Sara Roberts McCarley wins open Lakeland Mayor race

Lakeland Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley won the open race to become the city’s next Mayor in Tuesday’s election.

Roberts McCarley received just over 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff out of the field of four candidates.

The next highest vote-getter was Cedrick Valrie with 19% of the vote, followed by Kay Klymko with 17% and Kaitlin Gracie Kramer with 13%, according to unofficial election results. 

Mayor Bill Mutz, who has led since 2018, did not seek re-election.

Roberts McCarley appeared to have raised the most money of any candidate ever in the city’s history, the Lakeland Ledger reported last month. 

Her donations of more than $91,000 came from influential contributors in Florida politics.

“Roberts McCarley has received donations from campaign committees of many in Polk’s Florida Republican legislative delegation: former Senate President Ben Albritton, Sen. Colleen Burton and state Rep. Jennifer Canady, plus neighboring Sens. Jim Boyd and Joe Gruters,” according to the newspaper.

Roberts McCarley, Executive Director at Polk Vision, has been a Commissioner for Lakeland’s SW District since 2019, according to her Commissioner biography.

Roberts McCarley’s bio said she was born in Lakeland, raised in Davenport and graduated from Florida Southern College.

Her campaign website said she supported first-responders, managing growth as well as fiscal responsibility with “transparency in the budget and preventing administrative bloat.”

Just before the votes were counted, she thanked her supporters.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude. So many people have supported this Mayoral Campaign from knocking on doors, putting signs together, tabling at events,  waving on street corners, stamping post cards, hosting events,  and so much more,” she wrote on Facebook. “Thank you is not a sufficient phrase for all the encouragement, volunteerism and prayer so many people have offered.”

The elections in Polk County’s Lakeland were among several happening across Florida Tuesday as voters from Orlando to Miami elected local leaders.