Lakeland hosts candidate forum despite two no-shows
Lakeland Mayor Josh Roman speaks during the Lakeland Mayoral Debate & Candidate Forum in the cafetorium at Lakeland Preparatory Middle School on Oct. 19, 2026. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
The Lakeland Mayoral Debate & Candidate Forum on Monday, Oct. 19, night ended up not being much of a debate after two candidates opted out of the event.
The forum was organized by the Lakeland Community Advisory Board. Earlier in the day, mayoral candidate Connie McCarter and commissioner candidate Heather Long decided they would not participate.
That left Lakeland Mayor Josh Roman, who is running for a second term, to field a litany of more than 20 questions for nearly an hour.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
2026 Lakeland elections Josh Roman Connie McCarter Heather Long mayoral race Lakeland Board of Commissioners Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
Did you know we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization? We rely on a mix of revenue from subscriptions (50%), advertising, events and other earned income (25%) and fundraising (25%).
Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian today.
👉🏽 Your subscription pays for you to read all our journalism.
👉🏽 Your donation powers the work we do to reach everyone else with the news.
We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. If you agree, join our growing list of donors now.
Michael Waddell
Michael Waddell is a native Memphian with more than 20 years of professional writing and editorial experience, working most recently with The Daily News and High Ground News.
Comments
Want to comment on our stories? If you’re a subscriber, scroll down to the comments. If you’re not a subscriber, only paid subscribers can add their thoughts, so subscribe now. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.