ALFRED REYNOLDS

Candidate for State Senator District 12, Florida

He is committed to prioritizing the needs of the citizens in the district. Through dedicated service, hard work, and a focus on community well-being, he aims to ensure that every voice is heard and every concern is addressed. Together, we can build a brighter future for all residents.

Vote and Elect
ALFRED REYNOLDS
for State Senator District 12 - Florida

To Make a Difference...

Alfred Reynolds wants to make a difference in the lives of the citizens of the district. As a Christian, a family man, a law professor, a public school teacher, a military veteran, a former law enforcement officer, Alfred Reynolds is running for the position of Senator in the State Legislature of Florida. There is a lot of work to be done and there are many issues that are not taken care of properly by the state leaders. In fact, the incumbent who is his opponent works for the past two years as a senator and does not do much for the people of the district. For those reasons, Alfred Reynolds wants your support to make that incumbent becomes a one-time senator for the simple reason that our state of Florida is going to the wrong direction with the support that senator gives to the governor and the members of the state assemble, who supported President Trump's agenda to defund certain programs, such as the education system and the healthcare system for the elderly and those who are affected by mental illness. We have serious problems here. Alfred Reynolds is counting on you, on your financial support and on your votes to help him reach the final step to become a State Senator on November 3, 2026. To know more about Alfred Reynolds for district 12 and to better support him, please go to www.alfredreynoldsforflorida.com ...Thank you for your support and May God Bless You!

A Short Biography

Alfred Reynolds is a law study professor in Polk County, Florida. He is running as a State Senator candidate for District 12. With his rich cultural background and diversity within his family, Alfred worked, at a very young age, as an investigative journalist specializing in social engagement in poor neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. In May 1993, he left his hometown under serious threats, and he took refuge in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Two years later, he joined the United Stated Army Reserve while pursuing his associate’s degree of science in criminal justice from Norwalk Community Technical College where he graduated in May 1997; and, in May 2000, from Western Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree of science in Justice and Law Administration. After eight years working for the federal government as a reservist, Alfred decided to join the Georgia State Army National Guard while starting a career in law enforcement: first, with the Georgia Department of Justice as a Juvenile Correctional Officer; second, as a National Crime Information Center Technician with the Gwinnett County Police Department while volunteering some of his time with the Gwinnett County Sheriff Department by helping them to enter hundreds of warrants in the FBI national database against serious criminal offenders at a time when the sheriff department did not have enough qualified employees. He later transferred to the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court as an Intensive Juvenile Probation Officer.

With his years of professional experience in the field of criminal justice, Alfred’s focus was now on international studies. In fact, with the help of the International Bureau for Children Rights (IBCR) in Quebec (Canada) while working as an intern in pursuing his master’s degree in international and transnational laws at University Laval School of Law, Alfred started researching on different countries that are located in the Caribbean, in Africa, in the Middle East and in Latin America that are experiencing firsthand democratic changes. Within that logic, Alfred decided to work on Haiti, where there is a continual scene of acts of violence that are well planned and executed by both sides of the political spectrum. He focused his research on the topic of “child soldiers” because of the use of children in armed conflicts around the world.

Alfred contributed to the publication of the annual IBCR's report in 2007. He also published several articles to online journal reviews and blogs concerning the Criminal Justice System and the necessity for a progressive reform of the Haitian legal system, which is very corrupt. Alfred is a former Adjunct Professor at the Community College of Vermont in Saint Albans where he specialized in Criminal Law, Criminology, and Juvenile Justice while working part time with the Vermont Department of Corrections. He is a former member of the Vermont Army National Guard. Alfred worked as an in-house counselor for children at-risk in the States of Connecticut and Massachusetts. While in the military, Alfred graduated from different military schools with specializations in Water Treatment, Supplies and Logistics, Disaster Planning, Mass Fatalities, Internment and Resettlement, Physical Security, Corrections, Civil Disturbance and Fatal Fire Investigation.

Alfred is a member of the Juvenile Court Association of Georgia, the Gang Investigators Association of Georgia, the Canadian Bar Association, the International Law Association, the Lawyers Without Borders, the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence on Women, and the Research Center on the Rehabilitation of Youth and Family at-risk in Quebec, Canada. Alfred has a graduate certificate in Education and Leadership from the University of Georgia.

Aside from his experiences in the legal and investigative fields, Alfred also graduated from Liberty University with a master’s degree in Chaplaincy. In 2014, he left the military. Ten years later, he becomes the founder and the president of Reynolds Institute of Criminology, a college that is located in Lagos, Nigeria. As a researcher on the complicated problems of child soldiers around the world, Alfred finally turned his essay to a published book in 2021. The focus of his book is on criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, law enforcement, and international law, with the title: “Child Soldiers: Victims and Aggressors.”

Get in Touch

AT A GLANCE: PAST AND PRESENT ACTIVITIES

Alfred is achieving more with his initiatives than ever before. He worked on many exciting projects to help improve the lives of others, and he is very proud of the progress he continues to make. Learn more about what he does, who he helps, and how he works every day to promote positive changes.

