1984 Orlando mayoral election

1984 Orlando mayoral election

←  1980 September 4, 1984 1988  →

Candidate Bill Frederick Dale C. Smith Tim Adams Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 14,861 3,907 3,167 Percentage 67.75% 17.81% 14.44%

Mayor before election Bill Frederick Nonpartisan Elected mayor Bill Frederick Nonpartisan

The 1984 Orlando mayoral election took place on September 4, 1984. Incumbent Mayor Bill Frederick ran for re-election to a second term. He faced two little-known opponents in the election: city planner Dale Smith, who had unsuccessfully run against Frederick in 1980, and financial planner Tim Adams. The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Frederick for re-election, noting that voters should have "no hesitation" in re-electing him, because he was "the only one of the three candidates who offers th[e] potential" to deal with the city's problems. ^[1] Frederick ultimately won re-election in a landslide, receiving 68 percent of the vote to Smith's 18 percent and Adams's 14 percent. ^[2]

General election

Candidates

• Bill Frederick, incumbent Mayor ^[3]
• Dale C. Smith, city planner, 1980 candidate for Mayor ^[4]
• Tim Adams, financial planner ^[5]

Results

1984 Orlando mayoral election results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Bill Frederick (inc.)	14,861	67.75%
	Nonpartisan	Dale C. Smith	3,907	17.81%
	Nonpartisan	Tim Adams	3,167	14.44%
Total votes			21,935	100.00%

References

1. "Bill Frederick for mayor". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. September 2, 1984. p. G-2. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
2. Johnson, Julie (September 5, 1984). "Mayor wins 2nd term by big margin". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. A-1. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
3. Blumenstyk, Goldie (July 9, 1984). "Race for mayor looks like waltz". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. B-1. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
4. Johnson, Julie (August 6, 1984). "Frederick leads in contributions". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. C-3. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
5. Heaney, Jim (July 20, 1984). "Financial planner joins mayor's race". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. C-4. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
6. "Election Results 1980-1988" (PDF). Orlando City Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 25, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2025.