Michael Dunn wins runoff spot against Larry Durrance.
By Jacob Engels
In what many are characterizing as a battle between “Old Lakeland” and “New Lakeland,” Larry Durrance and Michael Dunn will face off on the ballot for Lakeland City Commissioner on December 5th, 2017.
Durrance, 77, a longtime city insider, former city commissioner and mayor has spent many years on the inside of city hall.
This year, however, Michael Dunn, 44, has mounted a strong run for the open city commission seat.
Dunn is a small business owner of Vet’s Service, an Army/Navy surplus store. He is also a veteran of the US Marine Corps, a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, and supports southern heritage.
Durrance has garnered his experience from educational institutions and lobbying groups, and is seen as the more liberal of the two.
One of the major underlying issues in this runoff has been the question of whether or not to keep the Munn Park War Veterans memorial at its current location or remove it.
Durrance failed to answer a questionnaire from the Save Southern Heritage Florida organization, when asked his opinions on the issue.
Dunn, on the other hand, came out strong for preserving the monument and the establishment of a monument protection ordinance to protect all veterans memorials in the city.
As with any political contest, it’s all about turnout.
With only one race on the ballot, the total number of voters from the primary will probably drop in the December 5th vote.
Jacob Engels is an Orlando based journalist whose work has been featured and republished in news outlets around the globe including Politico, InfoWars, MSNBC, Orlando Sentinel, New York Times, Daily Mail UK, Associated Press, People Magazine, ABC, and Fox News to name a few. Mr. Engels focuses on stories that other news outlets neglect or willingly hide to curry favor among the political and business special interests in the state of Florida.
