Voting Smart in Oviedo

October 29, 2009

The 2 candidates for mayor and the 3 candidates for city council in Oviedo make the final push in the campaign before the Nov. 3 elections. Before casting your vote, listen here to their unedited personal statements.
Feature length – 10:08

(Produced and reported by Stephen McKenney Steck)

Hear the brief personal statements of each of the 5 candidates running for elected office in the City of Oviedo. The election is Tuesday, November 3

Two positions are set to be filled or refilled for candidates who run for and are elected to serve as Mayor or as a city council member. The council members and the mayor serve a 2 year term. They are elected by all registered voters in the city who vote, not just voters in a particular part or district of the city. There are no term limits for either position

Two residents are running for the position of Mayor and 3 other residents are standing for election to the position of Councilman Group 1.

Using the order on which each office and name was printed on the official ballot, we gave each candidate up to 2 minutes to offer a personal statement.

Candidates for Mayor

First is the office of Mayor. There are 2 candidates for this office…the current mayor, Mary Lou Andrews, and her opponent Darrell Lopez.

Mary Lou Andrews has been a resident of Oviedo for 16 years. She is married and with her husband has one adult child. Mary Lou Andrews owns a technical writing and desk top publishing company.

Andrew’s Website
Email Andrews

The other candidate for Mayor is Darrell Lopez. He is 52 years old. He has been a resident of Oviedo for 20 years. He is married and with his wife has 2 children. Darrell Lopez serves as President and CEO of Zfone Communications, a provider of voice over Internet phone calling to businesses.

Lopez’s Website
Email Lopez

Candidates for Councilman Group 1

Next is the office of Councilman Group 1. There are 3 candidates for this office and appear on the ballot as Jeff Hartzler, Steve Henken who is the current office holder, and Judith Dolores Smith.

Jeff Hartzler is 24 years old. He is a life-long resident of Oviedo. He is not married. Jeff Hartzler is a an event coordinator at the University of Central Florida

Email Hartzler

The next candidate for Councilman Group 1 is Steve Henken, the current office holder. He is 47 years old. He has been a resident of Oviedo for 14 years. He is married and with his wife has 2 children. Steve Henken is a vice president for a world wide cable TV manufacturer.

Henken’s Website
Email Henken

The last candidate for Councilman Group 1 is Judith Dolores Smith. She is 55 years old. Though born in Sanford, Florida, she has been a life-long resident of Oviedo. She is married. Judith Dolores Smith heads her own editing service for self-publishing authors.

Smith’s Website
Email Smith

Additional feature information

On a previous edition of Central Florida Matters, you heard from these four candidates in interviews on topics related to their qualifications, city budget issues and their character and integrity. Those interviews may be heard by clicking here or by entering the word “Oviedo” or “government” in the search box at the top of this page or clicking on the archive category “government” on the left pane of this page.