Candidate Profile: Rick Singh

Rick Singh was inspired to launch his first campaign for office by President Obama's win in 2008. Scheduling three breakfast meetings in the mornings "just to get to know people and learn the community," he won his election for Orange County Property and ran the office for eight years before losing a primary challenge in 2021 to Amy Mercado, the county’s current property appraiser.

Now after a five year hiatus, the realtor and U.S. Army veteran from Guyana who grew up in the Bronx, is back with a bid to become the next Clerk of Courts.

“I am the only candidate in this race that has military, private sector, and government experience. I have run a constitutional office in the past … and I hope to bring the same type of transformation to the office of Clerk of Court,” he said

Singh faces Roberta Walton Johnson, general counsel for the Clerk of Courts, and District 4 Orange County Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero in the Aug. 18 Democratic Primary. The winner will face the independent Terrell Thomas in the November general election. The overall winner will complete the term for Tiffany Clerk Russell who resigned the office, effective Sept. 1, to run for Orange County Mayor. Her term ends Jan. 2. 2029.

However, Singh, 63, filed a lawsuit to remove Cordero from the ballot, claiming that she did not file a letter resigning from the commission. While her term ends this year, there could potentially be an overlap of 28 days between the end of her commission term and the start of the Clerk of Courts term if she were elected. Florida law prohibits anyone from holding two elected positions at once. The case is pending.

The Property Appraiser’s Office under Singh won several awards, including a coveted international Stevie Award for exemplary customer service. But his tenure was not without some controversy: there were allegations of misuse of taxpayer funds, altering documents, sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Singh, married with two children, was ultimately cleared of criminal charges; though Mercado eventually settled the lawsuit the two accusers brought for $341,000 apiece.

Asked what he would tell voters today about the case, Singh said, “I would tell the voters that those allegations were rigorously investigated by almost every law enforcement agency, and I advocated for those investigations to come forth. The allegations were not founded, they were by disgruntled employees, and there was no merit to them. Having said that, I’m not looking to re-litigate eight or 10-year old allegations. I'm looking to move Orange County forward. I'm looking to be the best possible Clerk of Court that I humanly can be, and to advocate for the taxpayers of Orange County.”

Here, Singh answers questions from VoxPopuli and the News Collaborative of Central Florida.

If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them?

1. Water is sacred to me. I was born in a place with no running water and no electricity, so I understand firsthand how precious clean water is.

That experience shapes how I view Florida’s greatest environmental responsibility. Protecting our water resources is one of the most important challenges facing our state. As Florida continues to grow, we must preserve our lakes, springs, wetlands, and aquifers while investing in infrastructure that supports responsible development and long-term sustainability. Protecting water means protecting public health, economic stability, and future generations.

Florida must also balance technological growth with affordability for families and small businesses. While data centers and other advanced industries are part of Florida’s future, they should contribute their fair share to the infrastructure demands they create.

At the same time, Florida should continue expanding clean, reliable energy sources such as solar and other renewable technologies. A diversified energy strategy strengthens grid reliability, supports growth, and helps reduce long-term costs for consumers.

Innovation, transparency, and strong consumer protection must remain central to utility regulation.

2. Affordability, economic opportunity and responsible government spending.

Floridians are feeling the squeeze from rising housing costs, insurance premiums, utilities, and everyday expenses. The long-term solution is to create more opportunities for Floridians to earn higher wages through strong economic development, workforce training, and attracting high-quality employers to our state.

Government must also do its part by operating efficiently, controlling costs, and eliminating waste so taxpayers are not asked to shoulder an even greater burden. I support expanding housing opportunities, promoting job creation, and ensuring public agencies deliver services in the most cost-effective manner possible.

The best affordability program is a good-paying job, and Florida must continue creating an environment where businesses can grow, invest, and provide career opportunities for our residents.

3. Transparency, Fiscal Accountability, and Public Trust.

The Clerk and Comptroller plays a critical role as an independent watchdog over public funds and court-related financial operations. I will ensure strong auditing practices, full transparency, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. My record as Property Appraiser includes operating under budget, maintaining clean audits, and returning millions in efficiencies back to taxpayers. Public trust is earned through accountability, consistency, and results, not words.

