Lakeland city leaders are currently evaluating the status of an appointed housing official who was recently suspended from her primary executive role. Stacy Campbell-Domineck, who serves on the governing board of the Lakeland Housing Authority, will remain in her appointed seat for the time being as municipal leaders deliberate whether to initiate formal suspension or removal proceedings against her.
The scrutiny surrounding Campbell-Domineck follows decisive action taken by the Polk County Commission on September 1, 2026. County commissioners, who maintain governing oversight of the area’s workforce development operations, voted to temporarily relieve Campbell-Domineck of her duties as executive director of CareerSource Polk without pay following severe administrative concerns raised at the state level.
The suspension was triggered by formal notifications issued on August 25, 2026, by Florida Commerce and CareerSource Florida. State officials brought forward critical findings concerning Campbell-Domineck’s leadership and financial oversight at the workforce agency, citing questionable fiscal management, potential unauthorized expenditures involving public funding, and instances described as outright deception.
Campbell-Domineck was initially placed on the Lakeland Housing Authority’s Board of Directors in December 2024. Under local governance procedures, members of the housing authority board are appointed directly by Lakeland’s mayor and typically serve four-year terms to provide oversight and stewardship over subsidized housing initiatives across the municipality.
During a September 8 city commission meeting, Commissioner Guy LaLonde voiced strong concerns regarding Campbell-Domineck’s continued participation on the board while under state investigation. LaLonde cited the state’s formal findings and argued that retaining an official facing such serious fiscal allegations reflects negatively on municipal governance and threatens to erode the public's confidence in the housing agency.
However, the proposal to take immediate action against Campbell-Domineck was met with resistance from other members of the commission. Commissioner Ashley Troutman expressed significant reservations about rushing to penalize an official before formal inquiries have fully concluded, urging his colleagues to exercise patience and allow the established investigative mechanisms to run their proper course.
To support his call for caution, Troutman referenced his previous experience serving on the Board of Trustees for Polk State College. During that time, the institution conducted a high-profile inquiry into its former president, Angela Garcia Falconetti, over the allocation of scholarship resources for student fees. That investigation ultimately concluded that Falconetti had not committed any policy or legal infractions.
City Attorney Palmer Davis provided clarity regarding the strict statutory framework governing the potential ouster of a sitting housing board member under Florida law. Davis explained that an appointed official cannot simply be dismissed without formal due process, which requires specific charges alleging ineffectiveness, neglect of official duty, or misconduct in office.
Under state statutes, if formal charges are brought against a board member, that individual must be provided with at least ten days of advance notice and given an official opportunity to respond and defend themselves. Davis emphasized that municipal leaders must strictly follow these due process requirements before any definitive removal action can be lawfully executed.
Mayor Sara Roberts McCarley noted that she could not recall any instance in which a sitting housing board member was forcibly removed during her entire tenure in municipal office, either as mayor or as a commissioner. She instructed the commission to coordinate closely with the city attorney’s office to clarify lawful procedures while noting she intends to personally speak with Campbell-Domineck regarding the situation.
Despite the procedural constraints, Roberts McCarley maintained that public perception and personal integrity should guide such circumstances. The mayor stated that if she were facing concurrent reviews from both county and state oversight bodies, she would voluntarily recuse herself from serving on public boards. Commissioners LaLonde and Mike Musick voiced their explicit agreement with the mayor's sentiment.
The debate over Campbell-Domineck’s seat arrives at a time when the Lakeland Housing Authority is already contending with sustained community criticism. For more than a year, local residents, community activists, and agency employees have raised persistent grievances regarding governance standards, record-keeping practices, and allegations of favoritism in residential placement decisions.
Community advocates, including Harlem Turner and Michael Joseph, have repeatedly attended city meetings to urge municipal commissioners to intervene and inspect the agency's administration. Public complaints have centered on questionable terminations of housing assistance, an alleged absence of institutional transparency, and deeper accountability deficits within the organization.
The broader administrative concerns previously prompted Commissioner LaLonde to demand an independent third-party audit and complete disclosure of housing authority records in late August 2025. In response to ongoing inquiries, LHA Executive Director Ben Stevenson maintained that he had not received the formal audit request but asserted he does not fear an impartial review into the agency's operations.
Stevenson has consistently denied accusations of administrative misconduct, though he has acknowledged that several individuals employed at the housing authority are his relatives. Stevenson defended these employment arrangements by explaining that these staff members do not report directly to him and that sufficient degrees of managerial separation exist within the agency hierarchy.
In response to the persistent public outcry and community dissatisfaction, Mayor Roberts McCarley directed each city commissioner to conduct individual, one-on-one meetings with members of the Lakeland Housing Authority’s governing board as municipal leaders seek greater clarity on the agency's overall governance and stability.
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