by James Coulter
Planning to run for public office in Lake Wales? Make sure you have your driver’s license or another form of official documentation ready. Soon, candidates will need to show proof that they’ve lived within the city limits for more than a year.
At their regular meeting on Tues. Aug. 18, 2026, Lake Wales commissioners voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance amending the City Charter to formalize a documentary verification process for commission candidates.
The proposed amendment would require anyone seeking a commission seat to submit at least two forms of documentation confirming they have met the one‑year residency requirement. Acceptable records include a driver’s license, voter registration card, vehicle registration, property deed or lease, or a homestead exemption filing.
The City Charter already mandates that candidates must have lived within the city limits for at least one year prior to the election. The Code of Ordinances outlines a qualifying checklist that includes candidate oath, loyalty oath, financial disclosure, and campaign treasurer designation.
However, City Attorney Albert C. Galloway, Jr. noted that it “does not explicitly require candidates to submit objective documentary proof verifying their duration of residency within the City limits or specific Commission district/seat.”
Discussion about specifying residency verification surfaced earlier this year after a resident, during public comment at the Apr. 21, 2026 meeting, questioned whether Commissioner Terri Miller had met the one‑year residency requirement during her campaign.
However, at the recent commission meeting, one resident pushed back on the proposed verification process, arguing that the new requirement, rather than adding clarity, introduces a “dangerous ambiguity” to the process.
During public comments, resident Howard Davies questioned the “flawed mechanism” behind the proposed requirements, claiming that the listed proofs of verification “do not prove continuous residency for a full year” and thus forced the city clerk to act like an “unauthorized judge of fact.”
“We shouldn’t place our city clerk in the position of disputed factual determinations about a candidate’s eligibility within a clear defensible framework,” he said. “The cleanest approach is to rely on the candidate’s sworn oath, leaving complex legal disputes to the courts.”
Mayor Jack Hilligoss, citing guidance from the City Attorney, said the city has the authority to require evidentiary proof of residency, including the forms of documentation listed in the amendment. He also emphasized that the ordinance would not alter the ministerial role of the city clerk in the qualifying process.
“Florida statute grants municipalities a lot of latitude on this, as long as what we enact doesn’t directly conflict with Florida statutes, is my understanding,” he said. “So other municipalities in Florida have done these sorts of things.”
Commissioner Carol Gillespie raised a concern about a potential inconsistency, noting that the amendment referred to one year before qualification, while the City Charter specifies one year before the election.
City Attorney Galloway clarified that the Charter explicitly sets the requirement at one year before the election. He added that the Code of Ordinances addresses the timing questions involved, meaning there is no conflict between the two provisions.
