Bartow appoints 2 new commissioners after Form 6 fallout. Eagle Lake fills 1 empty seat

Two appointees to the Bartow City Commission were the sole candidates in a potential upcoming municipal election and the newcomers to the commission will now serve out those terms without having to face an election.

Gary Ball and Laura Simpson were sworn in during the Feb. 5 commission meeting and both qualified for the next municipal election. But without any challengers, they will continue to serve the remainder of the terms they were appointed to serve.

Ball was appointed to at-large Seat 4 and he will serve until April 2026. Simpson was appointed for central district Seat 2 and will serve until April 2027.

Both are Republicans. Ball, 58, is a retired Polk County paramedic and currently works for a hospital. Simpson, 47, is an office manager at Crown Electric Inc. in Bartow.

Neither appointee was opposed by a qualified candidate by 5 p.m. Friday, which was the deadline to qualify for Bartow's municipal election.

Incumbent Seat 1 at-large City Commissioner Tanya Tucker was unopposed by the Friday deadline, so she also will not face an election.

The municipal election day in Polk County is scheduled for April 2 but will not be held in Bartow or Eagle Lake and perhaps in other cities because of fallout from a new Florida law.

The two seats now held by Ball and Simpson became available after City Commissioners Steve Githens and Nick Adams decided to resign from their posts rather than comply with a new state law that requires more detailed financial disclosures for municipal office holders and candidates.

Bartow appointees

Without a campaign trail to get to know the Bartow appointees, Ball and Simpson offered to respond to questions about their goals as city commissioners.

“Having served the citizens of Bartow and Polk County in public safety for over 30 years, left me with a continued desire to be an active member in the community,” Ball wrote in an email.

“I feel our city is seeing growth in development at a surmounting pace,” he said. “I believe that with positive cooperative leadership, we can utilize smart planning and sustainable infrastructure to meet the future needs of the city.”

One such plan for infrastructure includes up to two new stations for emergency medical services, he said. While Bartow police can still respond to the far reaches of the city because they are on constant patrols in their cars, paramedics need additional locations to maintain appropriate response times.

Ball started with Polk County Emergency Medical Services and Fire Rescue for four years as a volunteer. In 1991, he was hired as a paramedic and retired in 2018 as a battalion chief with Polk County Fire Rescue after the two services consolidated into one.

He then started another career as an emergency room registered nurse and now works for HCA Florida Brandon as the ER manager of HCA Florida Lakeland, a free-standing emergency room.

A lifelong resident of Bartow, Ball has been married to his wife, Jessica, for 11 years and has three grown children and five grandchildren.

In her application with Bartow, Simpson, who is also a lifelong resident said she wants to be “more involved in the future planning of our city.”

She listed previous work as the president and executive director of The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Bartow Inc., among her qualifications and experience to serve as commissioner.

“I feel I have insight and experience that could be used to help future planning and development through the CRA (Community Redevelopment Authority) Board,” she wrote. “I have worked to create and design master plans for beautification, community plans for future development and reignited Bartow’s Main Street to be an award winning business catalyst for Bartow.”

She received awards from the Hillsborough County Planning Commission for design and master planning for aesthetic improvements to Brandon Boulevard and for a community plan for Brandon’s retrofitted Main Street District.

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She also has taken economic development courses at the University of South Florida and served as Bartow Rotary’s president in the past. She was active in the Parent Teacher Association at Union Academy and Bartow Elementary Academy and currently serves as PTSA treasurer at Bartow High School. She is also an appointee to the Bartow CRA Board.

Simpson is married to Ben Simpson, and they have two daughters. Laura Simpson is the daughter of Bartow residents Ralph and Darlene Mills.

Eagle Lake quorum

Eagle Lake has filled one of the vacant spots on its commission created by the resignation of two commissioners in December, also related to Form 6.

Mayor Cory Coler and Commissioner Scott Clark announced their resignations in December. Suzy Wilson also initially said she would resign, but decided to remain on the commission so it didn't lose a quorum.

Wilson has since moved from vice mayor to mayor, and Kristen Pita was appointed to serve in Seat 5. That leaves only Seat 4 unfilled, as no one qualified to serve in the spot before the deadline on Friday.

Had the three commissioners all gone through with their resignations, the turmoil could have cost Eagle Lake the minimum number of commissioners for a quorum for deciding matters such as contracts and ordinances rather than exercising ceremonial functions.

In December, the trio told the Ledger similar reasons for quitting. Clark wrote it was because the new financial disclosure law was “too intrusive for someone who is paid approximately $1,800/year.”

“Qualifying for the rest of the municipalities, i.e. Davenport, Dundee, Frostproof, Haines City, Highland Park, Lake Wales and Polk City, ends this Friday,” said Rachel Harris, community services director for the Polk County Supervisor of Elections Office. “That is when we will know which of them are having an election and which are not.”

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Bartow fills 2 commission seats, Eagle Lake 1 after Form 6 fallout