By Anita Todd
HAINES CITY – Incumbent Anne Huffman will retain her position as Haines City Commissioner for Seat 5 after defeating challenger Horace West in a runoff election.
Huffman secured 1,110 votes, accounting for 53.4 percent of the total, while West received 969 votes, or 46.6 percent.
The runoff was triggered after no candidate earned more than 50 percent of the vote in the April 1 municipal election. In that race, Huffman led with 917 votes (46.99 percent), followed by West with 727 votes (37.09 percent). Newcomers Edwin Perez and Alisa Romero received 275 votes (14.08 percent) and 41 votes (2.09 percent), respectively.
Among those who cast their ballots in the runoff were Valeri and Aaron Augustin, who brought their two-month-old baby girl to the Haines City Community Center polling site. The couple said they missed the opportunity to vote in the April 1 election but were glad to participate this time.
Photo by Anita Todd
“I’m glad we were able to vote today,” Valeri said. “Voting allows us to speak up and speak out.”
Her husband added, “Voting gives us a direct voice in our community.”
In 2017, Huffman became the first Black female official in the city’s history when she was originally elected. She was reelected in 2021 and served as mayor in 2022.
West, a former Haines City Commissioner for 20 years, chose not to seek reelection in 2022. Instead, he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives that year.
