In Fort Meade, longtime incumbent Elliott faces challenger; 3 vie for open seat

In Fort Meade, the longest-serving city commissioner faces a youthful challenger, while three candidates are running for an open seat.

Bob Elliott, who has served on the City Commission since 1998, must contend with Jaret Landon Williams in the election for Seat 4. The three candidates for Seat 5 are Samuel Berrien, Candice Filyaw Lott and Donnie True.

Fort Meade faced the prospect of holding elections for four of its five City Commission seats, but no one filed to challenge incumbents Jim “Possum” Schaill and Petrina McCutchen. Each will automatically be reelected.

Seat 5 is open because Commissioner Barbara Arnold resigned in June.

Seat 4

Elliott, 70, has previously served as mayor during his 25 years on the City Commission. He was raised in St. Petersburg and has lived in Fort Meade for about 50 years.

A past president of the Fort Meade Chamber of Commerce, Elliott is the owner of Greenwood Chevrolet in Fort Meade.

Elliott described himself as a conservative and said he applies common sense to his votes as a city commissioner. He said the city has made considerable progress during his time on the commission, citing infrastructure improvements and the creation of a hybrid fire department, as the city adds full-time positions to what has traditionally been a volunteer operation.

“Public safety is paramount,” he said.

Elliott said the first priority for the City Commission after the election will be the hiring of a city manager. Jan Bagnall resigned the position in August after two years. Though current city commissioners have said they wanted to wait until after the election to hire a replacement, members have already begun winnowing the list of applicants and scheduling interviews.

Elliott touted the city’s ability to secure state grants for infrastructure improvements in recent years. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity awarded Fort Meade a community development block grant of $5 million last year to expand broadband access, money available through a federal pandemic relief measure.

Fort Meade has endured contentious public meetings as some residents have questioned such decisions as the sale of a city-owned mobile home park to a private company. Elliott said that he considers such turbulence to be common in the United States.

“What people don't understand is there are so many things in city government — it's almost like the federal deficit, 75% of it is rubber stamps," he said. "And I see all the political slogans about you want to do this and do that, but at the end of the day, we have to live with a balanced budget. You can't just give, give, give.”

Elliott said he considers Fort Meade in a much better financial position than it was 10 years ago.

Williams, 37, grew up in Fort Meade, his family having settled in the area in the 1870s. After graduating from Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Florida State University. He added a master’s degree in music education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago and also gained a teacher certification.

The keyboardist spent about 15 years working in New York and Los Angeles as a music director and composer for theater, film and TV, including four years as a music arranger for “American Idol.” Having returned to Fort Meade, Williams continues to work in the music industry while pursuing local businesses and running a nonprofit, Dorothy Jean’s Dream Initiative, which provides arts and cultural opportunities to underserved communities.

Williams said that losing his grandparents and his mother and going through the COVID-19 pandemic prompted him to reconsider his life. He said he returned to Fort Meade determined to serve fellow residents.

Since returning, Williams has become a real estate developer with a focus on revitalizing downtown Fort Meade. He said he has purchased about 40,000 square feet of property, opening the City Center Plaza at 202 W. Broadway Street.

In listing his reasons for seeking office, Williams cited the city’s economic decline.

“I've seen over the past, let's say 15 years, how the town has gone down,” he said, “It's become somewhat of a ghost town, and we're talking about a ghost town for industry, lack of jobs, lack of businesses. There's nothing for kids to do here.”

Williams said he would like to address Fort Meade’s high electricity bills, an issue that has plagued the city for years. Bagnall, the previous city manager, said the city was locked into a longterm contract with the Florida Municipal Power Agency that offers little option for lowering rates.

Williams identified public safety as a pressing concern, citing the recent death of a 9-year-old boy struck in a hit-and-run accident while riding his bicycle.

“We're wanting to address infrastructure issues, because those who've sat in the seat for 20-plus years have been aware of the challenges and haven't done much,” Williams said. “So we have decaying pipes that are 100 years old. We have buildings that are 100 years old and have been vacant and dilapidated, which is why we've been purchasing the buildings to renovate them.”

Seat 5

Berrien, 44, graduated from Fort Meade High School and was drafted to play baseball by the Baltimore Orioles. He attended the University of Tennessee at Martin before returning to Fort Meade.

Berrien, who is married with two teenaged daughters, works in operations for an energy company. He won a special election in 2019 to fill a vacancy on the City Commission and then lost to Arnold in the 2021 election.

The candidate promoted his role in helping Fort Meade secure the $5 million state grant for expanding broadband access while he was on the City Commission.

