Candidate Profile: George Oliver III

George Oliver III believes that cities like Apopka and Ocoee have not gotten enough attention from Orange County and he wants to change that. That’s why, the 22-year Ocoee resident and  City Commissioner is running for the open District 2 seat on the Orange County Commission.

“We just have not seemed to have gotten the support that we needed. I would like to be an advocate for the five cities in District 2,” he told VoxPopuli in January when he filed to run in the nonpartisan Aug. 18 election.

District 2 now encompasses Ocoee, Apopka, Tangerine, Zellwood and the census-designated areas Clarcona, Lockhart and Paradise Heights.

A U.S. Navy veteran and former substitute teacher, Oliver faces Wes Hodge, chief of staff to Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez-Semrad; private practice attorney Marsha Summersill of Apopka; and former State Rep. Kamia Brown and Orange County Sheriff Lt. Mike Crabb, both of Ocoee. County Commissioners serve four-year terms and earn $127,320 annually.

Oliver has served as a commissioner in Ocoee since 2018 — save for 2023 when he resigned to run unsuccessfully for mayor. He was re-elected in a 2024 special election. He is the first Black commissioner elected in Ocoee, and he was instrumental in getting the city to issue an apology and a proclamation in 2020, marking the 100-year anniversary of the city’s 1920 Election Day Massacre. He also led the effort to install directional signs for the African American Hallowed Ground Cemetery and started the Ocoee Youth Council “to help cultivate future leaders.”

Oliver’s term on the city commission has not been without controversy. He violated campaign finance laws in soliciting donations from city hall during his mayoral campaign. He campaigned against three city charter amendments by falsely claiming they were part of Project 2025. (Following questions and coverage from VoxPopuli, he retracted the statement.)

Oliver is married and has six adult sons and six grandchildren.

Oliver did not submit responses to the questionnaire from the News Collaborative of Central Florida or sit for an interview with VoxPopuli for this voting guide.