New Oviedo City Council member eyes future

While his family and friends stared eagerly at a computer screen awaiting the results of the Oviedo City Council election, now Councilman-elect Alan Ott was taking down his own campaign signs from around town. 

He received the news of his victory from a phone call he answered in the car, and got back to his own watch party around 7:30 p.m. after the polls closed at 7.

He wanted to remove all the campaign signs before Wednesday morning to help clear up his physical contributions to the election session. He also acknowledged that the race could have either gone to himself or opponent Darrell Lopez. “It was probably good that we were out doing that, rather than sitting here hitting refresh on the computer,” Ott said.

Ott won the Oviedo City Council Group 3 seat Tuesday night and is the first newly elected council member in three years. Winning roughly 57% of the votes, he will serve a two-year term once sworn in.

The watch party was held at Ott’s home in Oviedo, a small gathering of friends and family members. Mayor Megan Sladek was one of the attendees and said she’s excited for the future of working with the newcomer.

“I think he’s going to bring a really excellent level of communication ability to help us jell as a group,” Sladek said. 

Good communication may have been what won him the election, Ott said. While reflecting on his campaign, he said he knocked on many doors in the area, visiting houses and talking to residents about what’s important to them. Sladek agreed, saying listening is one of Ott’s strong suits.

With issues regarding infrastructure, traffic and transportation and other topics Ott addressed in a Q&A with OCN, he said it will take multiple people to regulate these issues, but he’s ready to get the conversation started.

“The thing I’m really looking forward to is to just have all the discussions,” he said. 

He briefly mentioned plans of working with the city’s budget to factor in unexpected costs, for example replacement of radios and other electronics with unpredictable lifespans in the police department. He stressed that since he is not under an executive position, he will need help from the rest of city council and staff to implement this.

Ott said he’s had multiple people come up to him with excitement before Election Day to thank him for running and say they were voting for him. He said that experience was very humbling for him and he feels a duty to not let his voters down, despite how challenging it is to govern with the greater good in mind while accommodating non-beneficiaries. 

“Some things are going to be good for some people and bad for other people and I want to open that envelope up and try to come up with ways that we can do all the things we need to do, that are the most fair for the most people,” Ott said. 

Police referendum fails

Oviedo’s second attempt at a bond referendum to pay for a new Public Safety Building that would serve as the city’s police headquarters failed. The new referendum requested $20 million to replace the current building that was built in 1990. It received 41.50% votes in favor and 58.50% against.

Editor’s note: OCN will have a more in depth report on this soon. Stay tuned.