First elected in 1949, 93-year-old Apopka mayor loses historic vote

[alp227]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Apopka voters decided Tuesday that it was finally time for a change. After a historic run by 93-year-old Mayor John Land, they chose a new direction in the name of Joe Kilsheimer, 56, who campaigned on the need for younger, more energetic leadership in a city that had fallen short of its potential.

Kilsheimer, a former city commissioner, captured 54 percent of the vote to Land's 46 percent in the most expensive election in Apopka's history. The mayor spent nearly $100,000 to Kilsheimer's $40,000.

Kilsheimer's decisive victory almost certainly ends the political career of Florida's longest-serving mayor, who also is considered to be the nation's oldest.

Land has served as chief executive of Orange County's second-largest city for all but three years since 1949, but he faced a tough opponent who ran an aggressive campaign, relentlessly canvassing voters door to door and pounding home the message that Apopka needed a new direction.

Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-apopka-mayor-runoff-20140408,0,2060473,full.story

[davidpdx]

1. He outspent his opponent 2 1/2 to 1 and still lost

Anyone want to guess which party he's affiliated with? hint

[Blue_Tires]

2. I remember as a reporter one of my beats

was this small town whose mayor had been serving since about the mid-50s, iirc...

The town council got asked about it frequently, but were quick to respond that their mayor was only the SECOND-longest tenured mayor in the nation...I guess this was the number one they kept referring to...