“People ask me why are you running for Mayor. That’s easy – I lived in Minneapolis 24 years. It was a beautiful city with so many good people. I witnessed the systematic destruction of a once vibrant and wonderful city. I love Lakeland and do not ever want that to happen to my beloved hometown.”
–Saga Stevin
Born in Hollywood, Fl., Saga Stevin was raised in Lakeland and is the daughter of long time Lakeland Realtor, Candi Packett and Jack Packett (dec. 2019) who was one of the founders of Publix Employees Federal Credit Union. An ethic of tenacity and creativity had been instilled in her from an early age. Saga credits her foundation of strong conservative, Christian, family values and a supportive community as major factors in her life’s success. Saga believes her values combined with her extraordinary life experiences position her uniquely to serve in a position of leadership for the Lakeland community.
An entrepreneur at heart, Saga started a shoe-shining business at the advanced age of 8. By the age of 13, Saga realized her dream and bought her first pony.
In 1976, Saga graduated from Kathleen High School, and left Lakeland shortly after when she was selected as one of three from the State of Florida to represent Up With People. Saga went on to tour the world as a lead dancer with this international organization that empowers youth to become lifelong changemakers.
Saga’s journey has taken her from the entertainment industry in Florida, Chicago, and Los Angeles to Minneapolis. During this time, Saga made Amazon’s Christian Best-seller’s book list with her 1999 release of “The Golden Triangle, a Philosophy on Dating and Relationships”. As if that wasn’t enough, Saga also hosted a Lakeland-based radio show called “TeenTalk”, and a few years later, Saga would showcase her business acumen by becoming a semi-finalist in the vaunted MN Cup, which is the largest state wide business competition in America.
While living in Minneapolis in 2008, she developed an incredible all-natural, 100% plant-based serum for horses , eventually pioneering and transitioning this treatment into a human-grade effort. In 2014, it was so impressive that a company reached out to her for help in developing a product to be used in conjunction with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments. Saga learned all she could from the pioneers in the PRP field.
In 2016, the esteemed Dr. Greg Plotnikoff reached out to offer her a specialist position with his clinic, Minnesota Personalized Medicine. Saga would manage the lab and document testing procedures. She would also draw and process blood for specialized testing in domestic and international labs.
This experience provided Saga with her initial insight into the mundane bureaucracies of certain governmental processes. The clinic held to an ethic of not taking insurance as it was very important that the clinic not be hand-cuffed by the directorate of regulations. This is a valuable experience in calibrating Saga’s ability to recognize and repudiate governmental overreach.
It wasn’t until recently Saga decided she wanted to contribute her considerable intellect and ambition to the political realm. Having seen the communal pains and penalties that have erupted due to the mindless chatter and actions of radical ideologues in Minneapolis, Saga set her political and moral sights on her beloved Lakeland. Having moved back to Lakeland in 2020 and seeing the precursors of such actions, Saga chose to, quite simply, fight to keep the great city of Lakeland…Lakeland.
Having already contributed as a member of the Board of Directors for both the Citizens Council for Health Freedom and the Polk Education Foundation, Saga started to traverse the political landscape even further.
Responding to that clarion call for further civic duty, Saga felt a sense of mission to focus her time and energies on a campaign for Mayor of Lakeland. Under this banner, Saga will be a champion of the community above all else. Having lived in both Conservative and Liberal cities, Saga plans to bring the “best of both worlds” to the forefront, focusing only on what benefits Lakeland and its constituents, not on political gamesmanship.