Jennifer Canady, Phillip Walker face off in race for Seat 50

A candidate new to politics, but whose husband holds Florida highest judicial seat, Jennifer Canady will face off against Phillip Walker, an experienced politician and former Lakeland city commissioner - both seeking a state office for the first time.

Candidates Canady and Walker will vie for Florida House Seat 50 in Polk County's Republican primary on Aug. 23. State Rep. Colleen Burton, now running for a Senate seat, held the post prior and was term limited out.

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By election law, Walker resigned in November from the city commission to mount his state House campaign. He would have vacated the seat after his current tenure due to term limits.

There is not a Democratic party candidate running in the primary for the district where approximately 157,000 people will be represented in Tallahassee within District 50.

Canady has received more than $301,192 in campaign contributions and Walker nearly $79,164, according to state records. As of July 29, Canady had reported campaign expenditures of $134,453. Walker reported $46,299 in campaign spending at the same time.

Who is Jennifer Canady?

Jennifer Canady, 49, of Lakeland is the wife of Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady.

Canady has the endorsements of the Police Benevolent Association, Florida Professional Firefighters Association at state and local levels and Sheriff Grady Judd. She also gained a nod from the Association of Builders and Contractors, as well as the Business Voice, the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce’s political arm.

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“They believe I am the best choice to represent business interests in Tallahassee as well as public safety,” she said in a recent interview, further expanding on her stance on business.

“I think that Florida has done exceptionally well coming out of the pandemic,” Canady said. “The economy is red hot, quality of life in the state is high - evidence by the rest of the country would like to move to Florida.”

About the role of governments, Canady said, “I believe that government should work harder, smarter and there should be a focus on those things that have the greatest impact.”

During her professional life, she spent years working in the family-owned veterinary practice which her father began and is now operated, following her father’s death, by her brother, Dr. Bert Houghton.

Canady also is a teacher with 20 years of classroom experience, including her current post with RISE Institute at Lakeland Christian School.

If elected, her priorities in Tallahassee would include: water, infrastructure, education and opening up opportunities for skilled trades and a talent pipeline in the form of apprenticeships, from high paying careers as a truck driver to training for the field of robotics.

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“Those experiences have allowed me to have a deep understanding of some of the most significant, pressing, important challenges that we face,” she said. “And those experiences equipped me to be effective in Tallahassee fighting for what our district needs.”

She said rent tax reform would be a priority for her focus on the state and local economy, as cutting the tax would attract and benefit businesses in Florida.

Canady said, government red tape gets in the way of doing business and wants to apply common sense and better customer services with the smallest footprint as possible regarding government regulation of the economy.

The political newcomer attended Scott Lake Elementary School, Lakeland Highlands Middle School and Kathleen High School. She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Florida State University and a master’s in special education from the University of South Florida.

When asked about her stance on abortion, Canady said she believes “life is precious and should be protected." She said she was also “encouraged” by recent efforts to improve maternity health in Florida.

“I believe in the work of crisis pregnancy ministries,” she said.

Canady also said care for woman after a pregnancy was a priority for her and believed in the “need to prioritize the foster care system."

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Canady has advanced women’s issues prior to her primary candidacy when Gov. Ron DeSantis had appointed her in 2019 to the Florida Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. She was also tapped by former Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam 2017 for the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.

Who is Phillip Walker?

Like Canady, Phillip Walker, 68, was born and raised in Lakeland. But unlike her he has experience as an elected official for nearly 13 years and as a former police officer and insurance agency owner.

He also graduated from Kathleen High School and attended Morris Brown College in Atlanta and received a master's degree in political science with a minor in secondary education, but instead of teaching he went into law enforcement after graduation.

He outlived his first wife and remarried. Both of his wives were school teachers.

His track record shows an ability to work with a diverse set of residents to move local initiatives forward, he said.

Guided by a steering committee of locally sourced people, Walker said his campaign’s political consultant is Mark Zubaly. Its treasurer is Daryl A. Johnson, a CPA who shared a spot on the Lakeland’s utility committee with Walker.

Walker's endorsement posted to his campaign's Facebook page include: Lakeland-based Matthew R. Clark, president of Broadway Real Estate Services; Sallie and Mario Stone who cofounded The Well; and Chrissanne Long, CEO of Maximize Digital Media.

On the city commission, he had represented communities in northwest Lakeland, where a majority are people of color “but I advocate for all the citizens of Lakeland,” he said.

As a commissioner, Williams focuses on maters such as quality of life issues, public safety, and infrastructure for mobility, connectivity and transportation so people can move around the city. These experiences he would bring to the state office, he said.

He stressed the city also needs to have adequate police and fire service.

Walker was raised by a single mother in public housing and his older siblings who had joined the military help buy the family’s first home.

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He was born in apartment No. 14, he recalled, at the former Lincoln Court apartments. He attended Rochelle Elementary School and then Lakeland Junior High soon after desegregation and before his graduation from Kathleen High School.

Walker graduated from Morris Brown College with a bachelor’s degree and obtained a master’s degree in criminology from Rollins College.

Among his lasting efforts for Lakeland was the establishment of the Lakeland African-American History Museum on the corner of Emma and New York Avenue.

The exhibits would feature artifacts from Lakeland’s Black neighborhoods, businesses, and churches once it opens in 2023.

The museum inspired a Historical and Cultural Center focusing on the melting pot of ethnicities that forged Lakeland. That facility will be housed at the Lakeland Public Library’s Lake Morton branch.

After Walker’s initial career as a Lakeland police officer, he was an agency owner of an Allstate insurance office for 26 years, and eventually sold it in 2017.

Walker’s campaign tagline is, “Lakeland Conservative Leader You Know and Trust.” Under that banner, he said the growth of small businesses, and improving education and healthcare would be part of his leadership as a conservative member of the legislature."

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“Certainly, Florida’s economy has done well under Gov. DeSantis’ leadership,” he said. “Florida has done very well as an economy we want to continue to see it improve. Keep business growing.”

“Even through the pandemic times, I know one of the things that he did as the governor of this state was to make sure that businesses could keep open so people could work," he added.

Walker’s business acumen was tapped by the Florida League of Cities in August. The 99-year-old group helps businesses navigate the intersection between main street and Tallahassee.

While the league has gone against anti-home rule measures from state legislators in recent times, Walker said he will continue to push for the agenda of the state’s municipal governments.

At the July 20 NAACP Candidate Forum held at The Well in Lakeland, both candidates expanded on their platforms.

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Regarding the variety of options in education – with traditional public, charter and private schools, Walker said, "I'm a proponent of parents making the choice for their child." He noted that three of his five kids have taken different academic tracks.

He was not in favor of privatizing the K-12 school system.

In response to a question on DeSantis' signing into law new history teaching guidelines, both candidates agreed history should be taught as it happens.

"What happened, happened," said Walker. "Now let's move on." He added, people should not forgetting the lessons of the past, but they need to avoid the divisiveness of recent times.

When the forum turned to questions about changes in the state's election laws prohibiting giving water and food to people waiting in line to vote, Walker said the law may not have been proper but it was the law and people have to abide by the law.

Both candidates are pro-life, they said during the NAACP forum live streamed via Facebook and covering additional topics including money in politics, and redistricting, among others.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Elections 2022: Jennifer Canady, Phillip Walker vie for Florida House Seat 50