.
Tanna's door-knocking campaign has been bolstered by volunteers with the Orange County Young Democrats, as well as others affiliated with young progressive stars Eskamani and Frost.
Tanna, who works as Orlando's grants manager, said she's telling voters her background in City Hall and as a civil rights advocate marks a distinct difference from Chapin, a longtime executive at Mears Transportation who is the son of former Orange County mayor Linda Chapin.
"I think people understand there's a clear choice between someone who has worked for 30 years to open the doors of government to big business and somebody who has worked for 30 years for residents," she said.
Chapin has contended his experience on crucial boards like governing the Orlando Utilities Commission and reviewing developments on the Municipal Planning Board will have him ready to work right away.
He said he's asking voters to "please consider my experience and my ability to hit job running on day 1."
But his professional career and his two-year tenure on OUC's board have come under fire in advertisements in recent days.
One mailer, sent this week by a group called Thriving Together, LLC shows Tanna with local Democratic officials stating she was "fighting for us," while chiding Chapin as a "lobbyist and corporate insider fighting for them."
Chapin, who was a vice president at Mears Transportation for 20 years, was a registered lobbyist for the company's business at Orlando International Airport. Now he runs his own communications company, for which he said Mears is his only client.
The ad and another by a climate group called genCleo also ding Chapin for voting to raise utility rates, as he supported OUC's controversial rate overhaul last year. Chapin countered that rates are down 9% over his tenure and that he voted four times to lower rates, adding he's proud of his time on the board.
He said his candidacy is boosted by endorsements from former rivals Chris Durant and Kimberly Kiss, the third- and fourth-place finishers in the Nov. 4 general election.
They have been canvassing with him regularly, he said, and have appeared in mail and social media ads. Durant was paid $1,500, campaign reports show.
"I do think it will help because they're actively working, and I think it will help because Chris made such an impression on the campaign trail," he said.
In the first two weeks of November, both candidates in the runoff brought in large sums of money to power their campaigns. Chapin raised about $40,000 and Tanna about $20,000.
Including carryover from the lead-up to the November election, Chapin has about $85,000 left to spend. In total, he's raised about $260,000 to Tanna's $84,000.
Early voting in the race is from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7 at the elections office on Kaley Street. Election Day is Tuesday, Dec. 9.