Candidate Profile: Tiffany Moore Russell

Running for Orange County Mayor, Tiffany Moore Russell is thinking about her two sons in high school — one 17, the other 14. She told VoxPopuli recently that she wants to be the “catalyst for change” that implements the policies and finds the solutions to make Orange County “a destination of choice.”

“For me, it’s about my sons and what we are leaving for the next generation,” said Moore Russell who lives in Horizon West with her family. “ I've always wanted to be mayor because I learned as a commissioner that the mayor is who drives the agenda and sets the vision for the county.”

A licensed attorney elected four times as Orange County Clerk of Courts — she steps down Aug. 31 — Moore Russell faces Winter Park businessman Chris Messina, Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe and former Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy in the nonpartisan Aug. 18 election. If none of the candidates earn more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a run-off on Nov. 3.

The Orange County Mayor serves for four-years and earns $248,089 annually.

Moore Russell, 50, worked at Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida before being elected to the Orange County Commission in 2006. She served District 6 for two terms before being elected in 2014 as the county’s Clerk of Courts — the first Black Clerk in Orange County and the first Black woman to be elected Clerk in Florida.

At the Clerk’s Office, Moore Russell opened the Lydia Gardner Self Help Center, which provides low-cost legal assistance in family law, residential evictions, and small claims. She also launched Operation Green Light to help residents pay fines and fees and get their driver’s licenses restored and held workshops on the restoration of voting rights for returning citizens. In candidate forums, she has emphasized that even in times of budget tightening, she has been able to raise staff wages from $12 to $17 an hour.  

She resigned as Clerk of Courts earlier than intended, she told VoxPopuli, to allow a special election to be held with the primaries so voters could choose their next Clerk, rather than have the position filled by gubernatorial appointment.

Here, Moore Russell 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. Housing Orange County families, seniors, teachers, first responders, and young professionals are struggling with rising housing costs. I will expand workforce and affordable housing through public-private partnerships, preserve existing affordable housing, encourage mixed-income development, and coordinate with our municipalities to increase housing options while protecting neighborhoods. Housing solutions must also be paired with transportation and infrastructure investments to keep communities connected and affordable.

2. Managing Growth and Transportation Orange County continues to grow rapidly, and our infrastructure must keep pace. I will prioritize smart, responsible growth by ensuring roads, stormwater are considered before approving new development. We must invest strategically while preserving our quality of life and protecting rural and environmentally sensitive areas.  Furthermore, we must prioritize solutions to address our transportation deficiencies.  Orange County needs a dedicated funding source to address a multi-modal transportation plan for the future.

3. Economic Prosperity Residents deserve a county government that is transparent, fiscally responsible, and focused on delivering results. I will support workforce development, access to opportunities for small businesses, and economic opportunities that create good-paying jobs while maintaining responsible budgeting. My experience managing a large constitutional office and serving on the County Commission has prepared me to lead efficiently and responsibly.

Why do you deserve to elected in this race?

I deserve to be the next Orange County Mayor because I care about the people of Orange County, not special interest.  I have dedicated my career to serving the people of Orange County. As an Orange County Commissioner for eight years and as Clerk of Courts for more than twelve years, I have managed large budgets, led complex organizations, and worked collaboratively to solve community challenges. I understand county government because I've served in it, and I have a proven record of transparency, fiscal responsibility, and delivering results. I'm running to bring experienced leadership that listens, builds consensus, and puts Orange County residents first.As a former County Commissioner, I secured funding to improve infrastructure in the Little Egypt Community.  As Clerk of Court, I raised the starting pay for Clerks from $12 to $17 while also making budget cuts.  I understand that Orange County wants a mayor committed to this County and bringing about transformative change.

According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue?*

Affordability requires a comprehensive approach. At the county level, we can increase the supply of workforce and affordable housing, reduce unnecessary barriers to responsible development, preserve existing affordable housing, and support transportation investments that lower commuting costs. We should also continue attracting high-quality jobs, invest in workforce training, and ensure county government operates efficiently to maximize taxpayer dollars. While many affordability challenges require state and federal action, Orange County can take meaningful steps to reduce costs for working families.

Will you vote Yes or No on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions?

I would vote No on the constitutional amendment to reduce property taxes because I believe it will hinder local governments from providing quality services uniquely designed for that community. Any proposal affecting property taxes should be carefully evaluated based on its long-term impact on essential local services. Property taxes fund public safety, parks, transportation, libraries, and other critical county services. While I understand the financial pressures facing homeowners, any reduction in revenue must be accompanied by a sustainable funding plan that does not shift costs to residents through higher fees or reduce the quality of services they rely on. My priority is protecting taxpayers while ensuring Orange County remains financially strong.As the Orange County Clerk, I have been faced with cutting my budget three times within one fiscal year.  I was successful in modernizing the processes and services in the Clerk's Office and avoided any furloughs or layoffs.  It will always be my priority to explore opportunities for efficiencies while protecting the quality of services to citizens and county employees before presenting any tax or fee proposal.

Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond?

Utility regulators should ensure that infrastructure investments are planned responsibly, rates remain fair and transparent, and costs are allocated appropriately. As Florida's energy demands grow, regulators should balance reliability, affordability, and long-term sustainability while encouraging energy efficiency and thoughtful planning. Residents and small businesses should not bear an unfair share of costs resulting from significant new industrial demand.

What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida?

