Vicki Vargo

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Vicki Vargo

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of South Florida

Law

University of Florida Levin College of Law

Personal

Birthplace

Grand Haven, Mich.

Religion

Christian: Presbyterian

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Vicki Vargo ran for election to the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District to represent District 2 in Florida. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Vargo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Vicki Vargo was born in Grand Haven, Michigan. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida and a law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Her career experience includes working as an attorney.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, Florida (2024)

General election

General election for Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District District 2

Jim Moyer defeated Vicki Vargo and Jimm Middleton in the general election for Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Moyer (Nonpartisan)	40.7	35,122
		Vicki Vargo (Nonpartisan)	39.1	33,750
		Jimm Middleton (Nonpartisan)	20.2	17,443

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 86,315
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kim Buchheit (Nonpartisan)
• Matthew Grocholske (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Vargo in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Vicki Vargo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vargo's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived in our area for forty-two years. More specifically, I have lived in the headwaters of our Wekiva River Basin for thirty-five years. I was raised on Lake Michigan at Grand Haven, Michigan, officially known as Coast Guard City USA. Further, I also was raised working on our family blueberry farm established in 1954 which continues to operate today. In fact, if you purchase blueberries from Michigan, they may be from our blueberry farm. Along with four brothers who are avid outdoors men, I have a profound respect for our natural resources.

Moving to Tampa to attend the University of South Florida, I earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. After working with the NCR Corporation for a couple years, I decided to attend law school. Upon graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, I relocated to Orlando and became a Partner with Anderson & Rush, which at the time was the third oldest law firm in Orlando working in the area of real estate.

My committment to soil and water matters is broad. Serving on the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Fair for now 24 years and counting, I believe 4-H Clubs and Future Farmers of America are important organizations cultivating our young people to choose careers in everything agriculture from ranching to home goods.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Agriculture is an important part of our economy in Orange County. I am aware of the range of issues from irrigation to pests. Orange County should support these industries and the natural resources to sustain them with the same vigor as the tourism industry.
• Clean usable water is critical to Orange County. The Wekiva River is an important waterway in the St. John's River Water Management District. Currently, polluted water runoff from W. Colonial Drive flows through the Central Florida Fairground all the way to the Wekiva River in Seminole County. No one is addressing the issue. This oversight needs to change.
• Holding private entities as well as public agencies accountable for the maintenance of retention ponds/lakes will be one of my priorities. The lack of maintenance leads to flooding in our communities and prevents polluted water to properly filter into our aquilifer.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Additional green space to serve as permanent conservation; More pocket parks in the middle of neighborhoods; Cleaner waterways throughout the entire Wekiva River Basin; No waterway should be left behind; Providing our agriculture community with the resources they need to succeed.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, Trust, Accessibility, and Transparency.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

It is important to meet with as many constituents as possible to help them. You cannot advocate people unless you know their needs and that requires meeting them where they live.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I remember happened while in elementary school when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. That assassination was followed soon by Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. I still vividly remember those events. Then, President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded, and, now, former President Donald Trump's life has been threatened twice. It is all very alarming.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was a blueberry picker. I worked as a blueberry picker for eleven years and can still pick blueberries with the best of them.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Government financial transparency is foundational to people trusting government. Armed with degrees in business administration/finance/law, I will dive into the Orange County budget looking for government wasteful dollars that could be used for solutions in the area of soil and water conversation. One place where Orange County stores up discretionary funds for elected officials pet projects is funded but not filled employment positions. It amounts to milllions of dollars.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District District 2

Website

Facebook

Personal

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn