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In 2024, most of the voters in District 5 in Lee County voted to have Amanda Cochran represent them as a county commissioner.
Since Lee County commissioners are elected countywide, however, they didn’t get her.
Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell won only two of the 17 precincts that make up District 5.
He had drawn the ire of his Alva neighbors when he had his property rezoned for development. Many of those residents told the county Legislative Delegation last week they feel un-represented.
“We voted for somebody, and the rest of the county voted for someone else,” Alva resident Cheryl Fisher told the delegation.
“The District 5 election shows our county commissioners are not elected by constituents,” James Whitney added. “It’s money from across the county.”
The county delegation is three State Senators, District 28 Sen. Kathleen Passidomo of Naples; District 27 Sen. Ben Albritton of Bartow; and District 33 Sen. Jonathan Martin of Fort Myers. The county has five Representatives. They are District 76 Rep. Vanessa Oliver of Punta Gorda; District 77 Rep. Tiffany Esposito of Fort Myers; District 78 Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka of Fort Myers; District 79 Rep. Mike Giallombardo of Cape Coral; and District 80 Rep. Adam Botana of Bonita Springs.
The delegation conducts at least one public meeting to discuss local bills in advance of the regular legislative session in March. Local bills must be filed by Jan. 24.
The three other bills approved last week call for referendums that would eliminate the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District and the San Carlos Estates Water Control District and create a special stewardship district for a proposed development on River Road in northeast Lee County.
Call for change in how Lee County commissioners represent electorate
Lee County commissioners must live within their district, but they are elected by countywide vote. Supporters of the current system say it empowers residents by allowing them to vote for or against all five commissioners. They say district elections would pit communities — and commissioners — against one another.
So-called single-member districts would make commissioners more responsive to district constituents, proponents say. They point to the current system as a Jim Crow leftover originally designed to keep minorities — racial and political — out of office.
‘We can’t escape the fact that at-large districts are fruit of the poisonous tree,’ said Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell.
He’s been pushing the issue since 2006, when he served as an appointed member of the county’s Charter Review Committee. He floated the plan when serving as a State Representative from 2010 to 2018.
He was elected Property Appraiser in 2020.
Lee County Commissioners have opposed any change
County commissioners have consistently opposed the change and they continue to. District 78 State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka opposed the local bill that, if approved in Tallahassee, would schedule a referendum on the issue in 2026.
Persons-Mulicka’s vote against the local bill was the only ‘No’ vote on any of the four local bills advanced by the delegation. Her husband, David Mulicka, was elected to the District 3 county commission seat in 2024.
She said that the bill has a ‘fatal flaw’, claiming it was drafted without local input.
She pointed out the county charter allows the Charter Review Committee to propose the change and gives residents the right to schedule a referendum through petition.
She called Caldwell’s reference to the system’s racial history offensive and “a red herring”.
She pointed out the county Charter Review Committee recently had 15 public meetings over a 14-month period and did not recommend the change.
Those committee members are appointed by county commissioners, however, and residents said they are unlikely to propose something they know commissioners oppose.
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo of Naples said that may well be so. She said she as a senator makes numerous appointments to various boards, and she’s unlikely to appoint someone with whom she disagrees.
“I came with an open mind, and I listened,” she said. “I hear people say they are not represented.”
Hearing disagreement from constituents tells her a vote makes sense, she said.
The bill, advanced by Rep. Mike Giallombardo of Cape Coral, will have to be massaged before it’s considered in Tallahassee.
Alternatives include limiting district population to 200,000 people, which would mean adding commissioners to the board, with the county population already crowding 850,000. Lee County elects five commissioners.
Sen. Jonathan Martin of Fort Myers said it’s clear to him that people feel un-served and neglected.
“People are already divided,” he said.
Local bills can create division
Two sitting commissioners spoke opposing the referendum, including Mulicka.
“I will vigorously defend the rights of Lee County voters to vote for all five county commissioners,” he said.
Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass urged legislators to work with commissioners instead of advancing a bill they don’t want.
“Local bills should bring the community together,” he said. “That’s not what’s happening here today.”
The more than 50 residents who addressed the delegation did include opponents of all four local bills that were approved.
Caldwell pointed out that since 1980 the Greenwell situation has played out 15 times in Lee County, with district voters having their wishes over-ridden by the county-wide vote.
He said Alva isn’t the only are feeling un-represented.
“Lehigh Acres is perpetually under-represented,” he said. “I hear it from Pine Island. I hear it at Fort Myers Beach.”
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