Consider Running for Leesburg City Commission in 2026 — The Villages Needs Your Voice
 

In 2026, residents of The Villages who live in Dabney, Lake Denham, and Newell will have the opportunity to vote for a representative on the Leesburg City Commission. This is a critical moment for your community, and you need someone who truly understands and represents the interests of Villagers living within Leesburg city limits.

Right now, many residents are asking: What are we getting in return for the taxes we pay to the City of Leesburg? Too often, the answer is: not enough. The city has shown little effort to fully include your neighborhoods in its vision or planning. In fact, some recent development decisions, especially those affecting key connector roads, threaten to further isolate you from the resources and benefits the city provides.

It’s time for that to change.

You need someone from The Villages to step forward, to run for office, and to be the voice your community deserves on the Leesburg City Commission. If you’ve ever thought about serving your neighbors, advocating for smarter growth, and ensuring The Villages is not left behind, now is the time.

Your leadership can make a real difference. Will you consider running?

Agree
 

I agree. The same could be said for Wildwood where Villagers outnumber the city populace and don’t have a single representative as a Wildwood commissioner.

Speeders on Meggison
 

The speeders on Meggison need addressed also.

Not true. Joe Elliott lives in Linden and Marcos Flores lives in Middleton (technically not the Villages, but his allegiance certainly lies with The Villages)

Any details on the development decisions you are mentioning? I'm curious as a Lake Denham resident.

Smart decisions need to be made regarding new developments in Leesburg that could impact the connectivity between The Villages and the city, but that hasn't happened. While I don't know exactly what's coming, I can say with confidence that the ongoing wave of rezonings and annexations will continue, clogging our connector roads and affecting the residents of The Villages of Westlake, including Lake Denham, Dabney, and Newell.

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I've gone to a couple of the Wildwood city council meetings. They seem to consider the tax payers in The Villages portions of Wildwood as cash cows because those residents pay full city taxes, yet most of their services are provided by their Villages district. It's probably the same in Leesburg.

That sounds more like it's an issue you need to take up with the developer. You've unfortunately chosen to live in a brand new development that some might argue never should've been built in the first place. Most of The Villages is the result of rezoning. Leesburg will continue allowing it, because the Morse Family can afford to pay for it, and people will continue to want to move to brand new Villages homes.

As long as people keep demanding new construction for their retirement, the Morse family will continue building - and the zoning departments will continue allowing it.

How difficult would it be to secede from wildwood? I am still trying to figure out what we get for our tax money.

Who takes care of the roads? The city of Wildwood. Who are the cops you’d use in case of an emergency, the city of wildwood. You get the same exact things any other person living in the town of Wildwood gets. Lol. The Villages isn’t a municipality with its own government. You live in Wildwood, in the planned community of The Villages. The good news is, you have 2 other counties and several towns to choose from within TV if you don’t like Wildwood but I can assure you Lake Co is more expensive.

Who provides those services (roads and cops) to residents of Sumter County that live just outside of the Wildwood city limits?

And Wildwood doesn’t even provide my gas! That comes from Leesburg.

Sounds like YOU are the perfect candidate!

Dissolution
 

I agree.

Dissolution is the term you are looking for. The District you live in would have to have a vote. Only those living in that district would have a say in order to secede. The county would eventually take care of law enforcement and streets and or roads. There is the route of state legislation, but this would be doubtful. Localized election would be the better route.

Section 165.051, Florida Statutes, provides the exclusive manner in which a municipality may be dissolved, by either a special act of the Legislature or an ordinance of the governing body of the municipality, approved by vote of the qualified voters, thereby precluding such action by amendment of the municipality's charter pursuant to section 166.031, Florida
Statutes.

How about a parking garage that cost a little over 50,000 per parking space? Maybe a brand new wastewater treatment plant for potential new building for 150 million? Yes, we are taken full advantage of.

I seriously doubt you're going to get the legislature to vote to dissolve Wildwood nor are you going to get the city commission to do so. And Florida has no provisions to allow for an area to revoke a voluntary annexation, as was done to make these new areas part of Wildwood.

Completely Doable
 

You miss the point of the OP. If 3 of the 5 city commissioners were Villages representatives (which could be easily done right now), they could forward the dissolution. They could move forward in favor of districts being removed from their municipality.

Not the same in Leesburg
 

We have a different situation in Leesburg and with Lake county. District 14 is locked in. I wouldn’t doubt many in our district would be in favor it, but we have many different hurdles to overcome.

We would certainly be in favor of it. Wildwood does nothing for us.

Leesburg has a population of about 27,000 residents while Wildwood has a population of about 15,700. In addition to Newell, Lake Denham, and Dabney, I believe that the following villages are entirely in Lake County. However, I am not sure how many are In Leesburg.

- Orange Blossom Gardens
- Silver Lake
- Oak Meadow
- El Cortez
- Del Mar
- Mira Mesa
- La Reynalda
- La Zamora
- Pine Hills
- Pine Ridge

It seems like the Villages should have representation on the Leesburg city council.

I did some more research.

Chapter 171 of the Florida Statutes, governs the annexation (expansion) and contraction (reduction) of municipal boundaries. For a portion of a city to secede, the following steps are required:

1. City Council Approval:
The city’s governing body (e.g., city council) must pass an ordinance to initiate the contraction process. This means the existing city has a significant say in whether the secession can proceed.

2. Referendum:
A referendum must be held in the area seeking to secede. A majority of voters in that specific area must approve the contraction for it to move forward. Notably, the referendum is limited to the seceding area, not the entire city.

3. Public Notice and Hearings:
Before the ordinance is adopted, the city must provide public notice and hold hearings to allow for input from residents and stakeholders.

What Happens After Secession?
If a portion of a city successfully secedes:
- It typically becomes unincorporated, falling under the jurisdiction of the county rather than any city.

- Financial Implications: The seceding area would need to establish its own tax base and assume responsibility for municipal services (e.g., police, fire, water, roads), which could be costly.
- Infrastructure: The area might lose access to shared city infrastructure or need to negotiate service agreements.

Are any Villagers that live in Sumter but are not living in wildwood clamoring to be annexed by wildwood so that they can get all of those Wildwood services?

None that I know of
 

Lol…No!

A couple more commissioners from the Villages placed on the Wildwood board would do the trick to get the referendum on the ballot and make things fair like the rest of Sumter county enjoys. Wildwood doesn’t do squat for the Villages. Fire…No. Sewage and water….No. Infrastructure….No

They aren’t here to support the Villages, the Villages are its cash cow. Wildwood is the leech!

The Villages is not an incorporated municipality like Leesburg. It is a census-designated place (CDP) In order to run for city commissioner you have to live in corporate city limits of Leesburg.