{{Short description|American politician (born 1961)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Melony Bell | image = Official portrait of Polk County Supervisor of Elections Melony Bell.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2025 | office = Supervisor of Elections of Polk County | term_start = January 7, 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = Lori Edwards | successor = | state_house1 = Florida | district1 = 49th | term_start1 = November 6, 2018 | term_end1 = November 5, 2024 | predecessor1 = Ben Albritton | successor1 = Jennifer Kincart Jonsson | office2 = Polk County Commissioner | term_start2 = November 2010 | term_end2 = November 6, 2018 | succeeding2 = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|10|29}} | birth_place = Winter Haven, Florida, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = South Florida Community College (AS)<br>Southeastern University (BS) | spouse = Robbie Bell | profession = | party = Republican| }}
'''Melony Mincey Bell''' (born October 29, 1961) is an American politician who has served as Supervisor of Elections of Polk County since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2018 to 2024, as a Polk County commissioner from 2010 to 2018, as the mayor of Fort Meade, Florida, and as a Fort Meade city commissioner.
==Background== Bell was born in Winter Haven, Florida to Ronald and Laverne Mincey.<ref name="little">{{cite web|last1=Little|first1=Ryan|title=Polk Commissioner Melony Bell Works Hard for Her Causes|url=http://www.theledger.com/news/20131007/polk-commissioner-melony-bell-works-hard-for-her-causes|publisher=The Ledger|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> Her family moved to Satellite Beach, Florida when she was young.<ref name="little"/> While in high school, the family returned to Fort Meade, where she met her husband at Fort Meade Middle-Senior High School.<ref name="little"/> Bell earned a bachelor's degree from Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida and an associate degree from South Florida State College.
Before her career in government, Bell worked as an auditor for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and her husband owns a bee business.<ref name="bee">{{cite web|title=The Ledger Recommends - County Commissioner, Dist. 2: Melony Bell|url=http://www.theledger.com/news/20101017/the-ledger-recommends---county-commissioner-dist-2-melony-bell|publisher=The Ledger|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>
==Political career== Bell got her start in politics when she became the lead opposition to the building of a private prison next to Lewis Anna Woodbury Elementary School.<ref name="little"/> Bell served for 14 years on the Fort Meade City Commission, including four terms as mayor, before her election as a county commissioner in 2010.<ref name="chamb"/><ref name="palmer">{{cite web|last1=Palmer|first1=Tom|title=Fort Meade Official Melony Bell Seeks to Encourage, Manage Growth|url=http://www.theledger.com/news/20100630/fort-meade-official-melony-bell-seeks-to-encourage-manage-growth|publisher=The Ledger|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="ledger">{{cite web|title=Elect Melony Bell to county board|url=http://www.theledger.com/news/20101030/elect-melony-bell--to-county-board|publisher=The Ledger|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>
In 2017, Bell announced that she would be running for District 49 in the Florida House of Representatives in 2018.<ref name="chamb">{{cite web|last1=Chambliss|first1=John|title=Melony Bell to face Poulin for House seat in 2018|url=http://www.theledger.com/news/20170119/melony-bell-to-face-poulin-for-house-seat-in-2018|publisher=The Ledger|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>
In 2024, Bell was elected as Polk County supervisor of elections, a gain for Republicans.<ref>{{cite web |title=State Rep. Melony Bell to run for Polk supervisor of elections, challenging Lori Edwards |url=https://news.yahoo.com/state-rep-melony-bell-run-161138017.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMCwTcSt_X0AfV1Yk68vKpB8Onl4-p37sG9gN6QoU81VEvA8dAMLJs4LEBRpdS3ibetPUqKDHRYzfR4k8MhMfCxsTdbIjxxQJ2cY2I1XjtfLtLlZSnvYOQ1t9cAn6bssMEHdUguloSuhHTQ4TgcoYFOw0VhvDzugNpURMpTm7zQL |publisher=Yahoo! News |access-date=February 12, 2025 |date=12 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=White |first=Gary |date=November 7, 2024 |title=Melony Bell's gamble pays off as she denies Lori Edwards 7th term as Polk elections supervisor |url=https://www.theledger.com/story/news/politics/elections/local/2024/11/07/melony-bell-denies-lori-edwards-7th-term-as-polk-elections-supervisor/76088196007/ |newspaper=The Ledger |access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Melony}} Category:Living people Category:Florida Republicans Category:People from Fort Meade, Florida Category:People from Polk County, Florida Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:People from Winter Haven, Florida Category:People from Satellite Beach, Florida Category:1961 births Category:Women state legislators in Florida Category:Members of the Polk County Commission (Florida) Category:County constitutional officer (Florida) Category:Florida city council members Category:Women city councillors in Florida Category:Mayors of places in Florida Category:Women mayors of places in Florida Category:Southeastern University (Florida) alumni Category:Fort Meade Middle-Senior High School alumni Category:21st-century members of the Florida Legislature