On the heels of a tumultuous summer that saw the arrest and suspension of an elected leader, followed by disagreement over who should fill the empty seat, the city of Lake Wales is moving forward with a new commissioner.
The Rev. Jack Hilligoss, the pastor of HighPoint Church, was unanimously voted in Tuesday night to temporarily replace Kristen Fitzgerald until she’s reinstated, or until May 3, 2022. After that date, residents of Lake Wales will be asked to elect a commissioner to serve out the remainder of the term through May 2024.
Fitzgerald was arrested June 3 and spent a night in the Polk County Jail on charges that she used a gun to threaten an 11-year-old boy whom she’d picked up without the parents’ permission.
She’s still awaiting trial. Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, issued an executive order on July 7 suspending Fitzgerald from her elected role.
The remaining four commissioners were then tasked with voting in a replacement. Interested residents who live in District 27 were asked to submit resumes to the city.
In the weeks following the suspension, the city collected three resumes. But commissioners disagreed, and none of the applicants received enough votes to win the seat.
After the heated July 20 meeting — where former commissioner Al Goldstein and resident James Loydd each received two votes — the city called for more resumes.
Three more came in. Rev. Hilligoss, a Lake Wales resident since 1997, was selected from that batch with a 4-0 vote after dozens of residents spoke. He will be sworn in on Aug. 17.
In his resume, he wrote that “Lake Wales is a great place with incredible potential.”
“I believe our city is full of people who genuinely care about one another when we focus on one another and the good of our city and refuse to allow outside influences to “bleed in” to our concern for each other and our city,” he wrote. “We are closer to one another than we think. We are better than we believe. And we can become the finest small town in central Florida.”
Mayor Eugene Fultz, who’s also a pastor, said he has known Hilligoss for more than 20 years.
He’s one of the reasons I’m in Lake Wales,” Fultz said. “I started preaching my sermons in Lake Wales at his church. That helped me grow, and helped me become the individual that I am today.”
Hilligoss, who’s never served in an elected role, will take the seat as the city prepares its proposed $82.3 million budget for the next fiscal year. That budget must be adopted in September.
“I am concerned about the learning curve, but I’m sure I can pick up on it,” he told The Ledger. “I’m relying on the commissioners and the city manager to bring me up to speed.”
Per city charter, Lake Wales had 30 days from the date of Fitzgerald’s suspension to elect a replacement. If nobody was named in that timeframe, voters would have been asked to decide as part of a special election.
At a July 28 city workshop, Vice Mayor Robin Gibson voiced strong objection to a special election. It would cost the city money to get that on a ballot.
“I’d rather have anyone in here than go to a special election,” he said. “I don’t want to have to pay for that.”