__ days to Primary  —  Aug 18|__ days to General  —  Nov 3
The Platform

The Happiest Place on Earth:
For All of Us

Orange County tells 70 million visitors a year that it is the happiest place on earth. The people who live here know it isn't. Not yet. This is the plan to build a county that keeps that promise. A county run for the people who live here, not the people who visit.

A Promise You Can Measure

The Orange County Happiness Index

A promise you can't check is just a speech. So each year we'll measure how people are really doing. We'll use a public Happiness Index. It covers seven areas. We track each one by zip code. We publish the results every year. And we use them to decide how the county spends its money. You can look up how your own neighborhood scores. Then you can hold your Commissioner to it.

1 · Housing Stability 2 · Economic Mobility 3 · Health & Wellbeing 4 · Community Safety & Justice 5 · Environment & Resilience 6 · Education & Opportunity 7 · Belonging & Civic Life
Homes in the Maitland community of District 7 Pillar 1 · Housing Stability

A Home for Every Resident

You can't get ahead when you don't know where you'll sleep. Orange County has a housing crisis. The tourism boom hides it. Rents are rising faster than pay. And more families are being pushed out of our oldest neighborhoods. The county can't just hope the market fixes this. The county has to act, so people at every income level can keep a roof over their heads.

A Safe Place Tonight

  • A shelter bed for anyone who needs one, with no hard rules to get in: no ID needed, pets welcome, couples can stay together, and you don't have to be sober.
  • Crisis help any time, day or night.
  • No arrests just for being homeless.

Help Before a Crisis

  • A county rent-help fund, paid for and run locally, so it doesn't depend on federal money. It keeps families housed before they fall behind.
  • Courts that step in to stop an eviction before the sheriff shows up.
  • Free county-paid lawyers for renters, locked into the budget for good.

More Homes People Can Afford

  • Rules that require big new projects to include homes regular people can afford.
  • Homes kept affordable for good, which is the best way to stop people from being pushed out.
  • Easier permits for backyard apartments, so we add homes without big new costs.

Staying Put and Owning a Home

  • If a county project forces you to move, you get the right to come back.
  • Down payment help for first-time buyers, essential workers, and longtime renters.
  • Support for shared-ownership housing and more homes kept affordable for good.

Reinvestment in Every Neighborhood

  • Seven special districts that put tax dollars back into the neighborhood that earned them. They cover Maitland, Eatonville, Fairview, Rosemont, College Park, Pine Hills, and Orlo Vista, with no gaps in between.
  • The money our neighborhoods make stays in our neighborhoods.

How We Pay For It

  • We move money around inside the county's $8 billion budget. The money is there. It's about choosing where it goes.
  • We go after every state and federal housing dollar we can get, like SHIP and HOME grants.
  • We use new tax dollars from growth, plus a fairer share of the $300 million the county collects each year from the tourist tax.

“A stable home for every resident, at every income level. Built by the county, not left to a market that will never fill the gap.”

Small businesses and workers in College Park Pillar 2 · Economic Mobility

Good Jobs. Real Wages. A Path Up.

Orange County's economy makes nearly $100 billion a year. But the workers who make it run take home pay that keeps them close to poverty, with no real way up. That is a choice. And it changes with a Commissioner who works for residents, not campaign donors.

Fair Pay Rules

  • A living wage required on every county contract, every county vendor, and every project the county approves.
  • Fair local pay on all construction the county pays for.
  • A county team that fights wage theft for service and hospitality workers, so you get the pay you earned.
  • A yearly report that names the biggest employers and shows their pay gaps.

Paths Into Good Jobs

  • The county leads the way in paid internships and on-the-job training that pay a living wage.
  • A partnership with Local 1905 of the Carpenters union: a four-year path to a middle-class career.
  • Job pipelines that connect young people to Lockheed Martin, NASA, and other big aerospace and defense employers.
  • Hospitality training programs with local businesses that teach real skills and pay fairly.

Small Business Support

  • A county fund for small loans, plus hands-on help and a fair shot at county contracts.
  • Outreach and smaller contract sizes so businesses owned by women and people of color can compete.
  • Rules that pay vendors on time, plus help getting the insurance bonds they need to bid.

Banking and Money Help

  • Partnerships with credit unions and local lenders so more people can open a bank account.
  • Help signing up for tax credits and benefits you've earned, like the EITC.
  • Free money coaching built into our housing and job programs.

Childcare for Working Families

  • Free county-run childcare in the seven school buildings that recently closed.
  • Going after every state and federal dollar to push the cost for parents toward zero.
  • Around-the-clock care for the shift workers who keep our tourism economy running.

Building Wealth for the Next Generation

  • A savings account started with seed money for every child born in the county.
  • A county fund that reinvests in neighborhoods that have long been left behind.
  • Help starting worker-owned businesses in low-wage jobs where people come and go.

