2 Lakeland Board of Commissioner (BOC) seats will be up for election this coming fall. Three candidates have officially entered the race after turning in the required paperwork to the Shelby County Election Commission before today’s deadline.
The two available seats will be for Commissioner Wesley Wright’s seat, who is seeking re-election and Commissioner (Vice Mayor) Josh Roman, who will not be seeking re-election.
The election will be held on November 3, 2020, the same day as the Presidential election. Early voting in Lakeland starts on October 14, 2020. More about the candidates below.
Commissioner Wesley Wright
Wesley Wright will be seeking re-election for his Commissioner seat. Mr. Wright was elected in a special held election in May of 2017. From Mr. Wrights campaign website:
“Wesley Wright is excited to announce that he will be running for reelection as Lakeland Commissioner. He is a Christian, husband, father of two wonderful children, business owner and has served as Lakeland Commissioner since 2017. His consistent involvement, accessibility and transparency has been a welcome presence by residents. Citizens have seen his efforts to strive for upscale commercial and residential design while striking a balance between development, conservation, and walk-ability. He has long been an advocate for a complete K-12 system and will continue to keep our schools as a top priority. He brought Flock Safety to Lakeland, initiated the moratorium on apartments, and brought forth the Lakeland 2040 Vision Plan which are just some contributions. He would like the opportunity to continue serving and helping to make Lakeland a benchmark community and would appreciate your vote in the 2020 election.”
Mr. Jim Atkinson
Mr. Atkinson will be seeking election for the 2nd Commissioner opening. Mr. Atkinson is well versed in Lakeland as a long time employee of city hall as both city planner and city manager before moving to his current positions at A2H Engineering. From Mr. Atkinson’s website:
“Jim is a former long-tenured Lakeland employee, having held positions of Planning Director, Director of Administration, and eventually City Manager before leaving for the private sector in 2018. Jim knows the history, context, policies, ordinances, finances, vision, and pledges to strategically plan, listen, be transparent, be thorough, and always put policy over politics. It’s time to bring Lakeland back together. It’s time to build consensus. Let’s do this together. Jim loves Lakeland and would be honored and humbled to serve as Commissioner.”
Mr. Scott Carmichael
Mr. Carmichael is also seeking one of the two seats in the upcoming election. Mr. Carmichael was once commissioner and mayor of Lakeland. A long time resident of Lakeland, he and his wife, Donna Carmichael, live on Highway 70. The last time he ran for office in Lakeland he was defeated by Mayor Wyatt Bunker in September 2013. Mr. Bunker received 63% of that vote and Mr. Carmichael received 25% of the vote. He currently serves as a volunteer on the Municipal Planning Commission after being appointed by current Mayor Mike Cunningham. No other information could be found online (campaign website or social media) about his current campaign for commissioner.