Protecting our water resources while managing growth is one of the most important environmental challenges facing Orange County. We must protect our lakes, wetlands, springs, and drinking water through responsible land-use decisions, conservation, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable development practices. As our community grows, we have a responsibility to preserve natural resources and open spaces while ensuring future generations enjoy the same quality of life that makes Orange County such a special place.

What can West Orange County voters expect from you if you are elected mayor?

West Orange County voters can expect someone who is very pragmatic and strategic in how we grow. I think we're all feeling the growing pains of the growth of West Orange County. I think they wanna look for a leader that's gonna make sure that infrastructure matches the growth at the same time. That we're making sure there's adequate parks and recreational opportunities and some economic engines on the west side.

I think there's a lot of people who moved there who thought one thing are now being told something else. And so it's making sure we can navigate what Horizons West looks like in the future … make sure we build out what that looks like in a smart way. Because you see that we're growing, but we want to make sure we have the adequate infrastructure that goes with it. I live in Horizon West, in Waterleigh, and I still have poor cell phone service depending on where I'm at in Waterleigh.

How do you want to develop our economy?

We’ve got to make sure we're attracting jobs that are going to pay living wages. So that’s also tied to making sure we have training programs, whether it's with our trades or our tech schools. I'm not sold on any particular industry. I think the key for us is to make sure we're attracting businesses that are sustainable. I'm looking at what happened with Spirit Airlines and all the people lost their jobs. In West Orange County, I think we have potential to grow when it comes to healthcare because Advent has a hospital now and Orlando Health, so there's potential there for health-related type services and industries for jobs.

 We still should be looking at how do we relate to agriculture because there's still some ag in our area, or at least connected to Lake County. And really talking with our schools, working with OEP, CareerSource, making sure that our jobs track, what's coming in the future, like cybersecurity, making sure we have those types of jobs ready and we're training people for those opportunities.

How would you address the county’s housing issue?

We have housing, but we need diverse housing from different diverse price points. We have to also explore different zoning solutions. There are some cities that have inclusive zoning, where no matter what's built, you have different spaces of market rate. Because right now we've created this market rate versus affordable. Well, affordable varies by who you talk to. It's all in context.

I got a text message today from a realtor saying, Would you like to sell your home? I'm like, No. My income hasn't changed, but the rates have changed. So we have to find ways to make sure that, wages are staying on pace with the cost of living.

 We gotta look for more solutions internally from the government to make it, more efficient to build housing. I think it's costing people more because it's taking longer to get approvals and get permits and things. So I think it's a holistic approach. Of course we need more supply. We gotta do some changes internally at Orange County with our policies.

What steps would you take to alleviate traffic congestion?

 I think we gotta have an honest conversation with West Orange County to say, What do you see for the future of this community?

I've heard for years that West Orange County doesn't want buses. If you notice, the Lynx bus does not come off of Hwy. 50. There's been pushback for years that we don't want Lynx buses. And some of it may be the perception that “certain people” are coming to our neighborhoods. But the reality of the situation is public transportation opens up access to opportunities, and I think West Orange County, specifically, has to talk about that.

There are segments of our society who say, We need housing, we need workforce, but just not in my backyard. So, I think we have to have an honest conversation about West Orange County. Like, I would love to not drive my car to go to the movies. What does that look like? It may not look like what we do downtown. But maybe it's smaller buses, maybe it is something that circulates in and around West Orange County. But I think we have to have that conversation about how do we keep cars off the road. What's interesting is there's a lot of people from up north who now live here, so I would think they would embrace public transportation.

Would you use Tourist Development Taxes for roads?

 Right now the way the statute is being interpreted is that you can't. It must only be used for projects that support tourism and marketing. Right now there are six pennies. The first one through four pennies are for capital debt on the convention center and some promotion; five is for capital, for debt services; and six is what we use to pay for the venues and marketing.

What I want people to understand is that even if we're able to use some TDT dollars, it can't be the only source of revenue because we need a true dedicated funding source, and TDT is not the answer. It may be one of the solutions, but it's not the only solution because it's just not sufficient to address our transportation challenges countywide. I was a supporter of the transportation tax. I think we may have to revisit that.  It's been studied. We don't need to study it anymore. Maybe we revisit how we market it and what the plan is and how we're gonna spend it and communicate that to voters. But we're gonna have to go to the voters for our transportation tax.

 What would you work on to ready the county for storm preparedness?

We know what happens when we're not ready for a storm. We saw it with Orlo Vista, where people had to be rescued from their homes. And so we do have a stormwater challenge in Orange County that will be the first thing we would have to address come 2027 because we have many roads throughout this county that are below service level. So it's a lot of issues that we'll be facing the next administration.

Where do you stand on how Orange County handled signing the addendum to the 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to give corrections officers authority to transport detainees to federal facilities, and the governor’s threat to remove commissioners if they didn’t comply?

First, we have to stand on the law and what we're legally obligated to do, and I would secure my legal team to get ready. Orange County's primary responsibility is to those who we're responsible for. In Orange County, we have our own jail, and we're responsible for those who we have supervision over and our staff and not wanting to burden staff with additional responsibilities without funding to go along with that. Voters expect you to protect Orange County's interest. So that's why I supported the county getting out of that agreement and going back to the basic one because we are working so hard, even in the court system, to keep our jail from being overcrowded. We have so many initiatives now to keep the jail from becoming overcrowded that I would do my best to make sure that I'm protecting Orange County's interests.