Letter to the Editor ….. I’m highly dissatisfied with Bill Mutz as Mayor of Lakeland and here’s why

Written by Aubreigh Kennedy

I’m highly dissatisfied with Bill Mutz as Mayor of Lakeland and here’s why. I believe most of Lakeland’s core community agrees with me, whether or not they consider him a personal friend, decent businessman, or family man – these characteristics do not always make good politicians. As a strong believer in personal freedom under the US Constitution, it’s our duty to hold our elected officials accountable.

#1 Mutz was quoted by The Ledger and by LkldNow in 2017 during his initial campaign as being opposed to a strong mayor position – if enacted, it would hold him solely responsible for the decisions of the city, replacing the City Manager. Yet this is the very position he’s been striving for his entire time in office without the threat of consequence.

In the same Ledger article, Mutz said his priority was the completion of our downtown area. But his first act in office was forcibly relocating the statue at Munn Park, offering no replacement to beautify and complete the very center of our downtown. Despite the majority of Lakeland residents opposing this move, Mutz’ direct quote said, “Sometimes the greater good is not represented by the majority vote,” and said they needed to “get it done and move on.” Politicians are elected officials by the majority vote. With this statement, he assumes he is the final authority on the greater good, and that the authority should not lie with the people who elected him.

Another fun fact about this 2018 debacle is that Mutz led the City of Lakeland, FL commission to vote in favor of using $240,000 from red light camera fines to complete the monument relocation when residents refused to fund the project through private donations. This unwanted move cost more than the $190,000 of taxpayer dollars the commission dedicated to “fix the homeless problem downtown” in 2019. Priorities.

#2 Mutz was also a big advocate for the South Florida Road Diet which has added stress and time while traveling Lakeland’s busiest thoroughfare.

#3 In March 2020, Mutz told us to stay home, and exercise outside to help ease the pain of seclusion during quarantine. Then he supported gating off Lake Hollingsworth and other public paths so we couldn’t exercise. As a matter of fact, he implied in an April 2020 commission meeting that people were stupid for continuing to run past each other around the lake during a pandemic.

#4 On June 4, 2020, Mutz happily attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Munn Park, knowing full well that a similar “peaceful” protest was held in Tampa the night prior, which resulted in business fires, fistfights, and defacement of private property. LPD and Polk County Sheriff’s Office had to work overtime in full force to manage the mess in our own hometown. (This struck a personal note for me as two of my siblings were working PCSO that night). And despite being in the throes of the Covid Pandemic, Mutz eagerly hugged protestors *unmasked* amidst a gathering of hundreds, all the while small businesses were forced to remain closed to prevent the spread of the virus.

In a recent debate hosted by the Lakeland Kiwanis Club on Sept. 17, 2021, he said he’s been in communication with the Black Lives Matter organization to consider how we can work together with them in Lakeland.

#5 Perhaps most comical of all is his staunch support of the ever-prolonged Mask Mandate while openly hugging customers at a restaurant on Sept. 5, 2020. The Mask Mandate he supported stated that masks should be worn in all public places unless exempt from the policy for health reasons or if you are socially distanced. Obviously, he was not wearing a mask, nor was he socially distanced.

The extended mandate which the commission passed on Sept. 8 included a $250 fine for anyone who didn’t abide by these rules, which is a bold move for a guy to impose on others when he himself was loosely following it. When questioned about this via email by a resident, Mutz gave a puny reply. You can see more of his pathetic responses in two stories by Lakeland Gazette. He explicitly lies when he says he was just “outside” or was “out of city limits”. The restaurant is in city limits and he took pictures hugging people INSIDE that day, too.

#6 Had Governor Ron DeSantis not stepped in to do away with Florida cities requiring masks, Mutz would have happily continued to use what power he has to enforce this policy. In fact, WFLA News Channel 8 quotes him in their Sept. 2020 article stating “Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz said Tuesday he would enact a citywide mask mandate if he had the same powers afforded to other mayors in Florida.” He doesn’t have the same power because Lakeland runs on a city manager-commission system, instead of a strong mayor system. Again, he wants the power but doesn’t want the responsibility.

#7 Mutz also made fun of people who were legitimately unsure of getting the brand new Coronavirus vaccine on Sept 9, 2020. He considered them all doomsdayers instead of taking their caution seriously, (volume up for quote).

In this same meeting where Mutz was the speaker (arriving nearly an hour late to the event without warning us ahead of time), he answered concerns about body cams on law enforcement officers and affordable housing, stating that we can’t progress as quickly as he’d like us to because the most influential people in Lakeland are traditional conservatives. As if we, the conservative voters who love Lakeland, who was ACTUALLY born and raised here – and some of which funded his campaign – are holding him back from what he’d really like to accomplish in the city.

#8 Adding to the pile – he posted most of his Covid updates sideways on IGTV. You can still see them @lakelandgov on Instagram for a laugh.

If you’d like four more years of this nonsense, vote for Bill Mutz.

If you want things to be different next time the world falls to chaos, vote Saga Stevin on November 2, 2021, and share this post with your friends.

Editor’s Note: The views expressed by Aubreigh Kennedy do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of the Lakeland Gazette. The Gazette provides a venue for people to express their opinions concerning any subject matter and presents this as “opinion,” not news.