Kay Klymko
City Commission candidate Kay Klymko
Kay Klymko is a relative newcomer to Lakeland, moving here with her husband four years ago to be with her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren.
She said her top priorities are the coordination of human resources and development due to the rapid population growth, expansion of senior citizen services and the establishment of a senior center, affordable housing, homelessness, and historic preservation.
Klymko, 73, is a retired Wayne State University professor. She is a member of First United Methodist Church, through which she volunteers for KidsPack and the Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment (PEACE). She is a board member and historian of the Lakeland chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and works part-time as a nurse practitioner doing telehealth.
Chad McLeod
City Commissioner Chad McLeod
Chad McLeod is seeking a second term on the City Commission. He is a Polk County native and fourth-generation Floridian.
McLeod, 41, and his wife Erin have three children and are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church, as well as licensed foster parents. McLeod serves on multiple committees and councils, including the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board, Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Central Florida Regional Development Council, and Polk Transportation Planning Organization.
McLeod lived in Venezuela in college, is a fluent Spanish speaker, and is the commission’s representative to the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council. He worked on the staff of U.S. Senator Mel Martinez from 2005 to 2010, before moving to Lakeland to run a PR and communications consulting firm that worked with clients ranging from Fortune 500 brands to local nonprofits. In 2022, he joined the communications team for Compassion International, a global child development nonprofit, for which he oversees internal communications for Latin America and the Caribbean region.
Dennis Odisho
City Commission candidate Dennis Odisho
Dennis Odisho is a construction executive whose priorities include the development of a strategic plan to ensure infrastructure, downtown redevelopment, public safety, and quality of life, and attracting national organizations and businesses to Lakeland.
Odisho, 44, has called Lakeland home for 20 years. He worked his way through college at Purdue University with a job in the construction industry and is now senior business strategy manager for Barton Malow Builders, a national firm.
He is also a father, speaker, author, and mentor. He sits on the Lakeland Regional Health Foundation Board of Directors and is an Everglades University Tampa Program Advisory Council member. He has previously served on the AdventHealth West Florida Foundation Board of Directors and as a varsity soccer coach for Spoto High School in Riverview and Robinson High School in Tampa.
Election details
The election is Nov. 7. The deadline for voters to request mail-in ballots is Oct. 26. People who want to vote by mail can send a request to [email protected], call (863) 534-5888, or make the request online at polkelections.gov/Mail-in-Ballot-Request-Form.
Early voting begins Oct. 23 and will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays through Nov. 3 at the Polk County Government Center, 930 E. Parker Street.
Lakeland Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a “Politics in the Park” candidate forum from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the Coleman-Bush Building at 1104 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.