Lakeland’s new mayor Sara Roberts McCarley settles into first week

LAKELAND, Fla. — Just over a week into her term, Lakeland’s new mayor is hitting the ground running.

Mayor Sara Roberts McCarley made history as the first woman elected to the position, after serving on the City Commission for about seven years. She won the mayoral election with over 50% of the votes, beating out Cedric Valrie at 19%, Kay Klymko with 17%, and Kaitlin Gracie Kramer at 13%. She raised over $91,000 during her political campaign.

From settling into her new office to assigning commissioners to their new committees, McCarley says the first few days in office have been dedicated to getting ahead of the curve.

“Not so much relying on an agenda study to get up to speed on what’s happening in the city, but really being here, being present as often as possible, as daily as possible,” she said.

Like any new role, McCarley says the highest seat in city government is an adjustment. She believes the city was on the right path under former Mayor Bill Mutz, but she says she’s also looking for areas where improvements can be made. One of the first items on her agenda is infrastructure—both across Lakeland and inside City Hall.

“When I say infrastructure within City Hall, it is those frameworks of how we tackle issues, but also how we cheerlead,” she said. “How do we talk about our city and the amazing things that happen? How do we provide good services? And if someone calls and has an issue, how do we get to the bottom of the issue and really unearth the best way to help them?”

In order to lead the city effectively, McCarley says much of that work happens behind the scenes—something she says women often do well.

“We do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work to make things happen that people might not recognize,” McCarley said. “So we have to have discussions about the nuts and bolts of running a city and then (about) what does it takes. And I think that’s something that I’m very interested in, in doing that behind-the-scenes work to make sure it is taken care of.”

Ultimately, her focus is on nurturing the city from the inside out.