Southwest Florida voters went with what they know -- even Mitt Romney, who they backed for the GOP presidential nomination four years ago -- but not with their fire districts where tax cap hikes were concerned.
Only one of the three districts seeking tax flexibility to pay the bills amid declining property values and taxes said yes. That was Immokalee, where voters sensed the need for money was greatest. They stood by their only elected form of government.
Voters in Golden Gate and East Naples districts were not as connected with their districts and, by saying no, launched efficiency via fire/rescue consolidation to the front burner. The push could spread to Lee County. It's about time.
Meanwhile, Collier and Lee counties' Republicans gave Romney a resounding welcome that dashed Newt Gingrich's hopes for two big primary victories in a row. Though Gingrich was claiming a victory for conservatives with all Romney's foes' votes added up, Romney's double-digit Florida margin over Gingrich is convincing.
Collier and Lee, which prefered Romney to John McCain with 40-45 percent of the GOP vote in 2008, set the pace for Romney statewide on Tuesday with 58 percent and 48 percent respectively.
Collier's GOP turnout was 57 percent -- a welcome ray of sunshine through the smog of those TV attack ads and perhaps the highest in the state.
Municipal elections saw the re-election of two favorite sons -- "Mayor Bill'' Barnett in Naples and Mayor Ben Nelson in Bonita Springs -- who earned it the old-fashioned way. Anti-Nelson rock-throwers supporting Dave Grothaus were repudiated by a landslide.
Barnett's fellow incumbents, Teresa Heitmann and Dee Sulick, were retained on council for continuity in tough times. We look for them to work well with Barnett's mayoral successor, John Sorey, who they know as a fellow council member.
The lone City Council seat in Bonita went to Peter Simmons, a newcomer who combined youthful energy and a family-oriented platform with a string of endorsements from past and present city officials and Lee Sheriff Mike Scott.
We congratulate the winners. We thank the others for offering to serve.
Now the national spotlight moves away from Florida. Candidates for other, statewide offices such as the U.S. Senate and local seats on county commissions are next up on our radar.
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Comments » 2
jude1#221154 writes:
Using the term "rock throwers" for Ben Nelson's critics is nothing less than disgraceful.
This is a phrase that undermines Democracy and shows precisely why we need more balanced media coverage for Bonita. A more apt term would have been "truth tellers" but the neutral "critics" would have been acceptable.
IOt is clear that the NDN has no respect for the 3600 Bonitians who voted for Mr. Grothaus.
Nor have they raised the specter of alarm at the fact the 20,000 registered voters did not vote.
To some extent this is the fault of the media who did not expose Mr. Nelson's wrongdoing.
Shame on the NDN for disrespecting the process and so many Bonitians.
Jude
glaziera#205143 writes:
I thought it was a respectable number for a "NEW COMER". I hope we as a Community can continue the Healthy Discourse and move on to a Bright Future.
Thank you to all who served in the Process and especially to the Grothaus's for their sacrifices to this City. We could have just rolled over but we Fought the Good Fight and Issues came out that need to be Addressed. God Bless Bonita Springs,
Alan Arnold Glazier
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