Orange County swears in commissioners as community faces ongoing COVID-19 challenges

Commissioner: ‘We are problem solvers who will work tirelessly for a better tomorrow’

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Three Orange County commissioners were officially sworn in during an oath of office ceremony on Tuesday.

New member to the board this year is Commissioner Nicole Wilson, who represents District 1.

District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe and District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla were sworn in for their second terms.

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All three commissioners made a promise to better the Orange County community.

“We are problem solvers who will work tirelessly for a better tomorrow,” Wilson said.

Following the ceremony, Mayor Jerry Demings answered various questions surrounding the local economy after the county announced it collected more than $7.7 million in tourist tax in October, making the sixth straight month of increases, though revenue was down 69% compared to October of last year.

“For the last six months since April, each month, our tourist development tax receipts have gone up. Each one. So I believe in November we will see a bump again in our tourist development tax receipts,” Demings said.

Though the mayor did mention there is still a lot more work to do to bounce back financially from the coronavirus pandemic, such as creating new jobs and investing in community business, he believes 2021 is looking up for Orange County.

“The fact that in 2021 we have rebooked new conventions that will come here, that will help stimulate our local economy,” he said.


About the Author:

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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