Rusty Johnson to seek third term as Ocoee mayor

With no political fanfare, Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson, 76, announced during last week’s city commission meeting that he will run for mayor “one more time.”

The two-term mayor made his announcement at the end of the meeting following a contentious discussion over restructuring of the city’s Human Relations Diversity Board.

“I’m gonna run one more time, and I’m gonna try my best to win again because we have moved this city in the right direction,” Johnson said.

According to the biography on the city website, Johnson has lived in Ocoee for 60 years. He graduated from Ocoee High School and Valencia College. He’s worked for the U.S. Postal Service, as a realtor and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served as city commissioner for District 1 (1986 to 1997) and District 3 (1999 to 2015). He has been mayor since 2015.  There are no term limits in Ocoee.

Johnson is the first person to announce his candidacy for the March 14 local elections. The qualifying period is from Jan. 20-27.

District 1 Commissioner Larry Brinson, Jr. and District 3 Commissioner Richard Firstner are also up for re-election.