Down windy roads, in a small church in North Lakeland, nine candidates seeking office in Lakeland came together to share their platforms and views on four topics impacting the City.
The North Lakeland Community Association (NLCA) sponsored a forum tonight (10.18.18) for Mayoral, Commissioner and School Board candidates running for office in the Nov. 6 election. Early voting started this week and continues until Nov. 1st.
https://vimeo.com/295944841
Attending were Mayoral candidates Wyatt Bunker and Michael Cunningham; Commission candidates Jeremy Burnett, Michele Dial, Michael Green and Richard Gonzales; and School Board candidates Zachary Coleman, Kevin Floyd and Deborah Thomas. Unable to attend were School Board candidate Laura Harrison and Commission candidate Clark Plunk.
The four topics, given to candidates in advance, were schools, property taxes, infrastructure and growing revenue.
The final of three forums will be next week.
6 – 8 p.m. Monday (10.22.18) – LMPS (Lakeland Middle Preparatory School) Cafeteria – LMPS PTO
Tonight’s event was organized by NLCA President Bill Smith with assistance from Shawn Cummings, program director; Angela Booze, secretary; and Kathy Clark. New Salem Cumberland Presbyterian Church is located at 6813 Salem Road and holds 135 people. Attendance was estimated by Mrs. Clark at 100. The event started with prayer led by John Burnett.
Candidates were allowed varied increments of time to tell about themselves and address one or more of the topics. They were given several opportunities to speak to the crowd. The 6 p.m. event ended at 7:45 p.m. No questions were taken from the audience as part of the guidelines of the NLCA.
… Video and photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents.
