Four newcomers vie for two seats on Auburndale City Commission

The Auburndale City Commission will soon have two new members, regardless of the outcome in the November 7 election.

With two incumbents not on the ballot, voters will choose among four newcomers for the Seat 4 and Seat 5 positions. All the candidates are under age 45.

Jack Myers, a former Polk County Commissioner, opted not to seek reelection for Seat 4. Richard Hamann, who now serves on Seat 5, is ineligible for another term under the city charter.

The Seat 4 race pits Jordan Helms against Donishia Yarde. In the Seat 5 election, Maulissa Braverman and Alex Cam are vying to succeed Hamann. Commissioners serve four-year terms.

Here are overviews of the candidates:

Seat 4

Helms, 38, is a lifelong Auburndale resident and said his parents and grandparents lived and worked in the city. He works in technical sales in the food and beverage industry and in broadband.

Married with daughters ages 10 and 14, Helms is actively involved with Berkley Chapel, where he plays drums in a worship band. He said he chose to run for office because he wants to help preserve Auburndale’s “small-town feel” amid a surge in development.

“So as a property owner in Auburndale, I'm kind of looking out at all the developments occurring,” Helms said. “And I know that we can't stop the growth, but I think our focus has to shift to controlling and managing the growth in a responsible manner that allows us to provide benefits for current and future residents. We don't want to let the reins go and allow just any kind of growth to occur in our town. But we also don't want to choke it off and depress property values and ultimately drive down our town.”

Helms said he has heard from many citizens concerned about the rapid development and worried that Auburndale will lose the qualities that make residents want to live there.

“I am definitely not opposed to growth,” Helms said. “I'm not trying to bring back the orange groves; I realize that that's not going to happen. But I am focused on trying to help our city grow in a way that maintains that Mayberry feel but also provides new resources and economic opportunities for our residents.”

Helms said he thinks his business experience would equip him well to make decisions as a city commissioner.

“I don't think there's a better qualification for a city commissioner than someone who really, genuinely cares about the future of our community - what we're leaving behind for our kids,” he said.

Yarde, 40, is also an Auburndale native and a graduate of Auburndale High School. She owns Integrity Care Group Homes, a foster care program for boys, and runs a nonprofit, Integrity Youth Association, which supports young adults who have aged out of foster care.

Yarde and her husband, Derrick Yarde, own a Firehouse Subs in Auburndale. She also oversees the women’s department at Faith Builders Worship Center, where her husband is pastor. The couple has six children ranging in age from 12 to 22.

Yarde said she holds a bachelor’s degree in business and human services, a master’s in mental health counseling and a doctorate in neuropsychology. She is vice president of the Auburndale Adjustment Board in Auburndale and sits on the board of the Auburndale Chamber of Commerce.

“I love my city, and I'm vested here,” Yarde said. “And I believe, being city commissioner, that I'll be able to involve the community more even with what is currently being offered to us. … With our city being so small, just being able to even bring that partnership on and getting the word out there, ‘This is what Auburndale has to offer,’ will build an even stronger community — not that we're not strong, but it will bring it even stronger.”

Describing herself as “community focused,” Yarde said she has connections throughout the city. She said she supports elderly residents in need and has provided meals for members of the Auburndale High School football team. She said she would also use her position as a city commissioner to support local schools as much as possible.

Yarde said she recognizes that some Auburndale residents are wary of the city’s rapid development.

“My concern with that is, basically, making sure that those who are currently living here know what the plan is to maintain the traffic and to maintain the small community feel that we’ve had in the past years,” she said. “That what a lot of people’s concern is — we’re growing tremendously, and with development comes more money to the city of Auburndale, but how can we assure the community, the city's residents, that we’re still going to have the same feel, even with the growth?”

Seat 5

Braverman, 42, graduated from Haines City High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of South Florida. Married with no children, she has owned and operated a digital marketing agency, Rubber N’ Glue, for a decade.

A member of the Auburndale Chamber of Commerce and a former president of a Business Networking International chapter, she has lived in Auburndale for four years. She mentioned transportation issues as a primary concern.

“I'm not sure how you tackle it, but certainly the speeding and the traffic, that's the number one thing as I talk to people, it's the number one concern they have,” she said.

Braverman said that Auburndale needs to do a better job of promoting the spaces available for businesses in the downtown area. She said many business owners aren’t aware that money is available through the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency to help with revitalization.

“I certainly want to see a more diverse and thriving downtown area,” she said. “So attracting small businesses in the downtown area is one of the priorities I'm going to be focusing on.”

Auburndale has experienced a surge of development in the past decade, from distribution centers near Interstate 4 to large housing projects.

“There definitely is a lot of growth, and I think sustainable growth is going to be important,” Braverman said. “Without knowing the inner workings of some of the existing issues and why the commission has done what they do, I definitely would like to see some more protections for homeowners, especially when it comes to things like drainage, because some of these houses are being built and they're later developing issues with flooding and so on.”

Braverman said she welcomes the tax revenue that comes from commercial developments but also wants to see more of a focus on attracting small businesses to Auburndale.

Cam, 32, grew up in the city, graduating from Auburndale High School in 2009 and earning an associate's degree from Polk State College. Married with no children, he is vice president of Cam’s catering, a company started by his father in 1997.

Cam is in his fourth term as president of the Auburndale Chamber of Commerce, a role he will vacate at the end of this year. He is on the Board of Directors of the Auburndale Rotary Club and serves on the city’s Police Pension Board.

“So, with that being said, I've been involved in the community for quite some time now, and my intent is to continue to serve the community as a city commissioner,” he said. “My goal is to be part of an already great team and continue to manage growth and development while preserving the authentic character and high level of service that makes Auburndale so special.”

Cam said he wants to help make city operations as efficient as possible and to manage the city’s infrastructure systems. He mentioned the need for improvements to the sewer system as Auburndale continues to grow.

“But what is important to me is to preserve Auburndale’s small-town atmosphere along the way,” he said.

Cam said his service to the city and his leadership role with the Chamber of Commerce equip him well for the City Commission.

“I've spent my entire professional career in the service industry, and in the service industry you listen to people and you work to solve people's problems,” he said. “So I think those things make me uniquely qualified, given my experience in the community.”

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: Four newcomers vie for two seats on Auburndale City Commission