ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County’s mid-decennial redistricting advisory committee met on March 6 for the first time since the county formed the panel in January.
The county established the committee after the November 2024 election, when voters approved a charter amendment to expand the number of commission districts from six to eight.
According to the county, the redistricting is to ensure “fair and equal representation.”
The process will establish new boundaries and incorporate two additional districts, which means there will be a nine-member board of commissioners — eight commissioners and the county mayor.
“Maybe there are residents who feel that they’re not getting their fair share of representation, but that more has to do with who you elect because whether you have 8, 10, 12 or 20, it’s all about the person you elect to represent and be there for your needs that you have in your community,” District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe said.
The advisory committee will be responsible for:
- Holding public meetings to gather community input
- Reviewing census data
- Proposing the boundaries for two new commission districts and recommending adjustments to existing districts
- Submitting a nonbinding recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for review in September 2025
The mayor and county commissioners nominated the committee members, who include:
Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings
- Hector “Tico” Perez, co-chair
- Camille Evans, co-chair
- Coy Jones
District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson
- Erica Jackson
- Bobby Olszewski
District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore
- Joe Kilsheimer
- Angel de la Portilla
District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe
- Mark Arias
- Tom Callan
District 4 Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero
- Rishi Bagga
- David Washington
District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad
- Gordon Spears
- James Auffant
District 6 Commissioner Michael Scott
- Alejandro Pezzini
- Jason Henry
Thursday's meeting was one of 19 the committee will hold.
“This meeting was really just establishing our policies and our protocols. Making certain that the meetings run the way we want them to because this is such a complex process, and rules and procedures are very important,” said Redistricting Committee Co-Chair Tico Perez. “You know, how long is someone going to speak? How do you submit a map? What do you do? How do you vote on them?”
The committee also learned about relevant laws and best practices to follow.
“And then, to absolutely make sure we know how to follow the law,” Perez explained. “The Sunshine law, and then all of the districting laws from federal, state and local.”
Their goal is to recommend equitable districts, something Orange County resident Trini Quiroz believes will desperately help the county she has called home for over 30 years.
“People will be able to have more access to their elected officials and then the elected officials will know that’s exactly why they got elected, because there was a problem of overpopulation and hardly any services for many, many people,” Quiroz said. “You can’t have 200,000 plus people in one district and say that you serve them. That doesn’t happen.”
While a handful of people made public comments during Thursday's meeting, the committee hopes to see more public participation as the process plays out.
Learn more about the 2025 Orange County Redistricting Advisory Committee.