Mark Maciel wins the District 3 city commission seat

WINTER GARDEN The votes are in, and Mark Maciel has been elected to fill the District 3 city commissioner seat.

“It’s been pretty stressful and a lot of work,” Maciel said after getting the news of his victory. “I thought I didn’t have a great shot; I had great opponents. But I was very pleasantly surprised.”

The seat was previously held by Bobby Olszewski until he resigned to pursue election as Orange County District 1 commissioner. To fill the vacancy, Winter Garden held a special election Tuesday, Jan. 24.

Voters had three candidates to choose from - Maciel, Harold Bouler and Patricia Angry. By the time the polls closed, 429 ballots had been cast. 

Maciel won 64% of the vote, Boulder received 24% and Angry ended up with 11%.

“I really did enjoy working with the other candidates, Patricia and Harold,” Maciel said. “I look forward to working with them on the issues.”

Maciel moved to Florida nearly 20 years ago and has lived in District 3 since then with his wife, Justine, and three children. He served in the National Guard for 32 years and has been involved in real estate as a planner and land acquisition coordinator since moving to Florida.

“Normally being a behind-the-scenes person, I decided it was time to take the next step having seen some of the goals and objectives that needed to get done,” Maciel said about his decision to become the District 3 city commissioner. “It was time to put my money where my mouth was and take action.”

Having served with several organizations and boards in the past, including Winter Garden's Planning and Zoning Board, Maciel said he’s looking forward to putting his campaign promises into action.

“I’m looking forward to identifying the issues, creating a plan to correct the issues and then implementing the plan,” he said. “East Winter Garden is going to be a focus - the redevelopment of east Winter Garden - and, as I promised in the campaign, the traffic and crime issues in the entire district.”

Contact Brittany Gaines at [email protected].