“And so what I would like to do in this coming term is to continue to do that work,” Berrien said. “We secured it; it was the highest award given that year by Ron DeSantis. And the current administration, they haven't done anything with it.”

Berrien cited his participation in the Leadership Polk program as a qualification for office. He said experience educated him on county resources, and he made connections with Polk County commissioners and other elected officials.

“So I have already begun the work of building these relationships that are going to be needed to continue to usher in the much-needed improvement that Fort Meade has,” he said.

Berrien said that his grandparents and parents instilled the notion that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” He said he would advocate for Fort Meade with county and state officials to gain funding for needed projects.

Berrien said he has served on school advisory councils and was recently appointed to the Polk Education Foundation. He said he would use his position as a city commissioner to support the health and education of students as much as possible.

Asked about the turmoil that resulted in a commissioner and the city manager resigning this year, Berrien said a theme of his campaign is “a solidarity-driven community.” He said he would focus on what unites Fort Meade residents.

“And I play a unique role in that because I have a unique ability to interact with, to support, to engage all facets of people across demographics, across economic status, and bring people together,” he said. “I've always done that, and I'll continue to do that, for the city of Fort Meade, whether I'm in the seat or not.”

Lott, 51, is a lifelong resident of Fort Meade. She has a lead position with Turfection Lawn Care, a company founder by her late father.

Lott is married with three grown sons. She has never run for office before but said she was involved with school organizations when her sons were students.

“But now that the boys are grown and out doing their own thing, I have the time,” Lott said. “I still want to do something for the community, and I feel like this would be a good opportunity.”

Lott said one of her primary concerns is the discord that sometimes dominates City Commission meetings.

“There needs to be unity,” she said. “It just seems like everything is a constant battle and drama right now. I've been going to the commission meetings for several years now, in person and on Zoom, and sometimes it's just embarrassing, just to sit and listen. We just need help coming together. If we stop arguing about everything, we might be able to accomplish some of the things that need to be done.”

Lott said that a lack of openness in the city government has fed mistrust among some residents.

“They need to be more transparent,” she said. “As a resident, all I've heard is everybody feels that if you're in City Hall, you're hiding something. Because they feel that everything's done behind closed doors. You can go to a commissioners’ meeting, and it's like some things are pre-decided before they get in there.”

Lott raised questions about Fort Meade’s high utility rates. She said she wants to know why rates have not declined even after a state grant to replace and replace aged sewer lines.

While the other two candidates for Seat 5 have previously served on the City Commission, Lott said she would bring an outsider’s perspective.

“Everyone I'm running against has already been a city commissioner,” she said. “They've had their chance, and we're still where we are. Nothing's changed. So let's try something new. But I don't want it to be my lifelong job, either. I don't want an award for being in there for so long. I want to get in there, do some things that I feel can help the city and then get it ready for the next person to take the spot.”

True, 67, served on the City Commission, including a turn as mayor, in the 1990s. He has four decades of experience working in city offices, both in Fort Meade and elsewhere.

He has served as a building official in Bartow, Mulberry, Lake Alfred and Eagle Lake. He said he plans to retire from his position in Bartow at the end of the year.

True and his wife, Teresa, have two grown children and three grandchildren.

“I don't have any kind of agenda,” True said of his bid to rejoin the City Commission. “I just want to get back in and try to get some cohesiveness back in, within our commission, and just try to get the projects we have going, to keep them going and get them done and do whatever is best for the city.”

True pointed to his work experience as a qualification for office.

“I've run the parks department in the city; I've run the street departments in the city,” he said. “I've worked with budgets for five different cities and had a successful construction company, so it's a lot of experience.”

True said he thinks he could heal some of the divisions that have formed in Fort Meade.

“I think we need to have some unity in the city government here in Fort Meade that we don't have, and some unity between the community and the Commission that I don't think we have, and I think I can help with that,” he said. “I just want to be available to the citizens from all over the city and just try to address some of their concerns. I don't make promises. I’ll just try to do the best I can with what we’ve got.”

True said he is emotionally invested in Fort Meade as a resident of more than 50 years.

“I just love the people here,” he said. “This is my city. I've been here; I take it personal. I take the people here personal. My church is here. I grew up in school here. A lot of my friends are still here. This is personal to me.”

Charter amendment

Fort Meade residents will also vote on a charter amendment. The proposal would require runoff elections to take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in December and any subsequent runoff be held on the second Monday in January.

The proposal also states that vacancies on the City Commission would be filled by a special election if the remaining term exceeds 28 months.

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: In Fort Meade, longtime incumbent faces challenge; 3 vie for open seat