Suppose whenever we in Florida vote for our candidates for Congress the voters in the other 49 states were permitted to also cast votes for our congressional delegation. Suppose every voter in every state were allowed to vote in congressional elections in every other state? Ridiculous? Undemocratic? Yet, that is exactly what happens in Lee County in every election for the County Commission.
There are five districts represented on the Commission, each of the five commissioners representing one of the districts. The Commission oversees the administration of Lee County.
The needs and concerns of the voters in one district are not likely to be identical or even similar to the needs and concerns of the voters in another district. For example, Distract 4 includes Alva, Olga and North Fort Myers, and Distract 3 includes Sanibel and Captiva. Do the voters in Alva and Olga believe that the voters in Sanibel and Captiva are fully aware of the Alva and Olga concerns and should participate in the decision as to who will represent them — and vice-versa?
As a former resident of Sanibel — dispossessed by Hurricane Ian — I got to know the policies and abilities of Kevin Ruane, current commissioner representing District 3, through his long tenure as mayor and I could make a reasonable judgment as to whether or not to vote for him. I had little or no opportunity to similarly learn the qualifications of the Commission candidates in the other districts.
At the present time the key factor for election to the Commission is name recognition. A couple of decades ago I had the opportunity to participate in the campaign of a candidate for the Commission. Despite candidate debates in different districts, all sparsely attended, the key factor was — and is — to have enough money to buy name recognition or to already have it. Mailings, media ads and yard signs made a difference.
Now the voters of Lee County have an opportunity to adopt fair ground rules for Commission elections. In June the governor signed legislation for a countywide referendum in 2026 in which voters will decide whether to adopt single district voting.
Robert Hilliard, Ph.D, of Fort Myers is a Purple Heart veteran of World War II and a former federal government official and college dean.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee voters have opportunity to adopt fair ground rules for Commission elections | Opinion
Reporting by Robert Hilliard / Fort Myers News-Press
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