“An economy where a new graduate, an essential worker, and a small business owner can all build real financial security, here at home.”

The Fairview Shores community of District 7 Pillar 3 · Health and Wellbeing

Care That Reaches Every Zip Code

How long you live in Orange County can change by more than ten years, just based on your zip code. That isn't the hospitals' fault. It comes from choices we made. The county pays for public health, mental health, and neighborhood clinics. We've just never used that power as boldly as this moment needs.

Mental Health

  • Mental health teams that come to you, pairing trained counselors with people who have been through it themselves.
  • The right helper for the right call, plus a full review of the Sheriff's mental health unit.
  • The 988 crisis line linked to county teams that come to you.
  • Neighborhood mental health centers you can walk into, with fees based on what you can pay.

Care for Survivors

  • County money for the local groups that survivors of abuse and trafficking already trust.
  • One person to guide each survivor through health, legal, housing, and safety help.
  • Quiet, private ways to get help at libraries, transit stops, and clinics.

A Doctor You Can Reach

  • Mobile health clinics that show up on a set schedule in the neighborhoods that need them most.
  • More support for the local health centers that already serve people who can't afford care.
  • Walk-in health spots built right into libraries, churches, and community centers.

Treatment Instead of Jail

  • Treatment when you need it, with no waiting list.
  • Free naloxone to reverse overdoses, and simple steps that keep drug users alive.
  • Housing for people in recovery, and drug court that sends people to treatment instead of jail.

Healthier Neighborhoods

  • Money for fresh food in the neighborhoods that don't have a real grocery store.
  • Parks, trails, and safe ways to walk and bike, because they keep people healthy.
  • Shady public spaces and cooling centers open all year.

“A county where your zip code no longer decides how long you live.”

Neighborhoods across Orange County District 7 Pillar 4 · Community Safety and Justice

Safety Built on Investment, Not Just Enforcement

Neighborhoods with good jobs, stable homes, and real mental health care are safer than ones with more police and more people in jail. The Commission controls the Sheriff's budget, the county jail, and the everyday spending that builds safety. This is not a fight against the Sheriff. It is a different idea about what keeps people safe.

The Right Help for the Call

  • Mental health teams so a person in crisis gets a trained counselor, not just police.
  • Trained civilians, not deputies, for minor calls where no one is in danger.
  • A close look at the Sheriff's Crisis Response Team, and real money to make it work.

A Real Second Chance

  • A guide who starts working with people 90 days before they leave jail, which is the proven way to keep them from coming back.
  • "Ban the box" so a past record doesn't block a county job before you even get an interview.
  • A place to live after release, plus free clinics to help clear old records.

Fixing Harm, Not Just Punishing

  • Neighborhood panels that handle minor offenses.
  • Sit-downs that focus on the victim, and second chances for young people.
  • School rules that fix behavior instead of suspending kids or calling police.

Stopping Violence Before It Starts

  • Outreach workers who have lived through it and can reach people others can't.
  • Help that reaches victims right in the hospital, the moment they're hurt.
  • Programs that offer real help and a clear line: stop the violence.

An End to Cash Bail Traps

  • A fund that posts bail for minor charges, so staying locked up isn't just a punishment for being poor.
  • More help before trial, and treatment instead of jail for people in a mental health crisis.
  • Real medical care in the jail, including keeping people on the medicine they need.

Support for Victims

  • County money for victim help, given through groups people already trust.
  • Long-term support for families who lost someone to violence.
  • Counseling, emergency cash, and help through court for every victim.

Justice for Pine Hills

  • The "Crime Hills" name was never fair. The Sheriff's own numbers show crime about the same as the rest of the county.
  • What Pine Hills really got was decades of neglect. Every job, health, flood, and neighborhood investment in this plan reaches it.

“Real safety comes from investing in people before harm happens, and refusing to write anyone off after it does.”

District 7 residents gathered together at a community potluck
Neighbors gathering in District 7 — strong communities are the foundation of real safety.
Flood-prone streets in Orlo Vista Pillar 5 · Environment and Resilience

When It Floods, It Shouldn’t Depend on Your Income

Orlo Vista woke up underwater. Rosemont’s roads disappeared after the storm. I-Drive and Disney stayed dry. The newer and wealthier the area, the better the drainage; the older and more working-class, the more likely it floods. No budget line says “protect wealthy neighborhoods first.” Decades of decisions just point the same way. That ends.

Fair Flood Protection

  • A public study of drains in every District 7 zip code, showing flood history, how old the pipes are, and who lives there.
  • Flood money that goes where the need is greatest, not where the loudest voices are.
  • Fixed ponds, drains, and pipes in Orlo Vista, Rosemont, Kingwood Manor, and other neglected areas.
  • Rules that make new projects fix the flooding they push downhill onto others.

