Lake Wales sets municipal election logistics; commissioners to serve on canvassing board; candidate announces mayoral run

The city clerk announced schedule details and canvassing-board responsibilities for the City of Lake Wales municipal election during the Feb. 11 meeting and multiple commissioners agreed to serve on the municipal canvassing board.

The clerk said the regular municipal election will take place on April 1, 2025, to elect a mayor and the commissioner for seat 1 for a three-year term starting May 6, 2025. Candidates must be registered voters and residents of the city for at least one year prior to the election. Candidate packets are available at the city clerk's office. The clerk noted changes to the ballot submittal schedule required by the supervisor of elections' new procedures and said the clerk must submit the approved ballot by 3 p.m. at the end of qualifying.

The clerk described the canvassing-board responsibilities and asked commissioners to serve. Mayor Jack Hilligoss is ineligible to serve because he is a candidate; Deputy Mayor Curtis Gibson, Commissioner Williams, Commissioner Thompson and Commissioner Gillespie all agreed to serve as canvassing-board members. The clerk said she would also bring two alternates if needed. The clerk outlined four canvassing-board meetings tied to pre-election logic and accuracy testing, ballot certification and the post-election manual audit; specific calendar dates for some canvassing activities were not specified in the meeting remarks.

In public comment earlier in the meeting, Deputy Mayor Curtis Gibson formally announced his candidacy for mayor of Lake Wales. Gibson said he is a two-term former city commissioner and manager of Eagle Ridge Mall; he asked for voter support on April 1 and provided a phone number on the record. "As your next mayor, I pledge to champion responsible growth, community engagement, and infrastructure development," Gibson said.

The clerk also told the commission the municipal election will include a charter amendment concerning runoff elections; early-voting locations include the Municipal Administration Building and the Lake Ashton Clubhouse and voter-registration and vote-by-mail information was provided for residents. The clerk noted the city will reschedule its first April meeting to accommodate election deadlines.