SELFLESS SERVICE

Always Ready to Serve

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Volunteering in Polk County

VALUE EDUCATION

Our Commitment as an Educator

THE SEVEN BIGGEST ISSUES

Alfred Reynolds, State Senator Candidate for District 12, wants to attack the seven biggest issues in Polk and its surrounding counties once he is elected. Alfred Reynolds believes that he can make a real difference by bringing these seven biggest issues to the forefront for debate. First, we have a problem of education in Polk County where the entire educational system where you find elementary, middle, and high schools have a “D” grade average (students cannot read, parents are not engaged, and teachers are getting paid low wages); second, affordable housing (apartments and rental homes are getting too expensive comparing to the median household income of $73,282); third, mental health (students bad behavior in classrooms, high rate of suicides, and cases of severe depression); fourth, community policing (more police officers should be involved in our neighborhoods instead of waiting for an emergency to happen); fifth, economic disparities (there is a significant number of adults, children, and seniors who are living in poverty with less than $50,000 in annual income); sixth, reliable transportation (the county rapid growth makes it a problem for public transportation); and, finally, infrastructure strain and rapid growth of Polk County (where there are not enough multiple lanes, but mostly single lanes and roads that are too narrow). He is asking you to trust him in choosing him as your senator to solve those problems. However, there are many obstacles and it will not be easy.

Education

One of the biggest problems in District 12 is education. As an educator, everyday I see parents are not taking responsibility for the education of their children. They are quickly pointing fingers at the teachers who become the scapegoats for the failure of their child. While the education gap is widening, those children lack the intellectual capacity to pass the state exam and any college-bound testing. With the support of school leaders, we should be able to pass laws that will strengthen the power of the teachers in the classroom while helping the parents to take responsibility for the education of their children. We will increase funding for school programs that will impact on student learning; but, also, challenge school and district leaders to keep up-to-date a statistical data of their behavioral intervention of those children who are failing. In fact, Polk County Public Schools has been facing challenges in its educational performance, particularly in terms of graduation rates and student achievement. While the district has shown some improvement in its graduation rate, it still lags behind the state average and ranks poorly in comparison to other counties in the state. Additionally, the district has faced issues with funding, bus transportation, student achievement in reading, and teachers are quitting their job in the middle of the school year. This situation has undoubtedly forced the school district to hire substitutes and non-certified teachers to replace those teachers who have left. It is for all these reasons that Polk County Public Schools has been ranked among the lowest-funded districts in Florida, potentially impacting resources available for students and staff. In fact, the Florida Policy Institute ranked Polk County 60th out of 67 counties for education in 2025.

Affordable Housing

The second most pressing problems in the district is housing. The rising cost of housing in Polk County is a significant challenge, particularly for lower-income residents. This issue is exacerbated by the increasing demand for housing due to the county's growth. if the majority of the people who are living in the district own a house, there are others who cannot afford to buy a house; but, rent a house and live in trailers and apartments. However, for the past fifteen years, the rental apartment market was very affordable for people to live joyfully and comfortably. Now, it is getting more expensive. In fact, a two-bedroom apartment is considerably triple from $650 to $1,850 not including other fees and utility bills. This increase in the rental market makes it harder for the elderly and those people with lower income to have a sustainable life. Thus, we want to make a difference in the lives of those people by making and supporting laws that will positively affect their livelihood.

Affordable Housing

The second most pressing problems in the district is housing. The rising cost of housing in Polk County is a significant challenge, particularly for lower-income residents. This issue is exacerbated by the increasing demand for housing due to the county's growth. If the majority of the people who are living in the district own a house, there are others who cannot afford to buy a house; but, to rent a house or buy a trailer or rent an apartment. However, fifteen years ago, the rental market was very affordable for people to live joyfully and comfortably. Now, it is getting more expensive. In fact, a two-bedroom apartment is considerably triple from $650 to $1,850 not including other fees and utility bills. This increase in the rental market makes it harder for the elderly and those people with lower income to have a sustainable life. Thus, we want to make a difference in the lives of those people by making and supporting laws that will positively affect their livelihood. One example is rent control, which is a law that is passed only in three states in the whole United States of America: California, Oregon, and Washington. Why can't we do the same in Florida, which is a state where many retirees and seniors are preferring to move in, to live in and spend the rest of their lives with their love ones.

Community Policing

It is not a secret that Gwinnett County will probably become in the next few years the most populous county in whole State of Georgia. As a former juvenile probation officer in Gwinnett County, I have experienced in first hand the problematic that exists in the interaction between law enforcement officers and the public in general and, particularly, the minorities with Hispanic, Afro-Caribbean and African-American backgrounds. Nevertheless to say that certain people from these minority groups are very afraid of the police and they do not trust the police including any other law enforcement personnel who do not have an arrest power. We need to change that mentality in our district by training our police officers to be compassionate and, at the same time, to willfully engage the members of the community to welcome and to trust the police as members of the same community who is willing, based on their oath, to protect and to serve them whenever it is necessary.

