EATONVILLE, Fla. – The Town of Eatonville is looking for a new mayor and two new council members.
Early voting is now open for Eatonville’s town council elections and runs through Friday, with Election Day on Saturday, March 7. You can check your voting status and find your polling precinct through the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website.
Eatonville has four council seats, and three are up for election. You can find all the candidates on the Eatonville town website.
Mayor Angie Gardner is stepping down after four years as mayor and has filed to run for the new District 7 seat on the Orange County Commission.
Voters in the oldest continuously incorporated town founded by African-Americans will decide on Gardner’s replacement.
News 6’s Christie Zizo spoke to each candidate about their top concerns for Eatonville, what they thought about the sale of the Hungerford property to Dr. Phillips and how the current mayor handled it, and what they think Eatonville needs to thrive in the future.
Below is our interview with candidate Ruthi Critton.
You can find the full interviews for the other candidates by clicking on the names below.
Ruth “Ruthi” Critton
[WATCH: Full interview with the candidate]
NEWS 6: So tell us a bit about your background. How long have you lived in Eatonville? What do you do for a living? What are your favorite places?
RUTHI CRITTON:
"Awesome. Let’s start with background. I am a fifth-generation Eatonville resident. My family has been in the town since its incorporation. I am actually also a descendant of one of the more notable founders, Mr. Joseph Clark. He is my great-uncle. And so I have just been here since I was born. My family home is here. My parents raised me here. I left and went off to school, of course. And then I move right back to the Eatonville area. I spent some time rebelling against parental support, thinking I could do it on my own for a little while there. So I stayed fairly close in the neighboring communities of the town of Eatonville, but I’ve always been here and I’ve been home. I’m currently raising the sixth generation here in Eatonville, so I’m extremely proud about that family legacy.
“Some of my favorite places in Eatonville - I’ll start with the number one, the community pool. We had that as a kid when I was growing up. We spent a lot of summers down there. A lot of us learned how to swim and learned lifeguarding down there and then it was closed for a little while and then All Seasons Pools came over and did a revamp for us. They did a big grand opening about two years ago. I had to move all the kids out of the way so that I could dive in first because the place is so sentimental to me. Definitely one of my favorite places and we’ve just been here for so long so Eatonville is and always will be home."
NEWS 6: What is your experience in working with Eatonville’s government?
CRITTON: So I have never held an elected position. I got active about six years ago. One of our former mayors was very adamant about involving the youth. And he would come down to my door every council meeting Tuesday and invite and encourage me and my siblings to come out to a meeting just to get involved, to understand what was happening, to be able to advocate for ourselves and for our neighbors. So my introduction starts there. Shortly after, attending council meetings, the clerk made it known that there were some board positions that were open that the town wanted to fill.
“So my first appointment was to the Board of Adjustments. I served there very shortly before I put my hat in the race to run for a council seat. Four years ago, in our municipal election, I ran for town council seat number two against the incumbent Mr. Theo Washington, who currently serves as our vice mayor and I lost by five votes. So elections in Eatonville, of course, are very significant and small percentages can make a big difference, but it didn’t stop there.
“I was actually pregnant with my son when we ran the last time, so very shortly after losing the election, I gave birth to my son, and they didn’t let me wait long at all. They came knocking; they said ‘Hey Ruth, we saw how involved and engaged you were and how passionate you were about your community service’ and so they appointed me to the Community Redevelopment Agency, and I’ve been serving on that board about three and a half years now. And I also just stay as active as possible.
“Again, that advocacy is a big part of what I like about going to the meetings. So I’m in every council meeting I can afford to be in. I’m at every stakeholder meeting I could afford to be in, in addition to that service on that agency. That, for the most part, is the general gist of my activity with the town government.”
NEWS 6: What makes you qualified to be mayor?
CRITTON: “That’s a good question. I’ve been getting that one a lot lately. A lot of people have asked if I truly feel that I’m qualified to run for this seat simply because I have not held any other elected positions in the town. And again, it’s a very valid question.
“I like to lean on our charter. Our charter mandates that all qualified candidates, regardless of seat, are registered voters as well as community residents. So we have a requirement of 12 months or more residency. Those things in their very simplest form do, in fact, qualify me to run for this position. I would dare take it a step further and say that my background in different capacities of leadership also assist me in being qualified. For example, I’ve worked in banking and I’ve held leadership positions in those spaces. I was on team leadership councils as a young individual, junior council involvement, things of those nature that kind of give you that insight as to how things run and what to expect. But I think the most important experience would be just sitting in and listening to council meetings. Again, self-governance is a big thing in the town of Eatonville. So we know we have what we have here to choose from. So being able to sit in, to listen, to engage with the members of the council has been effective as well. Just kind of understanding from a visual perspective what Robert’s rules of order look like when you’re in town government, what resolutions are, what procurement is, those types of things I have learned from just sitting right there next to them in all these meetings.”
