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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Rev. Jack Hilligoss, the pastor of HighPoint Church, was unanimously voted in Tuesday night to temporarily replace Kristen Fitzgerald until she\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s still awaiting trial. Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, issued an executive order on July 7 suspending Fitzgerald from her elected role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the heated July 20 meeting \u2014 where former commissioner Al Goldstein and resident James Loydd each received two votes \u2014 the city called for more resumes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his resume, he wrote that \u201cLake Wales is a great place with incredible potential.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayor Eugene Fultz, who\u2019s also a pastor, said he has known Hilligoss for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s one of the reasons I\u2019m in Lake Wales,\u201d Fultz said. \u201cI started preaching my sermons in Lake Wales at his church. That helped me grow, and helped me become the individual that I am today.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hilligoss, who\u2019s 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.\u00a0That budget must be adopted in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I am concerned about the learning curve, but I\u2019m sure I can pick up on it,\u201d he told The Ledger. \u201cI\u2019m relying on the commissioners and the city manager to bring me up to speed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Per city charter, Lake Wales had 30 days from the date of Fitzgerald\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather have anyone in here than go to a special election,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to have to pay for that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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