Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks is fighting to keep the District 2 seat he has held since 2010, facing a challenge from Clermont pediatric physician Dr. Humberto Liriano in Tuesday's Republican primary. The race covers Minneola, Montverde and parts of Clermont in South Lake County, a corner of Central Florida that has been reshaped by rapid growth over the past decade and a half. Whoever wins the primary on August 18 will be heavily favored heading into November, since Democrats have no candidate in the race.
That is because of a quirk in Florida election law. Two write-in candidates, Leighton Powers and Jose Elias-Torres, filed to run in November, which under Article VI, Section 5(b) of the Florida Constitution closes the primary to outside voters, according to Ballotpedia. That means registered Republicans alone will decide the seat Tuesday, while non-party-affiliated and Democratic voters in South Lake County are shut out of a contest that will effectively determine their next commissioner. As the Orlando Sentinel reports, the Republican primary winner will still face those two write-in challengers in the general election this November.
Parks, who is seeking his fifth term, has served as District 2's representative on the Lake County Board of County Commissioners since 2010, when he defeated Elaine Renick in the Republican primary before winning the general election against a write-in candidate. He went on to run unopposed in 2014, beat Tad Schnaufer with 72 percent of the vote in 2018, and defeated write-in candidate Tommie Powers in 2022, per the Sentinel's reporting. Parks also owns a small consulting business in Clermont and sat on the Lake County Water Authority starting in 2004 before joining the commission.
An Incumbent Leaning on Planning Credentials
Parks brings formal technical credentials to the race: he is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners as an urban planner and holds a master's degree in engineering management, according to Lake County Government. He also hosts monthly “Coffee and Conversations” meetings with constituents and a local podcast called Lake Rising. The incumbent has identified the lack of affordable housing in Lake County as a major campaign focus, and has promoted what he calls pocket neighborhoods and pocket communities featuring urban infill and smaller homes, which the Sentinel reports could be priced from $200,000 to $300,000.
Parks says he supports protection of rural areas, stronger planning rules and having growth pay for roads, water and other required services. He has pushed for long-term road funding and supported impact fees and developer commitments to help curb the county's traffic problems, and he says he would advocate for hybrid, form-based codes if re-elected. Parks also says he has promoted joint planning agreements and maintained a rural boundary, and he has prioritized land conservation, advocating for the $50 million land acquisition bond referendum that Lake County voters approved with more than 80 percent support in 2024.
Recent Commission Actions Parks Points To
Parks can point to a string of recent votes as evidence of that agenda. In July, the commission approved a $7.76 million public-private partnership to widen Hancock Road in South Clermont, a project Hoodline reported combines county funds with developer contributions to relieve traffic congestion. That same month, commissioners voted unanimously to draft a one-year moratorium on new data centers in unincorporated areas, a move meant to evaluate strain on water supplies, the power grid and land use after residents raised concerns about utility capacity and rural community character.
Parks also weighed in last November when Kroger abruptly closed its Groveland fulfillment facility, costing the area nearly 1,000 jobs. He publicly criticized the closure and backed the county's effort to claw back $1.3 million in economic incentives, part of a broader push to reallocate $400,000 toward workforce retraining. Parks has secured endorsements from U.S. Representative Daniel Webster, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and former State Senator Carey Baker, underscoring institutional Republican support for the four-term incumbent.
A Physician Making His First Political Run
Liriano, the CEO and medical director of Horizon West Pediatric Center in Winter Garden, is making his first bid for elected office. He gained national attention in August 2016 as a pediatric critical care specialist at AdventHealth for Children in Orlando, where he helped save 16-year-old Sebastian DeLeon using induced hypothermia and experimental medication, according to CBS News. DeLeon was one of only four recorded U.S. survivors of the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri.
Liriano says his healthcare leadership, business experience and community service make him the strongest candidate for District 2, per the Sentinel. He has identified healthcare access, mental health advocacy, public safety and emergency services as his top priorities, and says he would work with hospitals, healthcare providers, community organizations and transportation partners to improve access to medical care. He also plans to expand preventive health programs and help seniors age safely and independently within the community.
On growth, Liriano's message overlaps with Parks' in substance if not in tone: he says infrastructure should keep pace with development, public safety should be supported, natural resources should be preserved and healthcare access should improve for a growing senior population. He has said he would work with state legislators to give Lake County more tools to manage growth decisions. Both candidates agree that responsible growth is the county's most important issue, even as they diverge on the specific fixes.
Momentum and Money Heading Into Tuesday
The financial gap between the two campaigns is stark. Parks has received $133,155 in campaign contributions, compared with $6,648 for Liriano, according to figures from the Lake County Supervisor of Elections cited by the Sentinel. Parks also appeared to have the edge in an informal test of local sentiment: at the July 27 Lake County Hob Nob in Clermont, he won the District 2 Republican straw poll with 195 votes, beating Liriano among roughly 250 ballots cast across local and regional races at an event that drew about 500 residents, according to Style Magazine.
The backdrop to both campaigns is a county transforming fast. Lake County's population reached an estimated 468,682 residents this year, a 57.4 percent increase since 2010 when Parks was first elected, making it the 17th largest county in Florida, per World Population Review. Census commuting data analyzed for the county also shows 67.3 percent of employed residents, or 97,596 of 145,082 workers, commute to jobs outside Lake County, ranking it 28th among Florida's 67 counties for resident worker outflow — a statistic that helps explain why both candidates are talking about jobs and infrastructure in the same breath as growth management.
Lake County commissioners are elected countywide but must reside in one of five districts, meaning the winner of Tuesday's primary will need support well beyond South Lake to hold the seat past November. For now, the immediate hurdle is a primary electorate limited to registered Republicans, with the outcome expected to shape how the county handles the kind of growth pressures already visible in recent commission votes on data centers, road funding and a proposed 95-acre landfill expansion meant to last a century.
