Article and Photos by Larry Oskin
Incumbent Tim Bates And Joa Macnalie campaign For Seat 1, Clermont City Council
Incumbent Timothy Bates was born in Birmingham, AL, and raised in the Orlando area. He and his wife moved to Clermont 17 years ago where they have raised their 2 children. Bates received a Bachelor’s’ Degree from the University of Alabama. He also holds a license as a Florida Realtor, a Certified Building Contractor, Home Inspector and has achieved certifications as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist and Environmental Access Consultant.
Bates has been a very successful entrepreneur. He owns a medical equipment company that provides respiratory equipment to patients in their home as well as working as a consultant in the industry.
Timothy Bates is a current Clermont City Council member and has served as the Clermont Mayor-Pro-Tem. He has been on numerous boards, councils, and committees with the South Lake Chamber of Commerce, Lake County, Florida League of Cities, Florida Alliance for Home Care, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has served his church in the community. He has been a coach for the Clermont Girls’ Fast Pitch, Travel Teams, and South Lake Little League. He was awarded Advocate of the Year in the medical equipment industry by working with elected officials in Washington and Tallahassee for Seniors’ rights.
Bates notes that our residents are concerned with our local roads, traffic and workforce housing. He believes he and the city of Clermont has good relationships with Lake county and state officials but thinks Clermont needs to continue developing these relationships. Bates says that we must all lend support for our road maintenance improvements, overall traffic congestion and safety which is needed from the county and state in order to address these concerns. He noted that due to the COVID pandemic, there have been numerous layoffs and business closures, so the need for affordable housing is increasing in the city. Bates has supported the removal of some barriers that prevented WorkForce Housing but says there is more work that can be done, especially with the growth and expansion of south highway 27 towards the new Wellness Way area.
He shares that being re-elected would allow him the opportunity to finish the work he helped start with Clermont’s Master Plan. It would also allow him to continue the priorities of Listening and Responding to residents’ needs. He does his best to be accessible to the residents of Clermont as he works for the community without a personal agenda.
Timothy Bates has been a successful business owner and has served on several local, county, state and national committees. He has experience in working with other Clermont area elected officials and government entities while bringing people together to create positive new solutions. Bates currently serves the community as a Clermont Council Member and he would like to continue serving you with his experience, leadership and Christian values. Bates says, “Thank you to our Clermont residents for entrusting me over the years to serve you! I would be honored and humbled to earn your vote again in November.” TimothyBBates@GMail.com
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Joa Macnalie was born in Haiti. She moved to the USA in 1995, when she turned 5 years old. She was raised in Queens and Long Island, New York and moved to Clermont in 2005. Not yet married, she is happy to be an aunt to fifteen nieces and nephews. Macnalie graduated from East Ridge High school in 2008. She received a basketball scholarship to Southern Vermont College, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She received her Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University as well as her Doctorate of Education with specialties in curriculum and instructional learning.
Macnalie continued her work as a substance abuse counselor and a behavioral therapy specialist for the Salvation Army in their Article 31 Mental Health Program in New York. She has been a manager of a Jewish Home Life facility to help bridge the gap between youth and the elderly in Manhattan by creating mentorships from and for each other in a unique program called Geriatric Career Development. She is an award-winning best-selling author of three children’s books. She remains a full-time writer and Entrepreneur with MacnalieBooks.
She is new to politics, running for a public office for the very first time. While her political achievements and background in Clermont are few, she has a very long track record as an advocate for mental health protections and people’s equal rights to help people feel safe. She wants to uphold and actively support our American Constitution for all people. Macnalie has participated in many local rallies as an organizer, spokesperson and attendee to support Black Lives Matter, women’s rights and other issues of social justice. She was a key speaker at the peaceful Clermont rally for George Floyd. She regularly attends City of Clermont Council and City Budget meetings and enjoys bringing new youth with her as part of “take the pledge” initiative she has pioneered in her run for candidacy. She feels that she remains a strong and influential voice for all the residents of Clermont and promises to be an advocate for the voiceless and underserved.
Macnalie’s City Council seat platform acknowledges that Clermont’s needs are ever-changing. She wants to add young, ambitious and new leadership skills. Knowing that Clermont is rapidly growing with a younger demographic segment of our population, we now need to expand, shift and diversify our focus beyond the elderly for the pride and benefit of everyone here. She shares, “Clermont is still experiencing explosive growth. With over 40,000 residents, we must sustain smart affordable growth with a livable wage and affordable housing. Today, we have over 570 homeless people here in Lake County. We need to help them, our elderly, youth and our veterans with expanded resources and mental health services. We really need a new Clermont Community Center at the Lincoln Park Area, so everyone can more easily access mental health services, especially with the COVID-19 challenges that we are facing. We need to provide more advanced educational opportunities for our community to study how to best survive with entrepreneurial challenges, business management, operations, taxes, financial management and real-life training programs. We need to help our students to graduate equipped with expanded life management skills. We must do a better job to preserve and protect our natural green sustainability with all of our resources, starting with our Clermont area lakes and parks.”
Macnalie shares, “I am young! I will be an alternative to older white males. I will bring new diversity to help better represent our demographics. I can make history by becoming the first Black woman on the Clermont City Council. I will provide fresh energy, new perspectives and creative ideas. I am ready to implement progressive new initiatives. I am a regular hard-working Clermont citizen, who may be an underdog, yet I want to help break down some of the generational challenges to help trail blaze from the bottom. I understand our people’s frustrations, challenges and how to transfer their pains into positive purposes.”
She shared a quote that inspires her from Martin Chungong who once said, “If young people are not too young to get married, to serve in the military or to choose the parliamentarians who will represent them; they are not too young to run for a political office!” JMacnalie@GMail.com
