Candidates Woo Lakeland Voters at ‘Politics in the Park’

Nearly two dozen candidates were in high gear Tuesday evening, courting voters at Munn Park. The Aug. 20 election that will decide many of their races is in less than two weeks. Early in-person voting begins on Saturday.

Politics in the Park is a local election-year tradition. The toasty talk-fest drew almost 300 people who visited candidates’ tables, picked up pamphlets and listened to four-minute stump speeches. It was hosted by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and presented by Orlando Health.

Half the ballot: For undecided voters, it was a great opportunity to put faces to some of the names on the upcoming ballot and figure out where those candidates stand on the issues. But only about half of the more than four dozen local contenders were there.

Like many recent forums, there were several races in which voters could hear from only one or two candidates for a seat. One factor was the busy pre-election calendar, with events taking place all over the county. But another was the cost of registration for Politics in the Park.

Check out LkldNow’s comprehensive voter guide to learn more about who’s running.

Slideshow: See photos of Politics in the Park

Dollars and cents: Registration was $500 for candidates or $300 for organizations. Twenty-one candidates paid and got a reserved space to set up a table, an invitation to a VIP meet-and-greet at Ax-Caliber before the event and four minutes to address voters from the stage.

But at least one candidate felt the fee was too steep. Polk County Commission candidate Kay Klymko attended Politics in the Park but did not set up a booth. She said it was frustrating to miss out on the meet-and-greet and not be allowed to speak at the microphone, but the cost was too high for candidates like her who do not have large donors.

“It’s exclusionary,” Klymko said. “My people are grassroots.”

Amy Wiggins, president of the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce, said hosting the event involves significant costs, including renting the stage and providing security.

“We have to pay for it somehow,” Wiggins said.

At least one candidate rented a table and had proxies at the event but did not attend in person. A Melony Bell campaign member who introduced himself as Nathan addressed the crowd on her behalf.

Background noise: Passing freight and Amtrak trains forced some politicians to pause in the middle of their stump speeches. The crowd waited patiently when the first and second trains interrupted the speakers. By the time a third train came through, the DJ was ready with music to cover the noise. A fourth train had audience members shaking their heads in disbelief and laughing aloud.

Apt music: Another moment that gave everyone a chuckle was when County Commission candidate Ricky Shirah was introduced and the DJ played the theme song to the 1970s show The Dukes of Hazard, which begins “Just a good old boy….” Shirah then spoke in his southern drawl about growing up in Polk County and living here all his life.

The DJ had to play music to get at least one candidate, Shirah’s opponent John Hall, to finish his speech.

Straw poll

A highlight of Politics in the Park every two years is a straw poll of attendees.

Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards, who is facing a re-election challenge from Bell, set up about a dozen official voting booths under a canopy in the middle of the park — each with ballot-like surveys loaded onto laptop computers.

At least 228 people, including many campaign supporters, participated in the popular-but-unscientific poll. Winners announced at the end of the event included:

• Becky Troutman for County Commission District 1.
• Ricky Shirah for County Commission District 5.
• William Allen for School Board District 1.
• Sara Beth Reynolds Wyatt for School Board District 4.
• Blair Allen for Public Defender.
• Gow Fields for Property Appraiser.
• Melony Bell for Supervisor of Elections.
• Laurel Lee for U.S. House of Representatives District 15.
• Scott Franklin for U.S. House of Representatives District 18.

One race that was neck-in-neck was the School Board District 2. Marcus “MJ” Wright Jr received 103 votes, or 50.24%, while Travis Keyes received 102 votes, or 49.76%.

Election details

Election Day: The primary election will be Aug. 20 with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sample ballots and voting locations are available on the Supervisor of Election’s website.

Voting by mail: Registered voters have until Aug. 8 to request a mail-in ballot. Postage is pre-paid. Completed ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Early in-person voting will be available at 10 locations from Aug. 10 to 17. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are two sites in Lakeland:

• Polk County Government Center, 930 E Parker Street.
• Simpson Park Community Center, 1725 Martin L King Jr. Avenue.

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