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With the March 11 Municipal Election approaching Tuesday, VoxPopuli reviewed the discretionary spending by the two District 4 candidates — incumbent Commissioner George Oliver III and his immediate predecessor, now challenger Ages Hart — during their most recent terms in office.
Ocoee commissioners each receive a city credit card. They also have access to an annual $10,000 discretionary budget that they can utilize to address community needs in both their districts and the city, to make donations to scholarships and to local organizations and schools. Commissioners also have a $6,000 travel/miscellaneous budget for attending conferences and to pay for their “City of Ocoee” logo-ed clothing.
In April 2023, following the mayoral election, District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen sought guidelines for discretionary spending after political mailers revealed Oliver’s high rate of credit-card spending. However, the matter never gained traction. Ocoee city officials said they have no authority to cap commissioners’ spending if it exceeds the budget limit nor can they dictate how funds are spent.
Oliver was re-elected District 4 commissioner in March 2024 after previously stepping down in January 2023 to unsuccessfully run for mayor with two years left in his four-year term. Hart served as interim commissioner for 11 months from April 2023 until the 2024 election. He opted last year not to run for the seat, but decided to challenge Oliver this time around because, as he said during Ocoee’s Political Forum, he was disappointed with Oliver’s time in office.
During the 11 months between March 19, 2024, and February 18, 2025, Oliver spent through his discretionary budget, with about a third of his budget directed to organizations outside of Ocoee, according to documents obtained by VoxPopuli through a public records request.
The majority of his funds — about 43 percent — went to a quarterly newsletter, which is designed and emailed and then also printed, folded and mailed to District 4 residents at a cost of $4,375.59.
In terms of donations, Oliver gave $750 to Standing Ovation, a dance school at the West Oaks Mall, and $1,000 to Ocoee High School. But financial documents also show that $3,400 in discretionary funds went to nonprofits, ministries and a fraternity based in Orlando and Mount Dora.
LANES, Inc. (Loving, Assisting, Nurturing, Educating and Supporting Teenaged Girls) received $1,000 as did No More Suffering in Silence Inc., both in Orlando. The Queen’s Table Ministry, also in Orlando, received $650. The Orlando Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Inc., a nonprofit related to the fraternity, received $550.
Mount Dora’s Bethel IFM Church received $200. The pastor there is Adrian Davis, husband to Democratic State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, who represents Ocoee.
Travel-wise, Oliver spent $4,855.40 to attend three conferences sponsored by the Florida League of Cities and National League of Cities, according to financial records. There are also $526.17 in travel expenses labeled “miscellaneous.”
Oliver charged $3,585.36 to his city card, mostly to cover hotel and food, but the charges also include $112 for a subscription to digital marketing company Mailchimp and $70 for the Ocoee company 4 The Kids Entertainment.
During his 11 months in office, Hart spent a little more than $3,000 out of his discretionary budget, according to financial records from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
The lion’s share of Hart’s discretionary spending went to Ocoee public schools and a handful of West Orange County organizations. He donated $950 to Ocoee High School — including $200 for the high school athletics department and the Parent Teacher Student Association. He gave $960 to Ocoee Elementary School for physical education equipment.
Hart gave $500 to Challenge 22, a Winter Garden-based organization to end veteran suicide and $400 to the Ocoee American Legion Post 109, which serves veterans at the Tom Ison Senior and Veteran Center. He contributed $375 to sponsor the Bluelight Gala, an annual fundraiser for the Central Florida Concerns of Police Survivors, which aids families of police officers killed in the line of duty.
Hart’s travel totalled $801.08, including $575 to register for a Florida League of Cities conference, $116.35 for city logo shirts and $143 in miscellaneous charges. He charged a total of $44.73 to his city credit card for parking and food while at the Florida League of Cities conference. He opted not to stay onsite for the conference, choosing to drive in each day from home, he told VoxPopuli when asked.
On Election Day, polling locations will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Districts 1 and 4 vote at the Jim Beech Recreation Center at 1820 A.D. Mims Road. District 2 votes at the Lakeshore Center at 125 N. Lakeshore Drive. District 3 votes at Ocoee Fire Station 39 at 2515 Maguire Road.
Mail-in ballots must be returned to the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on March 11.
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Money makes a campaign run, so VoxPopuli examined the campaign finance reports, available on Ocoee’s election page, for both Commissioner George Oliver III and challenger Ages Hart.
Records show that Hart raised $9,415 for his campaign while Oliver raised $6,009.94. Both candidates contributed generously to their own campaigns. Oliver put in $3,300 of his own funds while Hart contributed a total of $4,065.
Hart pulled in $3,405.06 more in contributions than Oliver, according to the latest financial report, dated March 6. In total, Hart has brought in $5,350 in donations compared to Oliver’s $2,709.94. Both candidates received about a third of their donations from people beyond Ocoee. (Hart received two $1,000 donations from organizations based in Tallahassee but working in Ocoee: Citizens for a Greater West Orange and the Police Benevolent Association).
Hart is coming into the final days ahead of the March 11 election with $1,384.22 left in his account for final-hour campaigning. Oliver’s account has a current balance of $453.36.
