Lakeland's New becomes 4th candidate for Polk County Commission District 1
A fourth candidate has entered the race to succeed George Lindsey on the Polk County Commission.
Judi New of Lakeland has filed to run as a Republican in District 1. Lindsey is barred by term limits from seeking reelection next year.
Who is she?
New, 44, grew up in Lakeland, attending Carlton Palmore Elementary and Southwest Middle School and graduating from Lakeland High School. She said she served as student president her senior year at LHS and again as a student at Florida Southern College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications.
New worked as a staff assistant for former U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam in Washington, D.C., before returning to Polk County. She served as public affairs director for the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and then received a master’s of divinity degree from Duke University, where she met her husband, Ed New.
The couple moved back to Lakeland in 2013 and now have three children, all under age 18. Most recently, New has worked as an archivist for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, a position based at Florida Southern College. She added a master’s degree in library science.
New said she is active at First United Methodist Church, where she has served as children's ministry director.
Candidate’s platform
New listed traffic and infrastructure as Polk County’s chief priorities. She said she has been following Lindsey’s quest to place a tax measure on the ballot to generate money for road projects.
“And so I see all that, and as a moderate Republican I understand that as we look towards the future, and when my kids get on the road or when their babies come, generation and generation, if we don't get on top of that and be realistic — we need to figure it out,” she said. “We have to get down to the nuts and bolts of it and say — it’s like we're a family. If you want to build this thing, then we all need it to kick in. We all need to just be honest and put our money where our mouth is.”
New said that she would also want the County Commission to support education as much as possible. She worked on a grassroots campaign that convinced Polk County voters in 2002 to switch from an elected to an appointed superintendent of Polk County Public Schools.
New said she respects the other candidates in the race.
“At the end of the day, I hope that we can be friends, no matter what happens, because I don't believe in divisiveness,” she said. “I think we really need to get away from that. I think folks are tired of that and that they think politics now is just this rat race, horrible thing. And we need to dial it back.”
Who else is running?
The other candidates in District 1 are Henry Coker, Jennifer Price and Becky Troutman, all Republicans. The district covers the Lakeland area. Though candidates must live in their districts, voting takes place countywide.
As of Tuesday, Troutman had reported about $76,700 in campaign contributions, compared to $26,800 for Coker and $4,100 for Price.
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: Lakeland's New joins race for Polk County Commission District 1