Buddy Dyer was sitting in the midst of three guys going for his jugular. Mayor, you've created a culture of secrecy and sweetheart deals! Buddy simply smiled and asked the crowd if they'd seen his nice, new arena. You've wasted tax money on frivolous lawsuits and arrests! Oh, SunRail's coming too, Buddy cooed. Buddy, you just spend, spend, spend! And yet, Buddy said with a grin, taxes are down. So is crime. And, oh yeah, I cleaned up a financial mess the previous mayor left behind. By the end of this week's one-hour debate, Buddy's three challengers were exhausted from hurling one criticism after another at Mr. Teflon. Buddy will win the election for mayor of Orlando. Here's why: Because even though I agree with most of the Buddy-centric criticisms mentioned above, he still made the case for another term Wednesday night. Overall, Orlando has fared pretty well under Buddy. Downtown has grown. The deficit is gone. Yet somehow, the city's tax rate is not only lower than when Buddy took office, it's lower than any other big city in Florida. Crime is down. Amenities are up. Transit is on the way, along with a growing Medical City in the east. Judging solely by the stats, Buddy should have a cakewalk back into office. Yet it's interesting that he has real challengers — including a thoughtful and smart financial mind in Phil Diamond and a passionate, if sometimes hyperbolic, populist in Mike Cantone. (Ken Mulvaney seems to be running simply because he runs every four years. At ...