NEWS 6: What do you think the biggest issues in Eatonville are and how would you solve them?
CRITTON: "I personally think that, and I’ll give you two, the two that come to mind first are home ownership and finances. So I’ll start with home ownership because we know that our homestead numbers are a little lower than what we’d like to see in the town of Eatonville, which was established on home ownership. So for me, that’s extremely important.
“I know home ownership... Assist with neighborhood stabilization, which is a big part of our platform and something that we’re very adamant about attacking when we get into office. And I just believe strongly that when you have people in your community that own homes, that have stake in the community, you can kind of gauge more community feel. You can kind figure out who’s really invested in the committee, who’s here for the long haul, things of that nature.
“Just to take it a step further, when I moved back to Eatonville, I purchased my family home. And when I started paying those taxes and when I start paying that homeowner insurance, those things really brought value to what it meant to be a part of this community. So I think that that is a big part of what Eatonville faces as far as things that we should be working on and things that should be looking towards. We know we have a huge renter community here. So we’re welcoming of those residents. But we want to make sure that we’re providing resources to the residents that are interested in home ownership. And I think those things will help level us out, help stabilize us.
“I also believe that finances are a big part of some of the struggles that Eatonville continues to face. We’re a really small town, about 2,800 to 3,000 residents. And we know that taxes play a big role in our community dependency. We are heavily dependent upon tax dollars. We do have other resources and revenues that come through, but a big portion of what we depend on is tax-based. So being able to responsibly manage those finances, being good stewards of those finances. I think that that puts us in position to kind of tackle some of those other issues that we find ourselves. Not being able to handle head-on because finances are an issue. I sat through budget workshops. I watched as the council and department heads worked tirelessly to find ways to spend money wisely, to save money, to substitute with resources and alternatives. So I strongly believe that tackling the financial burden that Eatonville has will put us in the successful and sustainable.”
NEWS 6: How did you feel about the sale of the Hungerford property, speaking of finances and trying to bring Eatonville forward? And also, how did you feel about the way the mayor handled it?
CRITTON: "Big question there and a lot of big feelings surrounding Hungerford. Again, fifth generation resident, every generation in my family back to Joseph Clark has a Hungerford story. So I am very passionate about the Hungerford property and what its development means to the community. What I’ve found myself having to do is to almost step outside of my feelings to address the facts. Of course, I think almost every resident in the Town of Eatonville would agree that ownership over management is definitely the desire of the community and those are some avenues that were explored by both this administration with Mayor Gardner as well as former administrations.
“So I definitely am glad that that something is being done and we can look in retrospect often if we’d like to see what could have been done differently. Or different routes or avenues that we could have taken, but I’m very much a solution-based individual. If you give me lemons, I’ll go looking for water and sugar to make lemonade. So while I might be up in arms about the town not owning the property specifically, I’m a very, very optimistic about what that partnership with Dr. Phillips looks like. And again, those are some of the meetings that I’ve been sitting in. I have heard... The pictures from Dr. Phillips, I have heard what they have to say about what their involvement in the town of Eatonville looks like, and I am actually very appreciative of the fact that they are willing to be there every step of the way, that they’re not just going to buy it and disappear and that they want to compose an advisory panel that will incorporate the voices of Eatonville, that will engage the people so that we have opportunity to see what happens on that property.
“I’ve gone to those meetings and advocated for residents who might want things that are different than myself. And again, perspective has been key for that. So being able to kind of bring all those components together makes me feel very optimistic about the property and willing to move forward.
“As it relates to Mayor Gardner’s decision and her method by which she was able to accomplish this, I almost want to applaud her. I think it takes a lot of courage to go against what you might feel your residents might not necessarily want. So I think when you’re in leadership, there will be very, very tough decisions. And I would dare say that this is an opportunity for the community to really come to the table and express those feelings, right? We know that there was not an exponential amount of community engagement in some of meeting so hearing some of the expressions about the property, about the sale of the property about the way things transpired is almost actually very hopeful. It’s one of those things where you’re like, oh wait, someone said something, let’s listen. So I think it’s an opportunity more than anything and I’m feeling very optimistic, cautiously optimistic, but very optimistic about the direction we’re going in as a community.”
NEWS 6: How do you feel about the recent vote to reign in the Mayor’s powers in response to her tactics with regard to the Hungerford property, and will that make a difference if you are elected?
