Candidate: Phil Lantry

Hello Citizens of St. Cloud, FL! My name is Phil Lantry. I am a lifelong St. Cloud resident running for St. Cloud City Council Seat 3. I have witnessed the growth in this town from a time when there were less than 10,000 people living here. We now have more than 50,000 residents that call the city of St. Cloud home! My parents moved to St. Cloud in the early 1970’s. They decided to make it their home and had four children. My father was a REALTOR® and knew many people here in town. Unfortunately, my father was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis the same year that I was born. Despite the grim news, he kept on working for several years until he could no longer walk because he refused to let his condition define who he was or what he could do. My mother took care of him for many years while also raising four children on a fixed income from social security.

Although we struggled financially while growing up, our household was full of love and laughter. My father was an excellent role model, and he was always there to support his children. I learned to appreciate the importance of hard work and determination from a very young age. I started working with my older brother at the age of 14 mowing lawns and doing housework for people around the neighborhood. My best friend’s father owned a plumbing company and I started working in the trade at the age of 17. When I graduated from St. Cloud High School, I went to Valencia College for a short time but decided that I wanted to work in the plumbing trade because it would pay much better than any other job I could get at the time as a young adult. As I progressed in my plumbing career, I began to work on much larger commercial projects and even obtained my certification to install medical gas systems in hospitals. I was doing work that many people did not get the opportunity to do until they were much older. Although I was building a very successful career for my age, I was still a maturing adult in my early twenties, and I made some bad decisions that got me in trouble with the law. I was associating with the wrong type of people and made some poor choices resulting in some felony charges that I served time for in 2005. I am certainly not proud of these choices that I will have to live with for my entire life, but I do believe that the experience helped to shape me into the person that I am today. I believe in honesty and transparency.

This is why I am telling you about these things that happened in my past. I also believe that people can change if given the opportunity. It took a lot of hard work to become the person I am today. I would not be here now running for an elected position in city government if the majority of voters in the state of Florida did not share these same beliefs. As I began a new chapter in my life, I was searching for a way that I could help other people on a much larger scale. My experience in construction led me to seek a career in architecture. I knew that I was going to have to work harder than most to achieve my goal, but I was determined to make it happen. I attended 6 years of architecture school full time while also working full time. When I transitioned to a career in architecture, I had no idea how much my extensive construction experience would benefit me. I began working at HKS Architects which is a global architecture firm, and I was able to complete my master’s degree at the University of Florida School of Architecture while gaining the necessary experience to get licensed. I was provided with the unique opportunity to take my architecture registration exams while still in school to become one of the first three people in the United States to become licensed upon completing my architectural education. I still find it hard to believe that I was able to begin my architectural career and become licensed in less than 7 years! On average, it takes a person almost 12 years to complete the requirements for getting a license to practice architecture. As you can imagine, I had a lot more time on my hands now that I completed school and was able to obtain my license immediately, so I decided to start giving back to the community. I volunteered my time for several initiatives including architecture registration exam study sessions, serving on committees for the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards, serving on zoning task forces for the zoning division in Orange County in association with American Institute of Architects, and various other community civic projects. I have developed a passion for improving my community. I want to find more ways to serve and use my experience to improve the lives of everyone.

While studying architecture and embarking on a new journey, I met the love of my life. We are now married and have decided to raise our son here in St. Cloud. We want him to experience the same great things in the place that we grew up. We love the small town feel of St. Cloud and the proximity to all the great places there are to visit in Central Florida. I would not be doing this if I did not love it here in beautiful St. Cloud. I know that serving on the City Council will be a lot of work and it will not be easy but I want to do it so that I can make our community better and safer for all of the families that live here and call the City of St. Cloud their home.