The election is nonpartisan, meaning the candidates run without party labels. Summersill embraces the bipartisanship. Her campaign launch event was hosted by prominent Republican couple, Diann and Lou Haubner, and she said her opponent in last year’s state house race, Rep. Doug Bankson, of District 39, which covers Winter Garden, attended.

“ I'm able to very comfortably, you know, speak to the great progressives in my party and also speak to the conservatives and the Republican Party and bring people together. They all have the same goals,” she told VoxPopuli in a recent phone interview.

“They all want to preserve our resources. They all want to preserve the integrity of the state of Florida. They all want to address the fact that we've got this massive growth that feels uncontrolled right now, and we all just need to come together and make sure that we can accomplish these goals," she said.

If elected, Summersill would succeed Christine Moore, currently campaigning to become Apopka’s mayor. Summersill pledged specifically to meet with city of Ocoee officials to ensure the city, currently celebrating its centennial, was represented at the county level — something officials often grumbled did not occur with Moore.

“It’s a great city. It’s a great location if you want to be away from [downtown] but you do want to have that connection,” Summersill said. “I want to make sure that they have what they need.”

Concern about overdevelopment

Summersill said she was motivated to run for the county commission by what she sees as indiscriminate development in Apopka that is encroaching on land meant to remain rural and causing flooding in areas that never used to flood. She describes herself as “a generational Floridian” whose family has called Northwest Orange County home for well … generations. “I am extremely connected to this area, and I really have this innate desire to … it’s an instinct to protect it,” she said.

She recalled a developer presenting a project at the county commission for Tangerine, a “Census-designated place” in the northwest part of District 2, with about 3,900 residents that dates to the 1870s.  

“Tangerine has an ordinance in place to help maintain their status as a rural area,” Summersill said. “The developer thought he could buy this particular property and cluster the homes together in order to try to stay in line with the existing ordinance. However it was obvious he was not going to be in compliance. He needed an amendment. And I noticed that the person who defended Tangerine was actually District 5 [Commissioner] Dr. Kelly Semrad, who said, Our job isn't to ensure your profit margins. Our job is to e nsure the integrity of the residents that live there and their ability to maintain something that they have fought so hard for. The person who represents District 2 voted for the development. So that was a huge disappointment.”

Flooding has also become problematic, bringing with it concerns about wildlife and mold, Summersill said. She pointed to an area around Clear Water Lake where she said lake levels have risen to the point where water has submerged property lines in new neighborhoods built around the lake. Reporting from WKMG shows swamped playgrounds and yards.

“One person at a city council meeting said Listen, I’m afraid to let my grandkids go out in the back because I feel like there’s gonna be an alligator at my back door. And technically he’s correct. It’s definitely going to happen," Summersill said. "So there’s been some serious flooding … and these guys weren’t flooding prior to the construction on the other side of that lake.”

Another resident told Summersill that after the asphalt was laid for a parking lot across the street from her home, her property began to flood. Summersill said the woman was concerned about mold in her home.

Summersill also worries about how “willy-nilly development” could impact the hunting, fishing and Florida’s beaches that attract people to visit and relocate.

“All of that can be in danger if we don’t get a realistic view on how to have proper growth,” she said. “The environmental impact is massive and we're just, we're not considering the consequences of our actions.”

“No” sayer  

A graduate of Rollins College and Florida A&M College of Law, Summersill, who grew up in a physically abusive home before being adopted by her grandmother, worked as an investigator and a forensic interviewer with the Department of Children and Families (DCF). She's also worked with the Child Protection Team that evaluates child-abuse allegations in partnership with DCF and sheriff’s offices in Orange and Osceola counties and both counties' Children’s Legal Services.

In addition, she's a guardian ad litem — someone appointed by the court to look after a child’s best interests — and a certified mediator for the county, circuit and family courts.

What she means to say is, as an attorney, she’s gotten quite comfortable standing her ground and saying No.

“I deal with very aggressive individuals that really try to use intimidation; they try to use their statuses; they try to use whatever resources they have in order to bully individuals into acquiescing to a decision that they don't feel comfortable with,” she explained.

She added that individuals who attempt that with Northwest Orange County would be met with a “more assertive stance if necessary.”