Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Florida's General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and all polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As of Oct. 27, 112,310 of the 166,116 vote by mail ballots requested had been returned for counting. Another 74,827 voted early. Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards has some important tips to keep in mind as workers and voters employ safe practices when voting. Precautions to protect voters and workers from COVID-19 mean less voters may be allowed in each polling location at one time. Face masks are encoura...
Newly elected Lake Wales City Commissioner Kris Fitzgerald was arrested Thursday, June 3 on two felony charges for allegedly taking an 11-year-old boy from his home without permission and threatening him with a loaded handgun. According to the affidavit by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Fitzgerald picked the boy up at his home in Lake Wales the evening of June 2 and drove him about 10 miles out SR 60 to Struthers Honey, where she confronted him for allegedly sexually...
At the end of his last official meeting April 20, City Commissioner Curtis Gibson announced plans to run for Lake Wales mayor in 2022, saying he is "excited for new adventures." Gibson decided to not seek re-election this year, saying he wanted to spend more time with family – including an infant son – and complete his bachelor's degree this summer. Mayor Eugene Fultz has publicly stated he plans to step down in 2022. Gibson and outgoing Commissioner Al Goldstein will be rec...
Still stinging from his April 6 defeat by just 32 votes, Lake Wales City Commissioner Al Goldstein came out swinging the next morning – citing racism as a primary factor in his loss and suggesting the city is "on the cusp of destruction." Goldstein said he is not convinced his successful opponent, Kris Fitzgerald, will be a good commissioner and said she won on the coattails of Daniel Williams, who defeated Ricardo Navarro for Seat 2 by 15 votes. Goldstein said in two years h...
Lake Wales voters April 6 approved by wide margins, ranging from 82 to 92 percent, all seven proposed changes to the City Charter. City commissioners appointed a Charter Review Committee, which studied the issues, got public input and recommended seven changes to city's governing document. AMENDMENT 1 - MISSION STATEMENT: More than 88 percent of the voters approved adding the following mission statement to the city charter, by a vote of 1,662 to 218: The mission of the City...
Lake Wales voters will consider seven proposed changes to the city Charter when they go to the polls for the April 6 municipal election. City commissioners approved placing all seven on the ballot. The mayor and commissioners each appointed one member of the Charter Review Committee, which had been meeting every two weeks since July 16. Members include: attorneys Sara Jones, Keith Wadsworth and Jim Weaver, and college administrator Andy Oguntola. The Committee chairperson is...
Editor's Note: More analysis of the city election will be included in future stories. In the closest races in recent history, Daniel Williams and Kris Fitzgerald won election to the Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday, April 6. Fitzgerald beat incumbent Al Goldstein by 32 votes, and Williams bested Ricardo Navarro by just 15 votes. Williams was one vote ahead of Navarro when the in-person vote tallies came in, but pulled further ahead when vote by mail ballots were added....
In person voters in the April 6 Lake Wales municipal election trickled in with only 139 casting ballots during the first few hours. A total of 9,790 Lake Wales citizens are eligible to vote in 2021. That's only a net increase of about 20 registered voters more than were eligible for the April 2020 election. As of the end of the day Monday, April 5 a total of 1,174 Lake Wales voters had cast ballots early or by mail. That's on par with the early and absentee votes in the April...
Seat 2 on the Lake Wales City Commission will have a new occupant after the April 6 municipal election – either Ricardo Navarro or Daniel Williams. Incumbent Commissioner Curtis Gibson is not seeking re-election, but is instead considering a run for Lake Wales mayor in 2022. Navarro, 33, is an internal medicine physician, owner and president of Navarro Medical. He also is a consulting physician for Vitas Healthcare and medical director for the hospitalist medicine program a...
In the April 6 municipal election political newcomer Kris Fitzgerald faces off with incumbent Al Goldstein to represent Seat 4 on the Lake Wales City Commission. One of the few similarities between the two candidates is they both served in the military – Fitzgerald in the U.S. Air Force and Goldstein in the U.S. Marines. They are very different in age, race, work status and political affiliation. Despite the position being nonpartisan, both accepted and then returned c...
Voters in the Tuesday, April 6 Lake Wales municipal election may look up their polling location at PolkElections.com. "Polling locations may be different for city elections, so it's a good idea to double check before heading to the polls," said Lori Edwards, Polk County's Supervisor of Elections. The two Lake Wales locations are the Lake Ashton Clubhouse and the James P. Austin Community Center. Voters may click on "Voter Lookup" at PolkElections.com to find their polling...
Editor's Note: Candidates for City Commission were asked to complete a questionnaire. Their responses are being printed as submitted. Kris T.Y. Fitzgerald Lake Wales City Commission Seat 4 Candidate AGE: 40 OCCUPATION: Senior Administrator at The Vanguard School-Director of Residential Life/License Mental Health Counselor. Qualified Supervisor for LMHCs. YEARS LIVING IN LAKE WALES: Born and raised in Lake Wales. I only moved away for brief periods of time while in the USAF...
Editor's Note: Candidates for City Commission were asked to complete a questionnaire. Their responses are being printed as submitted. Daniel Williams Lake Wales City Commission Seat 2 Candidate Hello my name is Daniel Williams, I'm 47 years old an a native of Lake Wales, Florida. I graduated from Lake Wales High School in 1991 and went on to attend Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. I graduated from "The Peay" in 1996 with a double major in Political Science and...
