Business-focused forum

Jessica Gilbert and Tom James of the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership (CEP) were moderators for the 2026 Primary Candidate Forum for local primaries presented by Progress Marion and hosted by the CEP at the Reilly Arts Center in Ocala on June 25, 2026. [Screenshot/CEP YouTube]

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Posted July 7, 2026 | By Jennifer Hunt, [email protected]

With the Aug. 18 primary election fast approaching, the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership (CEP) recently hosted a 2026 Primary Candidate Forum and, unlike other such events, the entire forum is available to stream on the CEP’s YouTube channel from the comfort of your home.

Rather than reiterate what each candidate said during the event, the “Gazette” is choosing to direct readers to watch the forum online and learn for themselves how each candidate responded to the questions. To view the event, visit the Ocala Metro CEP YouTube channel at youtube.com/ocalacep

A synopsis of the questions

The nearly four-hour session saw the candidates tackling issues at each level of local and state government. Among the recurring themes for Marion County hopefuls were how each of them would handle the county’s rapid population growth and its massive budget constraints.

• Florida House (Districts 21 & 24): Candidates were pressed heavily on the impending 2026 property tax elimination amendment. They were asked how they would protect funding for essential services like public safety, parks and libraries if local revenue plummets, and how they would balance tax relief without straining the budgets of small, fiscally constrained municipalities. They were also asked how they would protect Florida’s business climate and workforce amid these tax shifts.
• County Commission (Districts 2 & 4): Candidates were asked to define “responsible growth” and to identify their top infrastructure priority. Like the state representatives, they were asked how they would prioritize county services if the property tax amendment passes and revenues fall short. Finally, they had to elaborate on what specific experience they bring to the task of managing the county’s $1.6 billion budget.
• School Board (Districts 3, 4, & 5): Candidates tackled the highly emotional issue of rezoning and consolidation discussions involving North end Marion County schools. They were also asked to demonstrate their financial competency to manage the district’s $1.3 billion budget and were questioned about their experience with, and plans to improve, the district’s Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Questions about CEP intentions

Following the candidate forum, social media chatter questioned both the intentions of the CEP hosting the forum as well as made implications that certain candidates were targeted or favored.

The “Gazette” reached out to the CEP to ask their intentions directly and CEP President and CEO Matt McCormick stated the group’s intentions were to give “people in our community an opportunity to listen and learn about topics, to listen and learn about the candidates.”

When asked about community concerns raised over the past few years about the CEP’s role in local politics and government, McCormick explained the organization’s stance on candidate endorsements: although the CEP is legally allowed to endorse candidates as a 501(c)(6) organization, their leadership firmly chooses not to do so.

“That is not the direction that we want to go,” he said. “We want to stay focused on issues, we want to stay focused on pro-business policies… and not getting into the arena of endorsing candidates.”

McCormick agreed, however, that Marion County’s business leaders (many of whom are  members of the CEP) are very active in politics and a multitude of community issues individually and through other organizations. He added that none of those activities are coordinated by the CEP, which is under contract with both the city of Ocala and Marion County government to provide direction for economic development. He also said the CEP’s political action committee was not involved in doing so.

Chairman of the CEP, Todd Rudyiani, echoed McCormick’s statement empathically.

Sponsor sentiments vs. neutral hosting

To help fund the streaming of the forum, the CEP signed on a presenting sponsor, Progress Marion. During the opening remarks, Progress Marion’s David Tillman explained that his group is a business-focused organization independent from the CEP that was formed specifically because the CEP does not endorse or rate candidates on their merits. Tillman used his time to urge voters to research candidates carefully and beware of “socialistic ideas that will destroy the prosperity of our community.”

The CEP confirmed that Tillman’s remarks reflected the sole sentiment of the sponsor. The CEP said they tried to serve as a neutral host for the evening, maintaining an “unbiased platform” for all participants.

To maintain a sense of fairness among a large slate of candidates, CEP organizers said they tried to run a tightly structured event. Candidates were sequestered—waiting off-stage until their specific race was called—and were brought out alphabetically. Once on stage, strict time limits were enforced: two minutes to answer each question and one minute for closing statements, ensuring equal opportunity for everyone.

The organizers also said the questions were driven by concerns raised by the community. A QR code was heavily circulated for two weeks prior to the event to gather resident comments. CEP VP of the Foundation Jessica Gilbert and the team reviewed the submissions, boiling them down to the most pressing topics with priority for business-related issues a minute before the forum started.