Polk County overwhelmingly reelected its sheriff, selected a new county commissioner and approved a charter amendment to merge the Efficiency Commission into the Charter Review Commission.
County Commissioner District 1
In the three-way race for a Polk County Commission seat to serve District 1, well-financed Lakeland Republican Becky Troutman cruised over her two challengers.
With 166 of 172 precincts reporting, Troutman took nearly 63% of the votes, compared with just under 37% for Democrat Kay Klymko and barely a half percent for Republican write-in candidate Judi New.
Troutman, a former Planning Commission member whose campaign was heavily funded by the county’s largest land developers, will replace outgoing Commissioner George Lindsey, who will vacate the seat because of term limits.
This was Troutman’s second win in 2024 after beating out two other Republican contenders in the Aug. 20 primary. New did not qualify to be on the primary ballot because she not meet the requirement for a candidate to be registered with their party for one year before an election.