Free Candidate Forum Wednesday: Politics in the Park Moves Indoors to Sun 'n Fun's Skylight Hangar

Politics in the Park returns Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Skylight Hangar at Sun 'n Fun, and this year the whole public portion is free: candidates in 14 races on the Aug. 18 Polk County primary ballot will take questions from Lakeland voters starting at 6 p.m., including the county commission, school board and circuit judge contests that decide local growth, school policy and the courthouse bench.

The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce hosts, with Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital presenting. A private reception for candidates and sponsors comes first. Then the doors open to everyone at 6 for a forum that runs to 7:30, followed by open networking from 7:30 to 8. One event listing carries the evening out to 8:30.

The venue is the change worth noting. In 2024 this was an outdoor affair in Munn Park in August, and it still drew close to 300 people who stood in the heat for four-minute stump speeches. The Skylight Hangar is roughly 20,000 square feet of column-free, air-conditioned space on the Sun 'n Fun Expo Campus at 4175 Medulla Road, on the southwest side of Lakeland Linder International Airport.

Who had confirmed as of Aug. 3

The Chamber's confirmed list ran to 18 campaigns a week and a half out. Statewide and federal: Jay Collins for governor, Deva Simmons for U.S. House District 18 and Ed Pope for U.S. House District 16.

In the Legislature: Sen. Colleen Burton (Senate District 12), Jennifer Canady (House District 50), Jennifer Kincart Jonnson (House District 49) and Hilary Holley (House District 51).

The races closest to home:

• Polk County Commission, District 2: Rick Wilson and Kelly Quinn
• Polk County Commission, District 4: Omar Arroyo
• School Board, District 3: Victor Sims and Kate Wallace
• School Board, District 5: Kay Fields and Sam Neelam
• School Board, District 6: Justin Sharpless
• Circuit judge: Chris Spath (Group 23), Andrea DeMichael and Candice Dixon (Group 24)

Two of those matchups are the rare case where both or all candidates for a seat plan to be in the same room at the same time. Judicial candidates in particular are limited in how they can campaign, so a forum is often the only place voters see them at all.

The straw poll

The Polk County Supervisor of Elections office runs a non-binding straw poll during the evening, using real equipment, with results read out before the night ends. It counts for nothing officially. Campaigns pay close attention anyway, because it is the last public read on the room before ballots are counted.

If you would rather just vote

Early voting is already underway and runs through Saturday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Polk County has 10 early voting sites; two are in Lakeland.

Lakeland early voting site	Address
Polk County Government Center	930 E. Parker St.
Simpson Park Community Center	1725 Martin L. King Jr. Ave.

On Aug. 18, precinct polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The deadline to have a mail ballot sent to you passed Aug. 6, and any voted mail ballot has to be in the Supervisor of Elections' hands by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Dropping it at an early voting site during early voting hours works too.

Florida runs a closed primary, so party affiliation determines most of what appears on your ballot. Voters registered with no party affiliation can still vote in nonpartisan contests, which is where the school board and judicial races sit. The registration and party-change deadline was July 20. Precinct sample ballots are posted at polkelections.gov.

The Chamber's own event calendar also lists a Politics in the Park date in October with a location still to be determined, ahead of the general election. Wednesday's is the primary edition, and after Saturday the early voting sites close until then.

For more coverage of Lakeland elections, the county commission and the school board, visit Lakeland Community Website and read more government and politics stories. Going Wednesday, or already voted? Tell us what you heard and join the conversation in our Community Forum.

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