Will Jacobs ride successes to Orange County mayor's race?

David Damron | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 11, 2008

Term limits will force Orange County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs to walk away after the commission's meeting today, leaving a position that often saw her as the only challenger to a powerful mayor, but still able to win stronger growth, ethics and open-government rules.

However, her absence may last only two years. Jacobs is among a growing crowd of candidates eyeing a run for the seat that County Mayor Rich Crotty will exit in 2010 because of term limits.

"She's certainly on any short list," said Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political-science professor. "She's developed an excellent reputation on ethics issues, government in the sunshine and on growth. Voters respond to those issues."

Summing up Jacobs' commission tenure, former county Mayor Linda Chapin said she was smart, honest and did her homework. "She could have been more effective," Chapin said, "if she had more allies on the board."

Jacobs, 51, described her eight years as "at times, very challenging, but enormously gratifying." She said she hasn't decided whether to run for mayor.

If Jacobs doesn't return to politics, she went out with a big win: Two measures she drafted for the county's governing charter won overwhelming voter approval Nov. 4.

One mandates greater citizen input at public meetings, specifically time to talk about any subject at every county commission meeting. Support for that measure topped every name and issue on the ballot, including President-elect Obama's vote total.

The other proposal -- locking in stronger local ethics and financial disclosure rules -- won 85 percent backing.

Because the commission refused to put other campaign-finance reforms on the ballot, and Jacobs fears the new disclosure rules still have loopholes that could allow politicians to hide their business partners, she said she may work to get tougher restrictions on the 2010 ballot.

Jacobs initially took up those reforms in 2006, after the Orlando Sentinel reported that Crotty had made a $100,00 profit in a one-year land deal with a developer friend at the same time the friend received favorable treatment on a supermarket-mall project in Jacobs' district.

During the next two years, her push to make financial dealings more transparent put her regularly at odds with Crotty, who was cleared of wrongdoing.

The two also clashed on a variety of other issues. Jacobs accused Crotty of everything from letting developers get discounts on county-road fees to not allowing adequate public input on a $1.1 billion plan to build downtown arts and sports venues.

One of her most significant successes was a rule giving local governments more of a say when a proposed development would send additional children into crowded schools. Voters approved it overwhelmingly in 2004.

Jacobs' departure removes the commission's most outspoken member. But any cordiality she leaves behind on the seven-member commission will likely be eroded by the mayor's race.

Three sitting commissioners -- Mildred Fernandez, Bill Segal and Linda Stewart -- are all considering running for mayor, which could lead to lots of jockeying for political positioning. Former state Sen. Dan Webster is also a possible candidate.

An Orlando Regional Realtor Association poll of 302 registered voters in October showed Stewart with the highest approval rating of that group. About one-third of respondents rated her favorably, versus about 13 percent who saw her unfavorably.

But 54 percent didn't have an opinion or didn't recognize her name.

In that same countywide poll, with a 5.5 percentage-point margin of error, Segal had a 14 percent favorability rating. Fernandez scored 16 percent, while about 7 percent viewed each of them unfavorably. Webster was graded at 16 percent favorable and just 3.4 percent unfavorable.

But more than 70 percent had no opinion or didn't recognize any of the potential candidates.

Jacobs was not included in the poll. But in an April 2007 survey taken by the Orlando Magic, she rated slightly higher than Stewart.

None of the potential candidates is likely to make a formal decision until early next year. Jacobs said she has set no deadline for a decision.

"I've received overwhelming support for running -- beyond that, even people gently pressuring me to run," Jacobs said. "I'm just not ready to make that decision yet."