Mayor Richard Crotty

Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty grew up in Orlando, attending Orange County public schools, Valencia Community College and the University of Central Florida where he majored in Public Administration and Communications.

Recognized as an up-and-coming leader for his work in our community, Mr. Crotty was selected to be a member of the Orlando Chamber of Commerce’s’ first “Leadership Orlando” program at the age of 27. At age 30, Mr. Crotty was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

During his fourteen years of legislative service as a member of both the House and Senate, Mr. Crotty was known as a reformer and consensus builder who succeeded by working closely “with both sides of the aisle”. His legislative accomplishments and awards are many. As a member of the Florida Senate, Senator Crotty served as his party’s Floor Leader.

In 1992 Senator Crotty left the Legislature and was elected Orange County Property Appraiser. In 1995, Mr. Crotty was ranked the #1 Property Appraiser in the nation with the Distinguished Assessment Jurisdiction Award. He also received the Public Information Award.

On January 23, 2001, Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Mr. Crotty as Orange County Chairman shortly after President George W. Bush appointed then Chairman Mel Martinez to serve as Secretary of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). Chairman Crotty was elected to a full term in September of 2002 with 73% of the vote. In 2004, Orange County citizens voted overwhelmingly to change the county leader’s title from Chairman to Mayor to better reflect his function as chief executive.

Mayor Crotty has been recognized by Orlando Magazine as the area’s “Best Politician” and was runner-up to Arnold Palmer as the person who “Best Exemplifies Orlando.” The publication also ranked Mayor Crotty at the top of the list of Orlando’s 50 most powerful people in July 2004. An Orlando Sentinel survey ranked Mayor Crotty #1 on its list of the “25 Most Powerful People In Central Florida” for the past three years.