The Winter Park City Commission has called for a special meeting to take place on Thursday in response to an incident sparked at Friday’s mayoral candidate forum. The forum, hosted and livestreamed by the Chamber of Commerce, consisted of candidates Phil Anderson and Sarah Sprinkel responding to a series of Chamber-approved questions submitted by Winter Park constituents.
One of the questions presented accused members of the city commission of “blatantly colluding” in an effort to bring the controversial Henderson Hotel project to an end. Anderson was “astonished” that a question of this nature was permitted.
Following the forum, Anderson reportedly approached the chamber president, Betsy Gardner Eckbert, about his frustration with the question leading to a conflict. The candidate made a public apology for the “intensity” of his comments on Monday, and on Tuesday the chamber and Anderson’s campaign released a joint statement explaining that both parties were leaving the incident in the past and ready to move forward “in an effort to bring the community together.”
Thursday’s meeting, set to take place at 1 p.m., will address the accusatory question posed at the forum and “take action as deemed appropriate.”