Democratic voters in Osceola County Commission District 3, which covers a large portion of Poinciana, a bevy of neighborhoods off of Pleasant Hill Road, and a section of the city of Kissimmee, will determine their party’s November candidate in the Aug. 20 primary.
Incumbent Brandon Arrington is seeking a fifth term in the district. He has previously served as the Chairman of the Osceola Board of County Commissioners in 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2022. He serves on the Orlando Economic Partnership Board of Directors, MetroPlan Orlando Board, and is Chairman of the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) Governing Board. He is also the Executive Director of Osceola Arts.
Both his wife Kristen (state House of Representatives) and mother (Mary Jane, former commissioner, current Supervisor of Elections) are also local elected officials.
“I want to see Expressway improvements in District 3 completed, as well as continuing development in NeoCity and ensure the Osceola Prosper program continues,” said Arrington.
He also stated that consistency in completing infrastructure and emphasis on education would be his top priorities if reelected for another term.
Democratic challenger Debbie Rambis is the spouse of a career military member, a 32-year federal government employee, and director of Compassionate Friends, a nationwide nonprofit for parents who have lost a child at any age from any cause. She was also a leader of Say No to Hydro neighborhood group in the fight to prevent Panacea Global Energy, the U.S. entity of CMG Clean Tech, from building a hydrogen plant on a portion of the Mac Overstreet See District 3 Candidates, Page 7.
Property Community Park off of Pleasant Hill Road.
“I am running to make a positive change to the trajectory in District 3. We have transportation improvements happening everywhere except in District 3, which generates over 60 percent of the impact fees in the county,” said Rambis.
“My priorities would be to stop the effort to run a toll road to bisect the district. What we need is a connection through Southport to the Turnpike. We also need more responsive public transportation. There are only two Lynx express buses out to the west where many people from the district work. They run at 4:30 and 6:30 am and they are packed,” said Rambis.
Whoever emerges as the primary winner will face off against Republican FiorD’Aliza Frias and Eric Montgomery of the Libertarian Party of Florida in the Nov. 5 general election.
Information on all of the candidates in the upcoming elections, including financial information and donors, can be found on the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections website at https://www.voteosceola.gov/ Current-Candidates.
