When Naples residents head to the polls for the Aug. 18 statewide primary election, they will also vote on a change to the electoral process for Naples fire commissioners.
Currently, the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District’s Board of Fire Commissioners is elected by two geographic subdivisions.
The East Naples division votes on two commissioners, the Golden Gate division votes on two commissioners and one seat is filled by an at-large vote.
An at-large vote means all eligible voters within the district boundaries vote, rather than just a subdivision of the district.
Why was this introduced?
In August 2024, the board voted to draft a local bill to change the election structure to be entirely at large, rather than by subdivision.
The proposal was initially introduced in 2021, and then abandoned.
The board cited several expansions of the district’s boundaries and new developments as the reason behind a need for at-large commissioners.
“We are the largest special district in the state of Florida with 1,512 square miles,” Greater Naples Fire Rescue District spokesperson Tiffany Wood said. “We need five people to be on the same page and not want to focus just on East Naples or just on Golden Gate. We are now one large district, and really a community.”
History of the Greater Naples Fire District
The fire district was created after the East Naples and Golden Gate fire departments merged in 2014, which created two distinct geographic subdivisions of the greater district, but since then several other areas were added into the district and are not represented by the two subdivisions.
The areas added after the merger only vote on the singular at-large commissioner seat.
“We’re really trying to move past the fact that 12 years ago, East Naples and Golden Gate merged,” Wood said. “We are now Greater Naples Fire Rescue District, and we want to build on that.”
The 2026 election
Voters will be asked to vote yes or no on the referendum. A yes vote would make all five commissioner seats elected at large.
The official ballot language is: “Beginning with the November 2028 election, shall the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District’s Board of Fire Commissioners members be elected district-wide (at-large) rather than the current charter requirement that two board members are elected by the Golden Gate Division, two board members are elected by the East Naples Division, and one board member is elected district-wide (at-large)?”
Eligible residents can vote on the referendum at the same time as the statewide primary, and the same voting rules will apply.
You can reach Naples Daily News reporter Alexa Ryan at Alexa.Ryan@naplesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples residents to vote on change to at-large fire commissioner election
Reporting by Alexa Ryan, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexa Ryan, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