Editor's Note: Candidates for City Commission were asked to complete a questionnaire. Their responses are being printed as submitted. Dr. Ricardo Navarro Lake Wales City Commission Seat 2 Candidate Age: 33 years old Occupation: • Internal Medicine Physician. • Owner and President of Navarro Medical. • Medical Director for the Hospitalist Medicine program at Advent Health Lake Wales • Consulting Physician for Vitas Healthcare Years Living in Lake Wales : Twenty-seven (27) ye...
Editor's Note: Candidates for City Commission were asked to complete a questionnaire. Their responses are being printed as submitted. Al Goldstein Lake Wales City Commission Seat 4 Incumbent OCCUPATION: Retired YEARS LIVING IN LAKE WALES: 8 COMMUNITY SERVICE: Former President of Lake Ashton Republican Club., Former Vice Chairman of Polk Republican Executive Committee EXPERIENCE SERVING ON BOARDS: Lake Wales representative to the PRWC Polk Regional Water Cooperative, Lake Wales...
Editor's Note: Check out questionnaires submitted by the four candidates in our People section. Videos of a candidate forum can be viewed at The https://www.facebook.com/247504432355875/videos/3578357928879748 or on You Tube at https://youtu.be/CU5pQcxhnLw Four candidates have qualified to run for two Lake Wales City Commission seats in the April 16 municipal election. Dr. Ricardo Navarro and pastor Daniel Williams are seeking election to Seat 2, which is being vacated by...
Residents of Lake Wales who wish to register to vote in the April 6 Municipal Elections must do so on or before Monday, March 8. Voter registration forms may be completed online at PolkElections.com or paper copies are available for pickup at many convenient locations throughout the county including city halls, banks, libraries and chambers of commerce. A mobile registration site will be set up from 9-10 a.m. Monday, March 8 at the intersection of Central Avenue and Martin...
The four people vying for two Lake Wales City Commission seats will participate in a candidate forum at 7 p.m. Monday, March 1. Co-sponsored by Rotary on the Ridge and LakeWalesNews.net, the forum will be held at the Ouellette Law Firm meeting room at 151 E. Central Ave. To ensure social distancing, in-person participation will be restricted. The program will be broadcast on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/RotaryontheRidge and a video will be produced by LaVaughn...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson has been chosen as one of 20 participants in the 2021 Central Florida Political Leadership Institute, a regional, nonprofit program sponsored by the Orlando Economic Partnership. The program prepares business minded leaders throughout Central Florida for future leadership opportunities – as political candidates or appointees to government boards or commissions. Since its inception in 2008, 29 PLI graduates have served in public o...
Qualifying to run for the Lake Wales City Commission closes Friday, Feb. 19 at noon. Candidates must live in the district they seek to represent, but will be voted on citywide on April 6. Licensed mental health counselor Kris Fitzgerald has indicated plans to run against Seat 4 incumbent Al Goldstein. Incumbent Seat 2 Commissioner Curtis Gibson is not running for re-election. So far pastor Daniel Williams and Dr. Ricardo Navarro have announced plans to run for that seat. The...
Two-term Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in April. At the end of their regular meeting Jan. 19, Gibson told his fellow commissioners he wants to devote more time to family, including his infant son, complete his business administration degree and prepare for his next level of service. Gibson said he made the decision after "prayerful consideration" and hopes people "who love Lake Wales and have a heart for...
With no announced opposition to date, Lake Wales City Commissioner Al Goldstein is pulling in some heavyweight endorsements for his re-election campaign. Goldstein was first elected in April 2019 with no opposition as the only candidate to qualify. Incumbent Tonya Stewart missed the deadline to submit the required 25 voter signatures to get on the ballot. The upcoming April 6 Municipal Election will include seven proposed city Charter amendments, Goldstein's Seat 4 and Seat...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Al Goldstein has been appointed to serve on the "new and improved" Florida League of Cities' 2020-2021 Advocacy Committee. In appointing Goldstein, FLC President Tony Ortiz said advocacy is one of the primary missions of the Florida League of Cities. "This committee will be responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities outlined in the Advocacy Mission Statement and for developing ideas and activities that strengthen our influence with state...
The Polk County Democratic Executive Committee organizational meeting & election was held Monday, Dec. 7 via the ZOOM online platform and also live on Facebook. Elected to serve as the 2020-2022 Board Officers include: Catherine Price, Chair; Veysel Dokur, 1st Vice-Chair; Jiwa Farrell, 2nd Vice-Chair, Polly Burkhart, Secretary; Norman Wilderson, Sergeant-At-Arms and Cindy Ransbottom, Treasurer. Also elected to serve from 2020-2024 were Karen Welzel, State Committeewoman, and...
The public is invited to "ask an expert" when they attend a virtual elections security forum this Thursday, Oct. 29. The event is being held to discuss voter concerns about the safety and conduct of the general election. Panelists for the 7 p.m. event will include Polk Elections Supervisor Lori Edwards, Polk Sheriff's Department Chief of Staff Steve Lester, and voting rights expert Sam Coodley. JC Martin, chair of the Polk Republicans, and Dr. Kathie Sutherland, chair of the...
