Candidates qualify for two city commission elections in both Auburndale, Fort Meade

Auburndale and Fort Meade will each hold two elections on Nov. 7 to elect members of their city commissions.

The qualifying period ended Friday, and a total of four candidates made the ballot in Auburndale and five in Fort Meade. Early voting begins Oct. 23.

Here is an overview of the candidates:

Auburndale

Jordan Helms and Donishia Yarde will vie for Seat 4 on the City Commission, as incumbent Jack Myers opted not to seek re-election. A third candidate, Randy Spears, qualified but withdrew his candidacy, Auburndale City Clerk Brandon Henry said.

Helms is an account director with Summit Broadband, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Yarde is a mental health professional and CEO of Integrity Care Group Homes, a foster care program for boys in Polk County. She and her husband, Derrick, own and operate a Firehouse Subs location in Auburndale.

The election for Seat 5 will pit Maulissa Braverman against Alex Cam. Incumbent Richard Hamann was blocked by the city charter from running for re-election, Henry said.

Braverman has owned and operated a digital marketing agency for 10 years, according to her campaign website. She serves on Auburndale’s Board of Adjustments and Historic Preservation Committee.

Cam is owner of Cam’s Catering and president of the board of directors for the Greater Auburndale Chamber of Commerce.

Fort Meade

The city faced the possibility of holding elections for four of the five City Commission seats, but no one emerged to challenge incumbents Jim “Possum” Schaill or Petrina McCutchen for Seat 1 and Seat 2, respectively. Each will automatically receive another term.

Bob Elliott, the longest-serving member of the commission, faces a contender for Seat 4 in Jaret Landon Williams. Elliott, 70, is the owner of Greenwood Chevrolet and was first elected to the board in 1997.

Williams, 37, a Fort Meade native and a graduate of Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland, has worked in New York and California as a music composer and arranger. He is also executive director of Dorothy Jean’s Dream Initiative.

Seat 5 is open after the resignation of Barbara Arnold in June. That election has drawn three candidates: Samuel Berrien, Candice Filyaw Lott and Donnie True.

Berrien, 44, previously served on the commission, winning a special election in 2019 to replace Barbara Manley before losing to Arnold in the 2021 election. The Fort Meade native works for an energy company and also teaches crisis management.

Lott is listed in state records as secretary of Turfection Lawn Care Services in Fort Meade.

True, 67, has lived in Fort Meade since 1970 and served on the City Commission in the 1990s. He has worked in various roles, mainly as a building official, for the cities of Fort Meade, Bartow, Mulberry, Lake Alfred and Eagle Lake.

True is now a building official for Bartow but said he plans to retire at the end of this year.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Two city commission seats to be contested in Auburndale, Fort Meade