4-minute read
Kaitlin Gracie Kramer is running for mayor of Lakeland in what is now a four-way race. She will face Kay Klymko, Sara Roberts McCarley and Cedrick Valrie.
The qualifying period for the Nov. 4 city election ended on Friday, solidifying the ballot.
Kramer, 24, said when she tells people that she’s running for mayor, “First of all, they treat me like I’m crazy because I’m 24. Second of all, they’re like, ‘I don’t even know who our current mayor is.’”
Kramer hopes she will inspire other young people in Lakeland to actively engage in politics. She believes she is the right person to take care of the community, be a voice of reason, and ensure fair, just and transparent government.
“The community is not involved in our local government at all,” Kramer said. “I would love to start running events that would get people involved, make them want to go out and support the community, make them want to go out to support small businesses.”
Love for her city
Kramer’s decision to run comes from her love for her hometown.
“Lakeland’s the most beautiful place in the entire world,” she said. “I’ve lived here my entire life. I was born at Lakeland Regional. My grandparents lived here. My parents lived here. I lived here. I plan on raising my kids here.”
She said she will prioritize building better infrastructure, offering more public transportation options, fixing water quality issues and maintaining brick roadways.
Other priorities are closely linked to her experiences growing up and living in Lakeland.
Although Kramer says she understands the limitations of the mayor’s office to affect school curriculum, she would advocate for local schools to offer additional programming focused on financial literacy. She said she often encounters people who don’t understand credit or fiscal responsibility.
She said bullying is a problem in our public schools, and she would like to see more support for neurodivergent students and those with disabilities.
Kramer is also focused on Lakeland’s senior center. She said her grandmother spends a lot of time at home reading, and she would like her to have somewhere to go and make friends.
“I think that’s a fantastic idea. Rallying around the people that have built this city,” Kramer said.
Finally, Kramer said she would like to increase Lakeland’s sense of community. “Lakeland is such a good melting pot of different cultures and experiences and people … I would love to get a better sense of community.”
Kramer has been planning her campaign for about two weeks. She and her treasurer, Heath Moore, said they want to ensure that they’re doing everything by the book.
A Fresh Perspective
Kramer acknowledges that people may question whether she is prepared to be mayor, but she feels confident in her leadership skills.
“This is definitely a big step for me. It’s a big step for anyone, but especially at my age because you face a lot of doubts from people.”
“I understand that it’s beneficial to have the years and years of experience,” Kramer said, but she believes her new perspective and experience will also be valuable.
“I have been a bar manager at a multimillion-dollar corporation for the last four years,” she said. As a managing partner at Hooters in North Lakeland, Kramer said she has seen “the good and the bad,” but the experience has honed her leadership skills and allowed her to connect with the community.
“I hear people talk all day, every day, all weekend about what they like, what they don’t like, what they feel like they could change in the community,” she said. “You listen to that for so long, you kind of want to make improvements.”
Beyond politics
Kramer is a recent graduate of the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She is interested in pursuing a career in medicine and research, but she is putting that on hold to enter local politics.
Kramer has a rare eye condition called keratoconus, and she would like to do research to improve treatment for the disease.
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.