Letting Nature Soak It Up

  • Bringing back wetlands to hold floodwater, which costs less than concrete and pipes.
  • More shade trees, planted first where there are the fewest.
  • New projects built to soak up rain, using rain gardens and pavement that lets water through.

Clean Water and Air

  • Testing and cleaning up our lakes.
  • Hooking older neighborhoods up to sewer lines instead of septic tanks.
  • Air sensors placed around neighborhoods so people can see what they're breathing.

Beating the Heat

  • Rules that require water, rest, and shade breaks on every county job.
  • A yearly report on heat, plus worker training in many languages on their safety rights.
  • Cooling vans and a countywide network of cooling centers, pets welcome.

Local Clean Energy

  • A county energy office for solar power, batteries, and loans that lasts beyond any one term in office.
  • Solar on every county building and electric county vehicles in the first term.
  • Shared solar for renters and lower-income families, plus loans for owners to go solar.

A Fair Share of Protection

  • A public map showing which neighborhoods carry the most pollution, by income and race.
  • Plans shaped by the residents who face the most risk, not just by officials.
  • Rules that keep these projects from pushing longtime residents out.

“Flood protection, clean energy, and climate resilience delivered first to the neighborhoods that have waited longest.”

A wooded conservation trail on protected natural land in Central Florida
Wild, green, and worth protecting — the natural lands District 7 depends on.
The historic town of Eatonville in District 7 Pillar 6 · Education and Opportunity

Cradle-to-Career, Funded by the County

Orange County Public Schools runs on its own, but the county can pay for what OCPS can't. We can add help around the school day and build support from birth all the way to a career, the kind the school budget will never cover. The county pays for it. OCPS opens the doors. Every District 7 student wins.

Early Childhood (0-5)

  • Free county pre-K to fill the gaps OCPS and the state leave behind.
  • Home visits to help families with newborns who need the support.
  • Help paying for childcare, and checkups to catch any delays early.

Grades K-12 (ages 6-18)

  • Well-funded after-school centers with arts, sports, and mentors.
  • Summer programs so kids don't lose what they learned during the year.
  • County-paid mental health counselors right in the schools.
  • Safe ways to get to school: sidewalks, lighting, and crosswalks.

Young Adults (16-24)

  • The county as the top place to find a paid internship that actually pays the bills.
  • Union trade training and job pipelines to big aerospace employers (Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Leidos)
  • A fund for young people starting a business, and a way back in for those out of school and out of work.

Working Adults (25-54)

  • A county job-training program based in closed school buildings, run with the unions.
  • GED and job-skill classes with childcare on site.
  • Success measured one way: a job that pays the bills, still held six months later.

Older Adults (55+)

  • Computer classes for seniors so no one gets left behind.
  • Help paying for community college and Valencia College.
  • Pairing seniors with young people to share what they know.

“Every stage of life, from birth to 55-plus, backed by a county that invests in opportunity, not just oversight.”

The Rosemont community of District 7 Pillar 7 · Belonging and Civic Life

A Government You Can See Yourself In

Orange County's government was built for 400,000 people. It now serves 1.4 million. Most are people of color, and they speak dozens of languages. Belonging isn't a nice extra. It's the glue that makes every other promise real. When people feel heard by their government, they take part. And when they take part, their needs get met.

A Government You Can Understand

  • Live translation at every Commission and committee meeting in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese.
  • Every county document people use, translated.
  • Evening and weekend meetings as the norm, and a check that every building works for people with disabilities.

You Help Spend the Money

  • A set pot of money that each community votes on how to spend, at neighborhood meetings and online.
  • A share set aside for teens 14 to 17 to spend on their own ideas.
  • Staff carry out what residents pick. The people make the call.

Arts and Culture

  • Arts money that follows where people live and what they need, not just the big names.
  • Neighborhood arts centers and public art made by local artists.
  • Money for Carnival, Diwali, Juneteenth, Eid, and Puerto Rican heritage celebrations.

Shared Public Spaces

  • Longer library hours and more programs.
  • Park money sent where it's needed most.
  • Community centers and free wifi in parks, libraries, and public spaces.

Welcoming New Residents

  • An Immigrant Services Office that helps people find their way, connect with free legal aid, and learn their rights.
  • A Welcoming County rule: county workers won't do the federal government's immigration enforcement, and every resident can use county services.
  • Welcome classes in many languages for new residents.

Young People at the Table

  • A Youth Commission with a real say that the Commission has to answer in public.
  • Civic classes set up with District 7 high schools.
  • Youth-led projects paid for through the budget residents vote on.

“When every resident can understand, reach, and shape their government, every other promise in this platform becomes real.”

A community town-hall meeting in District 7
A District 7 town hall — government that residents can reach and shape.

Every dollar moves us closer to August 18.

Fuel the platform. Fund the campaign.

Donate NowContributions are not tax-deductible. Paid for by Aaron Lewis for Orange County District 7 Commissioner.