Winter Springs meets Monday to talk future of voting mayor

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly characterized Seminole County’s elections. Seminole County has at-large elections for the Seminole County Commission. 

The City of Winter Springs will hold a key vote Monday on the future role of the mayor. 

The Florida State Legislature’s Seminole County Legislative Delegation voted earlier this month to put a referendum on the ballot in 2026 to give the mayor a vote, and eventually remove one city commissioner. That means, if the bill makes it through the Florida Legislature and is signed by the governor, Winter Springs voters will have to choose whether to give the mayor more power next year. 

The Winter Springs City Commission is trying to head that off, by putting its own referendum on the ballot for 2026. Under the City Commission proposal, which you can read here, the mayor’s voter-elected position would be eliminated starting in 2030, and a mayor would be appointed by the commission – effectively giving the mayor a vote. 

All five city commissioners would keep their positions and the ability to vote, and would select a mayor and deputy mayor from the ranks. 

“This transition shall not affect the term of any elected official of the City of Winter Springs serving at the time of its passage,” the Winter Springs proposed referendum states. “The individual elected as mayor on the effective date of this amendment on November 3, 2026 shall exercise all powers and perform all duties of the office as provided in the prior version of this Charter until the expiration of the term for which he or she was elected.”

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In addition to the change in the mayor’s role, the referendum includes a change in how city commissioners are chosen. Currently, all Winter Springs residents vote for all open City Commissioners on the ballot; the only requirement is that candidates must live in their districts. Under the change, City Commissioners would be elected only by residents living in their own districts, what’s known as “single member” districts. 

This is how elections work in larger cities, like Orlando. 

The proposal to give the mayor more power from an act of the Florida Legislature surfaced in October and, according to the metadata on the document, it was drafted by rumored 2026 Winter Springs mayoral candidate Jesse Phillips. Phillips denied writing the bill, but said he “shared ideas” with Rep. Rachel Plakon’s office.

The original draft called for the Florida Legislature to make changes to the charter directly, without calling for a voter referendum. The citizen referendum requirement was a late addition, seemingly added to make it more palatable to other members of the Seminole County legislative delegation. 

Out of the five members of the Seminole County delegation, only Rep. David Smith, who lives in Winter Springs, voted against it. He also vowed to fight the measure during the 2026 session. 

Meeting planned to talk Winter Springs townhomes

The developer of an 85-home townhome project in the Winter Springs Town Center will hold a community meeting Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held at The Foundry Church in Classroom 2 at 1491 E. State Road 434, Winter Springs.

The townhomes are part of The Blake commons project, located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Michael Blake Boulevard and S.R. 434. 

The project is currently scheduled to come before the Winter Springs Planning & Zoning Board Dec. 4, and would come to the Winter Springs City Commission for final approval Jan. 12, 2026. 

Check here for more about the community meeting. The development became a hot-button political issue in Winter Springs after the developer argued they already had paid fees to cut down trees on the property; while the Winter Springs City Commission initially agreed with the developer, commissioners backpedaled and ultimately required the developer to pay a $227,000 fee.