Why do you deserve to elected in this race?

My life reflects the American Dream. I came from humble beginnings in Guyana, served in the United States Army, built businesses, and became the first state-certified appraiser ever elected Orange County Property Appraiser.

I am not a career politician. I am a proven executive leader with decades of experience in government, business, real estate, and public service. Under my leadership, the Property Appraiser’s Office earned national and international recognition for innovation, customer service, and operational excellence while operating under budget and maintaining clean audits.

I am seeking to bring that same results-driven leadership to the Clerk’s Office to ensure it operates with efficiency, transparency, and respect for every citizen.

Why are you running for the Clerk of Courts Office now?

I run to answer a very traditional call to service, and that call by one of our founding fathers was, “Lend me your talents and skills as we forge ahead to build this nation. And that clarion call that was made way back when is still relevant today. Quite simply, what that call is asking for is people with skills and talents to occupy these offices and bring those talents and skills to public service.

I have the talents and skills to serve the office of Clerk of Court. I've demonstrated that in the past as the property appraiser, and very effectively. And this is why I'm running for this office.

You know, I'm not running for sheriff because I don't have the skills to be sheriff. I’m running for Clerk of Court because I have the skills, I have the ability to implement policy. This is a CEO position, the Constitutional Office in Florida, and it's important for someone to have the experience of being a CEO. Many people will tell you, I worked at the Clerk of Court office, and I should be the Clerk of Court. That's not the same as being a CEO. I worked at the Property Appraiser's Office, and then I implemented private sector experience, and then I implemented being a CEO of three different organizations. It's important to know what it takes to sign the front of a check than merely sign in the back of a check, and that's what an employee at the Clerk of Court does. They sign the back of a check. The person that signs the front of that check is the person that understands budgeting, understands recruiting, understands maintaining an eminently qualified staff. So it's not enough to merely work at the Clerk of Court office, you need to be eminently qualified as a CEO to be in that position, and I feel that I have that talent, skills, and ability to better that office and ultimately serve our taxpayers.

What changes would you want to implement if you were elected?

I see an opportunity to serve our taxpayers better in terms of customer service. Taxpayers now call the Clerk of Court office, and I have it documented where someone was on hold for four hours waiting to get to someone. If you called the property appraiser's office under my administration, the longest you were on hold is two minutes and 39 seconds. How do I know? Because I measured it on a weekly basis. I had my staff accountable to answer the phone promptly and efficiently.

People, taxpayers want one thing: communication, and to be served properly, and that's what I hope to bring to the office. A simple thing like connecting the Ninth Judicial System. There’s one functioning in Osceola County and one functioning in Orange County and they don’t talk to each other. That takes leadership, that takes me contacting the Clerk of Court in Osceola County and another part of the Ninth District, and coordinating resources, and essentially developing a system in place to where don't they don't have to go into two systems, and the systems can talk to each other.

How would you work with Tallahassee to make sure Orange County got what it needed?

I have a history of working with legislatures as the Property Appraiser of Orange County and as the founder of the Florida Constitutional Officers Association. I am the founder of that organization with Jerry Demings, then [Orange County] sheriff, and Scott Randolph, then [Orange County] Supervisor of Elections. Being in that position enabled me to interact with lawmakers and to communicate with lawmakers. I am a very moderate Democrat. I work well with Democrats, independents, and Republicans.

What specific initiatives would you use to build relationships with Orange County community members with the Clerk of Courts office?

I go back to the saying “To serve a community, you must know a community.” A community has leaders and a community has followers, and different measures are used to interact with those people. Essentially that is what I plan to do, know the stakeholders, engage with the stakeholders, let them know that if they ever need anything from the Clerk of Court, this is the number to call. I'm the person to talk to, and that it's very important for them to have relationships. It's a relationship business as well, and the same with the taxpayers doing outreach programs, doing programs that will energize and educate the taxpayers, and letting them know what the Clerk of Court does, and the different functions that the Clerk of Court serves and ultimately serving their needs.