Election 2023: Lakeland Commissioner Chad McLeod faces two political newcomers in November

LAKELAND — Two political newcomers have thrown their hat in the ring to challenge for Lakeland commission's At-Large Seat #2 this November.

Healthcare practitioner Kay Klymko and business strategist Dennis Odisho each think they offer a different perspective to incumbent Commissioner Chad McLeod, who seeks to be re-elected to his second, four-year term in office.

Here's a quick introduction to Lakeland's 2023 slate for the At-Large seat, voted upon by all city residents:

Kay Klymko

Klymko, 73, says that while it's her first campaign for an elected office, it's far from her first time dealing with politics.

"If you’ve worked in a university or hospital, it is political," she said. "Politics is in every organization in terms of leadership."

Klymko and her husband, Dennis, moved to Lakeland in 2019 to live closer to their daughter, Lori. Klymko said she was immediately struck by the city's beauty and rich local history.

"You have such a sense of history here that needs to be preserved," she said.

For more than 40 years, Klymko has worked within the health care field ranging from hospital administration to academic studies and education at the university level. At Wayne State University in Detriot, Klymko said she was an associate clinical professor and director of the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Program. She now works part-time as a nurse practitioner in primary care for families and community health.

Lakeland residents may know Klymko from her involvement at First United Methodist Church on Lake Morton, where she said she's involved in five groups. Klymko has volunteered for KidsPack by packing meals for children and works with PEACE, or Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment. It's her complex understanding of health and day-to-day living that Klymko says she can offer to residents.

"We have experienced such rapid growth in Lakeland and so many issues with keeping up with infrastructure," she said. "We sometimes have to stop and take accounting how that rapid pace has impacted the human health."

Klymko said discussing Lakeland's overall quality of life needs to include making sure individuals' physical, functional and mental health needs are being taken care of.

If elected, two key issues Klymko said she hopes to focus are affordable housing and homelessness. She would like to see the city form its own committee on homelessness and wants to jump into discussions about a possible day center to provide much-needed services for the homeless population.

Similarly, Klymko said she strongly favors the concept of Polk Vision to build a senior center in Lakeland to provide a gathering center with essential services for the city's aging population.

Chad McLeod

McLeod, 41, was first elected to the city in December 2019 after winning a run-off election for a four-year-term.

"When I asked myself, 'Do I want to seek a second term?' I came to the decision: I enjoy the work," he said. "I enjoy working on these issues that are complex, challenging and with a lot of passionate opinions."

McLeod is a Polk County native who grew up in Bartow through eighth grade. He now lives in Lakeland with his wife, Erin, and their three children. The couple are licensed foster parents through Heartland for Children.

Professionally, McLeod worked for  U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez for five years after graduating from the University of Florida. He started a public relations and communications firm, McLeod Communications, with his brother, Joel, for over a decade. In 2022, McLeod took an in-house communications position with Compassion International, a faith-based global child development nonprofit.

During his first term in office, McLeod said he's had time to fully understand the complex workings of Lakeland's City Hall and governmental structure. The commissioner said he's learned to "expect the unexpected."

"COVID was the main issue most people recognize," he said. " There are other unexpected things; there are things that come up that most of us would not predict."

Some of the issues he's dealt with include concerns about duck hunting on Lake Parker and the conflict over pickleball courts at WoodLake Park. Addressing these neighborhood issues are part of a commissioner's work, McLeod said.

McLeod said he's found being on the commission includes making difficult decisions. Personally, he's found the city's zoning issues difficult, where the city's balancing the property owner's rights and need for new housing against existing, long-term residents' concerns.

If re-elected, McLeod said he wants to focus on improving the city's infrastructure and downtown development, including the East Main and Downtown West areas. The incumbent said he would like the chance to see through major projects like construction of the Northwest Fire Station 8 and getting Lakeland Electric's new RICE engines operational.

Dennis Odisho

Dennis Odisho said he's decided to make a run for the city's At-Large seat because he thinks his skillset could help Lakeland continue to grow while further developing its own identity.

"Lakeland is growing quickly. My knowledge of relationship building, team building, sticking to a budget and schedule to develop building and communities – it's what we need," he said.

Odisho, 44, works as a senior business strategy manager for Barton Malow, an Orlando-based construction company. His career has given him extensive knowledge in health care construction operations working with major networks including Moffitt Medical Group, Lakeland Regional Health and AdventHealth.

He's lived in Florida for roughly 20 years, having moved to Lakeland with his son seven years ago.

"What scares me about our city is our infrastructure needs improvement," he said.

Odisho said if he's elected he understands how to build partnerships in business, creating a team, and assembling the right people to get a job done on time. His daily work, Odisho said, has prepared him for dealing with unexpected issues.

"Every other day an unforeseen condition that pops up, it's what do we do now and we’re on a schedule," he said.

He said his career has led him to develop a set of problem-solving skills that should prove useful when addressing key issues with the city's infrastructure. Odisho said he sees it daily driving along Kathleen Road/U.S. 98 North or South Florida Avenue. Traffic congestion and the landscape along these main roadways into Lakeland, or "Swan City," need to be improved, he said. It needs to be more welcoming, a destination with restaurants, retail and shopping. He wants to see less of a focus on industrial warehouse construction, and a greater focus on attracting high-wage technology jobs — possibly with focused development on Florida Polytechnic University's Innovation District.

"I want a better place to live, for my 8-year-old to start his own business when he graduates from college," Odisho said.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Two people file to challenge Lakeland Commissioner Chad McLeod