CRITTON: Again, that’s one of those things where I step outside of feelings to just kind of look at some of the facts. I do believe strongly in the power of democracy. I do believe in collaboration. I know that that council has had a number of conversations about how they feel about that property and how things were done. I personally believe that collaboration will guide us forward. I believe that finding ways to support the Mayor. We are better unified than we are divided. I respect all of their opinions. Again, I have sat next to these individuals, these specific individuals for at least two to six years. And so again, all the conversations that have been had as it relates to collaborating they’ve been quite widespread.
“I just strongly believe that if we stick together, that we’re a lot better off. And I know that there were some big feelings about the way that things went. And I can imagine that the mayor had some feelings of her own. And I would just say that if I was in her position, I would be begging and pleading for support from my council. It takes me back to perspective. There might be things that one individual may want or want to support, that I might not. So being able to have those conversations, being able collaborate, gives that perspective to say, hey, this might actually be something good for this community versus just thinking about what Ruth might want to do. So I definitely support the collaboration and I understand the big feelings behind it all. I think Hungerford is very special to all of us as Eatonvillians. And so you can imagine that there are some feelings on either side of it all.”
NEWS 6: What would you have preferred to see happen with the property? I don’t know if you’re willing to go into those hypotheticals now.
CRITTON: “I prefer productivity. I prefer tangible things that the community can say, we did something. We didn’t just talk about it. I heard that a lot during the Hungerford talks, that there have been conversation after conversation after conversation. This is something that is 15 plus years in the making. I prefer the ability to do. We can talk all day about what we would like and what we could do, but I just, I prefer action. I think that the community would respect action, being able to see, being able touch, being able feel or smell or hear what that action actually looks like. Being able to put those things into place and to physically see something.”
NEWS 6: But if money’s no object, you’re the master of Eatonville, what would you have put on that property?
CRITTON: “That property deserves some homage. So definitely something educational-related on that property. We know what that property represents. So I would love to see something of that capacity on that property. We also know the needs of the community. We know housing is a need. We know finance and revenues are a need, so something that supports those as well. You know, your commercial development, which is something that we want to have in the town of Eatonville. Those types of things that not only accommodate the need of Eatonville, but the desires of Eatonville are the things that I would like to see on there.”
NEWS 6: So as mayor, you’re going to have to advocate for Eatonville to, you know, politicians, to business leaders, to community leaders, lobbyists, that sort of thing. How would you market or advocate for Eatonville to those groups of people? Like, what would you say to them to get them to invest in Eatonville?
CRITTON: Well, I think that starts with relationships, right? Our friends and our friends’ friends that are in different places that understand the passion behind that. I think Eatonville’s story does enough, honestly. If you talk about being the oldest Black incorporated municipality, that in itself is a marketing tool. If you talked about the African-American history that it represents, that in itself is a tool. If you talk about the self-sustainability that it represents, that, in itself, is a market tool.
“And there are resources and there are audiences and there arepools out there, some of which that I have tapped into through my experience in civic engagement that I would leverage to just bring those folks to Eatonville to invest. I am a FAMU alumni. And so again, I come from an atmosphere and an environment of what I like to proudly say is ‘Black Excellence.’ And so a lot of my counterparts and alumni friends and professional friends are in my Rolodex. So if I have a question about engineering or if I had a question about architecture or if I have question about pharmacy, if I question about business, I know that there is a huge pool of people that I can reach out to that I could tap in with.
“Another thing is in a lot of the engagement and appointments that we have in the town, training comes along with that, right? You go to your annual conferences for Florida redevelopment and you go to your Florida League of Cities. Trainings and whatnot and you meet so many people there from other cities that look like yours and that don’t look like Yours being able to connect and network with those people to see hey What did you guys do when you face this or hey, what? What methods or what avenues did you take to accomplish that having those resources allows for another form of marketing? Hey, can you help us out? Hey, Can you tell us what worked for you? Hey can we take what you guys did? Customize it to Eatonville, and still have that same level of productivity. I would heavily lean on those to market that investment into the town of Eatonville.”
NEWS 6: What do you think is needed for Eatonville to thrive in the future?
CRITTON: “Unity within the community. A lot of the topics that are discussed at Town Hall could potentially be controversial. But finding ways to advocate for all the voices, again, perspective, I think, brings us together. And I think, again, we are better together than we are apart. So being able to foster a sense of unity, I think, is the foundation of pushing us forward. It’s the foundation of the next 138 years of Eatonville. I think that that is. The best way to go. That and transparency, being able to say things and mean them and support them. Those things coupled with unity, I think, are the direction that I would go if I were me.”
NEWS 6: Final thoughts, anything else you want to say?
CRITTON: "I love Eatonville so much, I’m so proud of it, and I have such high hopes for it."