The campaign finances of U.S. Rep. Ross Spano of Dover, whose district includes most of Lakeland, are apparently under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice. The House Ethics Committee said today it is deferring its own investigation at the request of the DOJ. A statement from Spano said he is cooperating with the investigation and that the probe was motivated by “the left.”
ALSO: Coverage by Politico
UPDATED 9:11 p.m. — Bill Read was re-elected to the Lakeland City Commission today, but it will take a Dec. 3 runoff to determine the victor in the other commission race on the ballot. Top vote-getters Chad McLeod and Carole Philipson face each other in a runoff because no candidate won a majority in their four-way contest. More
Kay Hagan, who represented North Carolina in the U.S. Senate from 2008 to 2014, died at age 66 after a three-year ordeal with encephalitis. The Roll Call article mentions her growing up in Lakeland, that her father, Joe P. Ruthven, was mayor, and that she had a Washington internship with her uncle, the late U.S. Sen. Lawton Chiles, also of Lakeland.
ALSO: Hagan’s family suffered a double tragedy. Her stepmother, Judy Ruthven, also died Monday, The Ledger reported.
In these days when people are unsure which news sources are reliable, former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida had an immediate answer: “Turn off the cable.” More
The candidates running in the two contested City Commission races on the Nov. 5 ballot answered questions at a public forum sponsored by BRIDGE Local, a Lakeland small business networking organization. An interesting discussion takes place at about 53:00 when the candidates were asked to rank Lakeland on economic inclusion — providing a level playing field for all members of the community. Here’s video of the entire forum.
City Commission candidates Jiwa Farrell and incumbent Bill Read answered questions today in a forum sponsored by the Lakeland Kiwanis Club. Both are seeking the Northeast District seat on the seven-member, nonpartisan board. (The four candidates for the at-large seat on the Nov. 5 ballot faced off at the same club two weeks ago.) Here is a video of today’s forum, along with a presentation afterward by Lakeland Electric General Manager Joel Ivy:
The six candidates for Lakeland City Commission in the Nov. 5 election answered questions during a forum at today’s meeting of The Lakeland Rotary Club. The forum was moderated by Jack Lowman of Avon Leasing, a former president of the club. Topics included, in order:
When Justin Troller leaves the City Commission at the end of the year, it’s unlikely his replacement will have the same zeal for a city broadband utility that he has. At a forum today, three of the four candidates running for the at-large seat he is vacating shied away from getting the city into the Internet business; a fourth said he is willing to look into it. The article continues after the video of the fourm:
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Phillip Walker was re-elected to the Lakeland City Commission today since he did not receive opposition for his northwest Lakeland seat by noon, the end of the period to qualify for office.
In an unexpected move, former School Board member and County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson entered a five-way race for an open City Commission seat. And in the other contested race, incumbent Bill Read picked up an opponent, Jiwa Farrell. More
Candidates for City Commission agreed far more than they disagreed at a forum today hosted by the Republican Club of Lakeland. The issue that brought the sharpest differences was whether the current commission was correct in giving Lakeland Regional Health a five-year break on increases in lease payments to the city. More on that after video of the forum; skip ahead to the 16:15 mark to hear candidate statements:
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