Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who celebrated his 20th year at the helm of the City Beautiful this past February, will seek a sixth term this November.
On Monday, April 17, Dyer announced through a social media post that he will run for reelection this fall.
“Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of our campaign. We hope you’ll join us as we continue to work together for the benefit of everyone who calls our beloved City Beautiful home” said Dyer in a statement.
“Serving as your mayor and working with our Orlando community to move our city forward every single day has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. And I’m proud of all we have accomplished,” added Dyer, who assumed office on February 26, 2003.
Dyer was first elected during a special election and runoff vote to serve the rest of former mayor Glenda Hood’s term, who was appointed as the Secretary of State of Florida by Jeb Bush. In his first election, Dyer garnered 8,826 votes, while Pete Barr earned 6,033 votes and Tico Perez earned 4,316 votes. Dyer defeated Barr in a runoff election with 17,039 votes, or 57.33% of the 29,720 votes cast.
“But our work is not finished. We have big, shared plans to create more jobs, make housing more affordable, improve public safety, increase transportation accessibility, continue to promote smart and sustainable growth for the future, and fight for our values,” said Dyer in the social media post.
In 2019, Dyer earned his largest percentage victory to date, garnering 15,957 votes, or nearly 72% of all votes cast. He trounced challengers Samuel B. Ings and Aretha Simons, who cumulatively earned 6,270 votes or 28.21% of the vote. In 2015, Dyer earned 62.53% of the vote, or 13,953 votes, over Paul Paulson, who earned 7,383 votes (33.09%).
In 2008, Dyer earned the highest number of votes of any of his reelection bids, collecting 24,181 votes. At the time, that represented 60.4% of all votes cast. His challenger, Ken Mulvaney, earned 15,863 votes, which still represents the most votes of any challenger Dyer has faced in his 20-year tenure.