Bryan Nelson (born September 14, 1958) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, representing the 31st District, which includes the cities of

Apopka Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

, Eustis, Mount Dora,

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

, and Umatilla in northern Lake County and northern

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, since 2012. He served on the

Commission for District 2 from 2014 until March 2018 when he won election for mayor of Apopka after support for the previous mayor deteriorated

History

Nelson was born in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

and attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he graduated with a degree in ornamental horticulture in 1979. After graduation, he returned to

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

, where he worked in his family's business, Nelson's Florida Roses. Nelson then started Nelson Insurance Services in 1995 as a means of providing his family's business with insurance, and it expanded from there. In 2002, he was appointed to the Orange County Planning and Zoning Commission, and served as its chairman in 2006.

Florida House of Representatives

When incumbent State Representative Fred Brummer was unable to seek another term in the legislature and instead opted to run for the Orange County Commission, Nelson ran to succeed him in the 38th District, which was based in northern

, stretching from

to Ocoee,

, and

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

. He won the

primary and the general election entirely uncontested. In 2008, he faced his first opponents: Lonnie Thompson, the Democratic nominee, and Lawrence Fisher, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' endorsed Thompson over Nelson, observing, " better appreciates the important issues facing the district than does his opponent," and criticizing Nelson for not protecting the

Wekiva River The Wekiva River (sometimes spelled Wekiwa, a Creek word meaning "spring of water") is a river in Central Florida, north of Orlando in the United States. It originates in Apopka and joins the St. Johns River, the longest river in the state, in ...

and for not supporting property-insurance reforms. Despite this fact, Nelson won his second term over Thompson by a solid margin of victory, winning 54% of the vote to Thompson's 43% and Fisher's 3%. When Nelson ran for a third term in 2010, he did not face a Democratic opponent, but instead a member of the Florida Tea Party, James Heinzelman. Nelson ran on a platform of "repealing parts of SB 550, which would impose a five-year inspection schedule on septic tanks," which he said would lead to a "bureaucratic and costly nightmare" and on supporting

SunRail SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area. Services began on May 1, 2014. The system comprises 16 stations along a former CSX Transportation line connecting Volusia County and Osceola County through Downtown Orland ...

, which Heinzeilman vocally opposed. Ultimately, Heinzelman did not prove to be a significant challenge for Nelson, and he won re-election with 82% of the vote. In 2012, when the legislative districts were redrawn, Nelson was moved into the 31st District, which, like his previous district, was based in

, but unlike his previous district, stretched into northern Lake County and won re-election to his fourth term entirely unopposed.

Orange County Commission

In 2013, Nelson announced that he would run for the Orange County Commission in District 2 to replace term-limited Commissioner Fred Brummer, whom he previously replaced in the legislature. He was able to defeat his Democratic opponent, Vice Mayor Alvin Moore, Sr. of

Eatonville, Florida Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first self-governing all-black mu ...

in the general election process in 2014.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Bryan NelsonNelson for Orange County Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Bryan 1958 births Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Orlando, Florida University of Florida alumni Mayors of places in Florida