Commissioner Robert F. Stuart Biography
Robert F. Stuart was first elected to the Orlando City Council, representing the citizens of District 3 in 2006. He was subsequently re-elected in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. From Baldwin Park to Signal Hill, District 3 is made up of some of Orlando’s oldest and finest neighborhoods and covers most of the area north of State Road 50.
Robert served as the Executive Director of the Christian Service Center from 1995 to 2020. The Center is the result of a collaborative outreach of the downtown Orlando churches and first opened its doors on June 1, 1971. Since their inception, the Christian Service Center has provided the most vulnerable populations of Central Florida with various programs designed to meet physical, emotional and spiritual needs, regardless of race, religion or gender. Millions of men, women and children have been served from the Center’s three locations in downtown Orlando, West Orange County and Winter Park. Their Love Pantry program has been implemented in more than 60 Orange County Schools to help children and families receive an emergency food supply right from their school.
Commissioner Stuart has built coalitions of concerned citizens from all over the Orlando community to address the issues surrounding homelessness, poverty, affordable housing, education, transportation, senior adults, and more. He is also a past board member of Heart of Florida United Way’s (HFUW) Community Services Network/211, the Orange County Historical Society, the College Park Rotary Club, and the PTA/PTSA of Lake Silver Elementary, Lee Middle, and Edgewater High Schools. Along with Mayor Dyer, he currently serves on Orlando’s Finance Committee, overseeing our city’s investment policy. He also serves as the city’s representative on the Florida League of Cities Board of Directors. He was instrumental in the creation of the Edgewater Drive Vision Task Force, the renovation of Historic Dubsdread Golf Course, the city’s Lake Alert system and countless public safety initiatives.
Commissioner Stuart was born and raised in Orlando and has served the local community in many ways. Prior to serving on the City Council, he served the city as the co-chair of the Mayor’s Working Committee on Homelessness, originally appointed by Mayor Glenda Hood, and was asked to continue by Mayor Buddy Dyer. He also served on the initial task force for Orange County’s Council on Aging.
Commissioner Stuart is a graduate of the University of Florida and has been married to his college sweetheart, Ann, for 46 years. They have two grown children, Maribeth and Robert, Jr., and five grandchildren. He is active at Church on the Drive in College Park.