The Honorable Dorothea Taylor Bogert
Mayor, City of Auburndale

Dorothea Taylor Bogert was elected to the Auburndale City Commission in 2017 as the first woman elected to serve since 1991. She was immediately appointed as the city’s representative to the Ridge League of Cities Board of Directors. In 2020, she was elected by her fellow commissioners to serve as Vice-Mayor, only the third woman to hold the position in Auburndale. In December of 2021, Dr. Bogert was elected to serve as the Mayor, becoming the first woman in Auburndale’s 110-year history to serve in this role. She is now in her third year as role. In her role as Mayor, Dr. Bogert has been a member of the Florida League of Mayors.

As the city representative on the Ridge League of Cities, Mayor Bogert stepped into a leadership role in 2019 serving as Treasurer. She moved into the role of Secretary in 2020-2021 and served as Vice President in 2021-22. In September 2022, Mayor Bogert began serving as President of the RLC where she embarked on a year of bringing the league together with her theme of “Working Together to Educate, Advocate, and Grow.” During her role as RLC President, she encouraged all 24 municipalities in the RLC to be active participants in the Ridge League and FLC, and to advocate for “local voices making local choices.” As an ambassador with Local Voice United, she worked to bring communities and businesses together to better understand what the local government does and how businesses, chambers of commerce, main street organizations, and, most importantly, citizens can make a difference with their Legislators. She has continued advocating for municipalities and serving as a LVU ambassador as the immediate Past President for RLC.

Mayor Bogert currently serves on the Florida League of Cities Board of Directors, Vice Chair of the Land Use & Economic Development Policy Committee, and the Legislative Advocacy Committee. She has represented Auburndale, the RLC, and FLC at the Polk County Legislative Days and FLC Legislative Days.

Dr. Bogert is the Broker-Owner of the Auburndale based real estate company, FL Realty, and has worked in real estate since 1998. She is a member of the East Polk County Association of Realtors. As a small business owner, she works diligently to promote local businesses.

Mayor Bogert is a native Floridian and a graduate of Auburndale High School. Dr. Bogert received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from The Florida State University. In the past, she has worked at FSU, the Florida House of Representatives, and as an adjunct professor of ethics at the now Polk State College, and she is passionate about education and life-long learning.

Mayor Bogert has been active in her community for many years. She served on the Auburndale Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors from 2013-2023. She sits on the AHS School Advisory Council (SAC). She currently serves on the Rotary Club of Auburndale as a board member. Additionally, she has served on the Alpha Delta Pi House Corporation Board of Directors at UCF since 2001 where she currently serves as President, and she serves as the Executive Chapter Advisor for the Gamma Gamma Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi at Florida Southern College. Mayor Bogert is a proud graduate of Leadership Polk Class XII. She currently serves on the Polk Vision Talent Pipeline that works with the Polk County School Board, Polk County institutions of higher education, local businesses, and the Central Florida Development Council to target students from elementary school and up to produce employees to meet the needs of our future industries and keep our local talent in Polk County.