My full name is Judi Mann New. I am a fourth-generation Polk Countian. I was
born in Lakeland, Florida, and 1997 Lakeland High School graduate, Florida
Southern College graduate, Duke Divinity School graduate, and Louisiana State
University graduate. I have been married to Rev. Ed New and am a Mom of three
children. My husband and I are both ordained United Methodist ministers, and I
am currently the Director and Archivist for the Florida Annual United Methodist
Church. I am a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters, am on the Church Council
of my home church, First United Methodist Church of Lakeland, and a member of
the Florida Farm Bureau, and recently became a member of the Heritage Partner
Committee, a sub-committee of the Polk County Historical Association.
I have always enjoyed watching politics and worked with Rep. Adam H. Putnam
as his staff assistant after graduating from Florida Southern College worked as
the Public Affairs Director for the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce, where
much of my position was administering the Government Affairs Committee,
BusinessVoice, Inc, and also was heavily involved in the County-wide campaign
to change the Superintendent of the Polk County School Board to go from an
elected position to an appointive system. I heard the call to run last fall after
returning from the Library of Congress, where I was researching Florida
Methodism. Our County is the fastest growing County in the nation; we need to
manage this growth; remember that though we will be 1 million people by 2030,
we need to balance and take manageable steps to ensure safe and proper growth
within the 2,000 square miles of our County. I have driven over 13,000 miles since
filing as a candidate for Polk County Commission, District 1. I see what needs to
happen, I understand the issues, and I simply want to serve the people.
I have been on the ground in almost every square mile of our County over these
last seven months. I am not running for any other reason than I simply want to
serve the people of our County and do it well. Yes, we are a huge County, and
want us to be a strong, safe, caring County full of potential for growth, albeit safe
and balanced growth. I am the candidate because I have no special interests
behind me. I will always vote with my heart and knowledge of the issue at hand.
Please take a moment to look on the Polk County Supervisor of Elections
website, https://www.polkelections.com/, and look for the Candidates portion and
read through the contributions of each candidate which shares a great deal of
who is supporting them. People I meet with are often upset with the dynamics of
politics in this day and age. I would like to return to that time of kindness, and
although we may not agree on an issue, that does not make you my enemy.
Important challenges facing Polk County include balancing the opportunities that
have resulted from massive growth due, in part, to business and
developer-friendly policies approved by the Commission with the reality that our
current Commission has continued to neglect the proper funding of our public
infrastructure. It is their duty to balance this through careful, measured, and
managed policies. We really need to see our roadways as a safety issue,
especially with our County growing to 1 million people by 2030. We need to work
hard now to make changes that will help future generations love Polk County for
its uniqueness and beauty. I want my children to want to live here one day and
not move somewhere that is easier to navigate. This is my mantra: “A society is
made greater when people decide to plant trees in the shade that they know they
will never sit.”
After driving over 13,000 miles around our County, I have been introduced to each
municipality and I am building relationships with most of the City Managers and
City Staff. Everyone I meet is incredibly good at what they do in their public
service role, but they are looking for the County to set effective policy and stick
to it. That requires input from our public servants and our citizens. One way that I
believe citizens can have their voices heard is through social media. Through
campaigning, social media has been an excellent way of communicating with
people and I think this is the way of the future for citizens to interact with the
Commissioners. It is so easy to message, email, and call.
When I filed to run in October of last year, I did two things: I filed to run for Polk
County Commission, District 1 and I also changed from a No Political Affiliation
or NPA to Republican. In hindsight, I should have just stayed as an NPA as my
husband and I made that decision 20 years ago when we became ordained
pastors and wanted our congregations to hear us and not see a Party. I was a
Republican before so I assumed I had to have a Party to run. However, a State
Statute mandates a candidate for office must sit in their Party for one year before
qualifying for office. I will not make that for the Republican Party but I can qualify
as a write-in candidate. But this is a beautiful blessing in many ways because I
go straight to the General Election on November 5 and voters who support me
need to “bubble in and then write-in my name JUDI NEW” when voting for Polk
County Commission, District 1. In a day when social media is the outlet for many
people to receive news, I am grateful that I can use social media to ask the voters
of Polk County to please write in my name on November 5.
Please go to my Facebook and Instagram pages:
Facebook: Judi New
Facebook: Vote Judi New
Instagram: writeinJudi New
Please visit the campaign website: VoteJudiNew.com
If you would like a yard sign, have a group I can visit and speak with, or have a
question or concern, please email [email protected]
