Four winners who will serve their communities were crowned Tuesday:
County Commission: Viviana Janer earned a third term in her district 2 Osceola County Commission seat, winning a comfortable 73 percent of the vote over challenger and longtime Buenaventura Lakes resident and community activist Beulah Farquharson.
St. Cloud City Council: the Council learned Tuesday who would sit in two of its seats for the next four years.
Ken Gilbert won election to Seat 4 over Tom Lord, earning 53 percent of the vote. And, in Seat 5, Shawn Fletcher has earned election, winning 63 percent of the vote over Jeffrey Rivera.
"Thank you for your VOTES! SUPPORT! TRUST! I am here for you and the future of our Community," a message from Gilbert read on his Facebook campaign page.
“It was a long day, it started at 4:30 in the morning. We worked really hard (Tuesday) to secure this victory,” Fletcher said. “I’m looking forward to getting sworn in and making a positive difference in the community that supported me when I was growing up.
“I can’t wait to help this city with growth management. We need to back to the values and vision of the town we lived in when we were younger.”
School Board: In a race that became contentious in the community, the district 4 seat being vacated by Clarence Thacker was won by Heather Kahoun (8,434) by just a few hundred votes over challenger Will “Coach” Fonseca (7,912).
Referendums and amendment; sales tax extended: A county-wide referendum to extend a one-percent sales tax surtax through 2043 passed, with 57 percent voting to extend it. County voters passed that referendum in the 1990s; the surtax would end in 2025 without Tuesday’s vote.
Three statewide Constitutional amendments got majority support in Osceola County, but two (Amendment 1, improvements to homes for flood prevention not part of assessed value, 58%; Amendment 2, abolishing the state’s Charter Review Board, 53%) didn't gain the 60 percent needed to pass. Amendment 3 (additional homestead exemptions for certain first responder fields) received 65% of the local vote. Statewide, none of the three reached 60% of the vote to pass.
