U.S. Rep. Ross Spano, whose district includes most of Lakeland, told WFLA-TV’s “Politics on Your Side” he doesn’t believe climate change can be traced to “manmade activity.” He said, “What I’ve seen so far doesn’t prove to me that man has had the influence that some people [have] said it has had.”
Adam Hattersley, a Navy veteran and 41-year-old Democrat who flipped a previously GOP Florida House district last year as a political newcomer, announced today he is running to challenge Republican Ross Spano for the Congressional seat that represents most of Lakeland. “National Democratic organizations see a rising star in Hattersley,” a Riverview resident, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
MORE COVERAGE: Florida Politics | The Ledger
CANDIDATE FEE: Reporter Sara-Megan Walsh reveals a detail about the proposed changes to the City Charter that’s gotten little notice before: The filing fee to run for City Commission or mayor would increase from $25 to $250. The old fee was set 30 or 40 years ago and the higher one better reflects the city’s administrative costs, City Attorney Tim McCausland says. The proposed changes go to the voters in November.
The race for Lakeland’s open at-large commission seat has produced a rare split among Lakeland’s business leaders.
BusinessVoice Inc., the political action committee affiliated with the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce, endorsed Carole Philipson for the open seat. Her equally-funded opponent in the five-way race, Chad McLeod, has been endorsed by Lakeland First, a PAC created by a smaller group of area business owners and executives. More
Reporting by Bay News 9’s Stephanie Claytor about how Polk fared in the Legislature includes a chart listing the local projects: how much money they got and which ones were vetoed by the governor.
Two substantive changes to the city charter are closer to making an appearance on the Nov. 5 ballot after the City Commission reversed its earlier decision to put them off to a later year.
In a 5-to-1 non-binding vote Monday, commissioners instructed City Attorney Tim McCausland to reintroduce the two charter amendments back to an ordinance that will put a number of changes to the city charter on the ballot. More
Democrats’ efforts to find a candidate to oppose newly elected U.S. Rep. Ross Spano in the Congressional seat that represents most of Lakeland are focused on Adam Hattersley, a state representative who won in a previously Republican East Hillsborough district last year. Hattersley’s campaign is only saying he’s looking at options, but FloridaPolitics reports a Democratic consultant says Andrew Learned of Dover, who already announced for the Congressional seat, is prepared to run for Hattersley’s state House seat once Hattersley declares for Congress.
Democrat Chris Cause of Davenport, who teaches history for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Regional Detention Center, has filed to run in November’s election for the District 39 Florida House seat now held by Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City. The largely rural district includes much of Polk just north and east of Lakeland city limits.
A recent City Commission decision to keep two controversial changes to Lakeland’s city charter off this fall’s election ballot could discourage citizens from participating on city boards, two commissioners said today. More
The five candidates in the November election for an open at-large Lakeland City Commission seat have raised almost $50,000, and campaign finance reports show a close split between the two most well-connected candidates. More
