By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Updated: Aug. 15, 2012 2:20 p.m.

Osceola County has a new education representative on the school board, with another school board race and the two Kissimmee City Commission races heading to run-offs in November’s general election, after Tuesday’s primary election.
Realtor Tim Weisheyer won the Osceola County School Board District 3 seat, which represents Poinciana, over incumbent Cindy Hartig by 61.66 percent of the votes versus Hartig with 38.34 percent of the vote.
“I am both honored and humbled. I ran a clean campaign with a clear message with the focus on education in Osceola County,” Weisheyer said. “We were confident we were going to win. I look forward to working in this capacity.”
Weisheyer hopes the two new members on the School Board will help bring stability to the dais, adding he wished Hartig well “in all her endeavors.”
Attorney Kelvin Soto (43 percent) and insurance agent John Ramirez (31 percent) are headed to a Nov. 6 run-off for the Osceola County School Board District 2 seat currently held by Julius Melendez, who was running in the Republican U.S. House of Representatives District 9.

Ramirez, whose birthday is Election Day this year, said visibility in the community is key to victory in November.

"It feels good to have made it to the general election. That was the first obstacle," he said, adding he and Soto ran clean campaigns, "a reflection on what we bring to the table."

Soto thanked his supporters and said he's looking ahead to the run-off against Ramirez.

"I look forward to working with the community in improving our children's education and I ask for the community's support for this coming November's election," he said. "By bringing my education background, my professional experience as a lawyer and mediator in this county, I am certain that the school board will work in collaboration to advance the use of technology in the classrooms, meet the academic performance goals for our students and give the teachers the recognition that they deserve."

Raul S. Banasco, a career corrections and public safety officer, took 25.8 percent of the vote.

Kissimmee commissioners
Commercial property appraiser Dave Scherer (34 percent) will face off against realtor Jose A. Alvarez (24 percent) for Kissimmee City Commission seat 1 in November’s general election as none of the opponents earned the required 50 percent plus one vote to take the race singlehandedly.
“I know it’s going to be another hard race to run but I’m prepared for that,” Scherer said. “I was hoping not to (go to a run-off) but based on the statistics of a four-person race, the chance was really slim.”
Local businesswoman Debra L. Rosado (23 percent) and law student Robert Secrest (19 percent) were the other two opponents in the race.
Mike DeLong, who oversees the Kissimmee Area Ministerial Association, with 33 percent, faces a run-off against businesswoman Sara Shaw (21 percent) for the Kissimmee City Commission Seat 3 in the Nov. 6 general election.
“I’m happy, thrilled and ready to move forward. I attribute all this to the great supporters I had in this race,” DeLong said. “I’m humbled to be here.”
Shaw was happy with the outcome of the race.
“I’m very excited about it. I put in a lot of time and effort. I was working on a shoestring budget,” she said, adding she’ll be switching gears to focus on running against DeLong in November. “He’s a great guy and a caring father. He would do a great job too.”
DeLong is looking forward to continuing the race against Shaw.
“Sara’s great. She loves the community and has great roots here,” he said. “The good news is we’ll get a great city commissioner no matter what.”
Up-and-coming private investigator Jaime Matos (16 percent), former corrections officer Hector Rodriguez (13 percent), and community activists Druvonda Woods (11 percent) and Carmelo E. Garcia (5 percent) were the other opponents in the race.
Mayor Jim Swan ran unopposed and will retain his seat.
Kissimmee residents also approved two ordinances in the primary.
Ordinance 2825, which passed by 75 percent of the vote, provides that each Kissimmee Utility Authority board of directors member be appointed by a super majority of 4-out-of-5 vote of the entire Kissimmee City Commission.
Shaw was instrumental in putting the ordinance on the ballot.
“I am ecstatic. I feel like I won twice and the people of Kissimmee won too,” she said. “The power company needs to go back into the people’s hands rather than having closed door deals.”
Additionally, ordinance 2826 passed by 94.5 percent of the vote, which allows the Kissimmee city manager to reside inside Osceola County rather than within the city of Kissimmee.
Voter turnout
Osceola County saw a 15.68 percent voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary election, with 23,786 ballots cast, including early voting and absentee ballots, out of 151,721 registered voters, according to the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Office.