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Affordable Housing
Economic Success
Tourism
Enviornmental Sustainability
Public Education
Faith Partnership
Local Independence
Public Transit
Law Enforcement
Emergency Management
Voting Rights
As a member of the Orange County Planning & Zoning Commission, Eric is fighting for real solutions to the affordable housing crisis. With over half of local families spending more than 30% of their income on housing—and many spending over 50%—our community is in urgent need of change. Eric supports bold policies that ensure the construction of affordable homes for families earning $30,000, $50,000, and $70,000 a year. With a shortage of at least 50,000 units, we must reform zoning laws to promote housing that works for all, not just the wealthy. Eric is committed to making housing affordable, ensuring every resident can live with dignity.
Orange County has the opportunity to receive wide ranging benefits due to Orlando being the most popular city in America. We need to flip the advantage towards locally owned and operated businesses. We need to flip the benefit of over 1 million visitors laying their head on a pillow in Orange County every night. Multi-National Mega Businesses that profit from Central Florida should also invest in Central Florida. Eric celebrates profit, but also applauds businesses that help raise not just the number of jobs but also the standard of living in Orange County. Eric encourages all residents to ask the question, “who benefits most from the gold rush of tourists enjoying Orange County? Is it people and businesses who live here or those that profit here and live elsewhere?” The investment of taxes on the tourists visiting should be reviewed by independent out of state economists who can forecast the return on investment for fantastic projects like our amazing Convention Center, popular stadiums, world class attractions and cutting edge theaters. These same economists should also forecast the economic impact of using these tax revenues for roads, utilities, law enforcement, infrastructure, schools, housing and transportation. Whichever investment opportunity shows the greatest ROI for all of Orange County should be where we invest our resources.
As Board Chair of the East Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Eric is committed to creating a brighter, more equitable future for Orange County. Only 36% of local high school graduates pursue higher education, and we face a lack of high-wage jobs. With world-class institutions like UCF, Valencia College, and award-winning technical programs, we must connect students directly to opportunities. Eric promises to advocate for every student to take both the SAT and TABE, preparing them for college or career certifications. By investing in workforce development, raising wages, providing better benefits, and diversifying our economy.
By prioritizing smart, upward growth, we can ensure that Orange County’s development benefits all residents and future generations without sacrificing our natural environment. Eric is dedicated to protecting Orange County’s natural beauty while promoting smart, sustainable growth. As District 4 experiences rapid population growth, Eric fights to ensure development aligns with our infrastructure and environmental needs. His progressive vision includes expanding public transit, improving roads, increasing school capacity, and safeguarding our waterways from contamination by phasing out septic systems. Eric is committed to preserving our green spaces, lakes, and rivers, while protecting the rural boundary to prevent reckless sprawl.
Eric Gray is a champion for high-quality public education in Orange County. He fully supports renewing the half-penny sales tax to fund new schools and upgrade existing infrastructure. We desperately need historic pay increases for teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals, recognizing their vital role in shaping our future. As a musician and lifelong marching band leader, Eric is a passionate advocate for arts education, elite team sports, and robust civics programs that empower students to lead. Eric believes every student deserves access to a world-class education that nurtures creativity, teamwork, and civic engagement, ensuring they are prepared to thrive in our diverse and evolving society.
Fostering strong partnerships between Orange County and institutions of all faiths will help build a more compassionate and united community. Eric supports interfaith collaboration on key issues like homelessness, poverty, and social justice, recognizing that faith-based organizations are vital in addressing these challenges. Eric is committed to ensuring that county government respects and uplifts the diverse religious traditions of our residents, advocating for policies that protect religious freedom while promoting the common good. Eric believes in helping churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and schools grow, by promoting a revival of involvement for families engaging with ANY faith tradition. By working hand in hand with faith communities, we can create a more inclusive and caring Orange County where people of all beliefs can contribute to the wellbeing of their neighbors.
Eric believes local governance should remain in the hands of those living in the community. He advocates for Home Rule to stop state super-preemption laws that diminish the quality of life for Orange County residents. Issues of Local Independence are not just from the state and federal government. Keeping in check the outsized power and influence of corporations whose headquarters and leaders don’t even live in Florida is critically important. The out-of-state corporate ownership is outmatching our community which experiences the lowest individual incomes and highest commute times among the top 50 communities in the U.S.
Orange County has fewer buses than the fleet at our largest theme park and half the number of similar sized communities like Austin and Pittsburgh. This is directly connected to two things:
1. The tourism industry wanting visitors to stay at the parks and hotel properties instead of exploring more of what Central Florida has to offer.
2. Orange County not taking a leadership role amongst sister counties and bringing all local jurisdictions to the table for a solution to our tragically underfunded bus and rail system.
The Orange County Jail is experiencing its highest head count in history, primarily due to local law enforcement being pressured to criminalize homelessness. Orange County needs to provide more public restrooms as the most common violation amongst all residents is public urination. Orange County doesn’t need to build one giant shelter, but rather many small shelters that blend into communities such that they become points of community pride and not derision. Orange County must work with all 13 municipalities within the county to address the homeless epidemic. The largest provider of pharmaceuticals addressing severe mental illness is the Orange County Jail. Eric believes that crime prevention and community safety begin with aggressive contemporary rehabilitation programs within the jail system.
Emergency management is the primary responsibility of every county. With 1.5 million adults and children plus another 1 million tourists in the county every day, Emergency management takes on a whole new level of importance. As one of the busiest and most visible places on planet earth, our firefighters and EMT’s carry a massive burden of responsibility and should be compensated justly and competitively. Their benefits should be world-class. Orange County should be attracting the best, brightest and bravest and deserve the highest quality training in the nation. Just because these heroes work in dangerous environments doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make every effort and then some to ensure their safety. Our emergency responders selflessly care for our families and have earned a workplace culture that works hard to ensure they can go back to their families healthy, happy, and celebrated.
Voting rights and access are fundamental to democracy, yet Florida continues to restrict them, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Eric will fight for fair voter access and rights restoration, especially for formerly incarcerated individuals. Voter suppression has perpetuated inequality and disenfranchised citizens. Protecting and expanding voter access in Florida is essential to ensuring that every voice is heard and that democracy truly reflects the will of all its people.
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