Mental Health

If the "Baker Act," formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act, allows for the involuntary examination and treatment of individuals believed to have a mental illness and who are deemed a danger to themselves or others, the law provides a process for emergency services and temporary detention for mental health evaluation and treatment, either on a voluntary or involuntary basis. However, despite that law, mental health challenges are a growing concern in the district, with increased rates of suicide. Here, there is a need for more accessible and coordinated mental health services for the youth in particular. In fact, the suicide rate in Polk and its surrounding counties is slightly lower than Florida's overall rate, but still a major public health concern. In analyzing this serious problem that affects the district, it is our understanding that the most common method of suicide in Polk County is using a firearm. There is also a significant portion of the population in Polk County who experiences mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, and other disorders. It is not surprising there is a strong connection between mental health and substance abuse in the district, which as a significant percentage of those treated for behavioral health issues having both diagnoses.

Community Policing

Community policing is, in essence, a collaboration between the police and the community that identifies and solves community problems. With the police no longer the sole guardians of law and order, all members of the community become active allies in the effort to enhance the safety and quality of neighborhoods. However, because there are many people who are moving in the district, we need the police to be involved in those communities as a way to build a better relationship with those who move here. It is understood that Polk County is now the top destination in the United States where people are moving in. If nearly 30,000 people moved to the county just last year because of searches for cheaper housing prices compared to Tampa and Orlando, we ought to give those people who are now our new neighbors our full support and embrace them with safety and security. We need our police officers and sheriff deputies to be more proactive and to be involved in the schools and our communities by setting-up educational programs so parents and family members could also be involved.

Economic Disparities

While the district's economy is growing, there are disparities in income and access to opportunities. This is impacting communities and contributes to other issues like affordable housing and mental health. The cost of living in Polk and its surrounding counties, including housing, can be a factor influencing income levels. The district is experiencing at this moment a significant economic disparity, with median household income lower than both the state and the I-4 Corridor. While the county has seen population growth, income levels lag behind neighboring counties like Hillsborough and Orange. A substantial portion of the workforce earns less than $50,000 annually, and a significant number of children, adults, and seniors live in poverty, highlighting the challenges of economic barriers. There is a high poverty rate in the district. A large percentage of the population, particularly children, adults, and seniors, live in poverty, indicating widespread economic hardship. Food insecurity, defined as a lack of access to enough food for a healthy life, is a growing public health issue in the district. Studies indicate that Black and Latino families generally have less wealth than white families, highlighting systemic disparities. In summary, while Polk County has seen population growth and economic diversification, significant income disparities and poverty persist, requiring targeted interventions to address these challenges and promote broader economic prosperity.

Reliable Transportation

Transportation, let's say "public transportation," is a serious problem in the district. We must say that public transportation is quasi non-existent in many areas. In fact, the rapid growth and sprawling nature of Polk and its surrounding counties have created challenges for reliable transportation. This impacts access to jobs, education, and other essential services. For example, leaving from the tag office in Bartow to go to the emergency room in Lakeland becomes a headache every single day. In fact, it will take at least thirty (30) minutes to anyone to drive that distance in a personal vehicle. However, from the same leaving point to the same destination, it will take more than two (2) hours to anyone when riding public transportation for the simple reasons there are not enough buses in service. We do not need to make this long trip if we have a mechanical problem with our private vehicle. We understand that most of the people who live in the district may have reliable transportation; but, not everyone has another vehicle to drive when one vehicle is down. It is for this reason that we need an integrated transportation system with a rapid transit that could help the members of the community to be more active when they are being forced by the forces of nature to stop driving their personal vehicle. Further, parents have reported issues with bus delays and disruptions, causing inconvenience for families.

Infrastructure Strain with Rapid Growth

As we have mentioned above, the district is experiencing rapid population growth, leading indirectly to strains on infrastructure like water and sewer systems. This growth is also impacting property values and increasing the need for affordable housing. We need to build many more roads and maintain those roads that are no more practical to drive within our district, In fact, there are many parts in our district where only single lane roads can be accessible. Some roads in Polk and its surrounding counties are too narrow and they are mostly a one-lane road. If we have made a lot of progress, when considering the past ten years, in our construction efforts to decrease the amount of traffic, we must continue with the same goal to liberate many parts of our district to let private vehicles and public transportation become the avant-garde of achievement in their transition of a rural county towards a municipality of urban and suburban cities. Not counting the potholes and the flooding when it is raining, we need to bring the infrastructure at another level that will spare the people living in the community from being caught in traffic jams when it is time to go to work in the morning. As leaders and public servants, we should see the best for our district by willing to combine road constructions and public transportation in our long term public policy. At the same time, we shall create the maximum opportunity for everyone who are living in the district.