Lake County Commission, District 4
County commissioners set the county budget and property-tax (millage) rate, adopt land-use and zoning rules, and oversee county services such as roads, parks, libraries, fire/EMS and utilities. Term: 4 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Republican primary result and November lineup from Lake & Sumter Style and Clermont Sun ; official candidate list at not directly readable.
Candidates
Report an error ↗One candidate in this race is a write-in. Florida does not print a qualified write-in candidate's name on the ballot. To vote for one you must write the name on the write-in line for this race; a blank or misspelled line may not be counted.
Candidates marked "Withdrew", "Defeated in the primary" or "Did not qualify" are not running in November, according to the Florida Division of Elections candidate list. A name may still be printed on the ballot if the withdrawal came late; such votes are not counted. They are excluded from match results.
Leslie Campione
Sitting District 4 county commissioner and board chairman. Won the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary over David Williamson.
Egor Emery
Qualified Democratic candidate for Lake County Commission District 4; advanced to the general election without a primary.
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Leslie Campione Republican | Egor Emery Democratic | Vance Jochim Write-in | Tommie Powers Write-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Her campaign site lists voting against property tax increases among her accomplishments, and in the News 6 questionnaire she said state transportation dollars should be re-prioritized rather than raising taxes to fund road projects. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Property taxesFlorida should eliminate or sharply reduce homestead property taxes, even if local governments must cut services or find other revenue. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Asked about the proposed constitutional amendment to sharply cut property taxes, she said she was still evaluating her vote and was considering various ways local government could address the lost revenue. | Strongly disagrees· stated position Says he will vote against Amendment 3 because it helps only homesteaded owners and not other property owners or renters. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans disagree· stated position On affordability, says government-engineered solutions tend to backfire and that lowering homeowners' insurance premiums would help most. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Strongly agrees· stated position She lists water-quality work including protecting Wolf Branch Sink from contamination, a noise ordinance for springs, a phosphorus-reduction pilot project and countywide flow-way mapping, and says she opposes deep-well injection of landfill leachate. She opposes data centers in Florida. | Strongly agrees· stated position He says his purpose is protecting the springs, the lakes, the working lands, woods and quality of life, and frames the race as a choice between preserving natural resources and development interests. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Strongly agrees· stated position Her top stated priority is preventing municipal annexation and development of rural lands, and she wants cities to sign voluntary agreements honoring the county's Future Land Use Map and rural protection areas. Her campaign site says she has fought those who want to pave over the county through annexation of rural lands. | Strongly agrees· stated position His campaign is built around ending what he calls mindless growth and keeping big business from ruining quality of life, with an emphasis on saving farms and working lands from development. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
How the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Leslie Campione | 0.67 (3 statements) | not enough data |
| Egor Emery | not enough data | not enough data |
| Vance Jochim | not enough data | not enough data |
| Tommie Powers | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Leslie Campione
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Egor Emery
- Data centers — Supports comprehensive-plan changes to make large data centers harder to build and a longer moratorium than the 3-month pause the commission adopted.
Vance Jochim
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Tommie Powers
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.