With less than a week remaining until Orlando residents head to the polls for the 2023 Mayoral Election, candidate Steve Dixon is pitching a plan to reduce crime and improve economic conditions throughout the city. In a recent video, Dixon cited Orlando’s crime stats in the state for violent crime, and vowed to improve law enforcement to ensure a better quality of life for locals.
“For many years Central Florida has been the third highest in the nation for human trafficking calls,” Dixon said. “Florida ranks third in the US for violent crimes, and Orlando is 2.2 two times the Florida state average. That means Orlando is the number one large city in Florida for violent crime and one of the highest in the nation.. I will command our law enforcement to aggressively enforce the law. I will get drugs off the street, and dealers in jail. I will aggressively pursue and prosecute human and sex traffickers and bring them to justice our children must be protected. I may not be able to control the southern border, but I will get control of our streets.”
Dixon faces an uphill challenge against Dyer, who has been in office as mayor since 2003. Dixon has vowed to reduce city taxes and utility costs, which have risen during Dyer’s tenure. Dixon also pledges to broaden the city’s economic focus beyond tourism. Dixon is labeling himself the “MOGA Candidate”, to “Make Orlando Great Again”, a parody of Donald Trump’s 2016 motto: “Make America Great Again.”
“A high priority of my administration would be to shrink our city gov’t and its bloated budget which has mushroomed since Dyer came into office. In the 90’s, we used to talk about the high tech corridor from Tampa to Jacksonville. Whatever happened to that? Orlando broke that by focusing only on tourism for decades. I think it’s time to revive that idea and to make Orlando the epicenter of a new, improved high-tech corridor. I will create an environment for growth and opportunity that will raise the standard of living and quality of life for everyone in our community.”
Since 2004, O’Hern has worked with political campaigns in roles ranging from major projects involving nationwide digital marketing for U.S. Presidential candidates, U.S. Congressmen, state governors, and state representatives. O’Hern’s journalism background includes news reporting and editing for various organizations and news publications in Alabama and Florida since 2002. O’Hern graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.