Marco Island City Council members named a seventh council member May 18, taking just a week plus five minutes in one meeting instead of the four months it took the last time the council had to fill a seat.
By a vote of 4-2, the council appointed Kevin Dohm to the seat vacated when Erik Brechnitz died April 21.
With seven members in place and after much of the agenda was completed, the council selected its new city manager, Casey Lucius.
Filling the seat
Councilor Deb Henry nominated Dohm for the vacant seat and councilors Bonita Schwan and Rene Champagne said they were going to make the same nomination if called on first by Chairman Darrin Palumbo.
“He’s a man of integrity and his knowledge of Marco and its history are invaluable to this council,” said Henry.
Dohm says he is committed to “learning, working collaboratively.”
“Thank you to the council and residents of Marco Island for this opportunity to serve our community,” Dohm said in a text message after the meeting. “I’m honored by the trust that has been placed in me, and I’m committed to listening, learning, and working collaboratively to help preserve what makes Marco Island such a special place to live, work, and visit.”
Dohm, who has lived on Marco Island for 26 years, is a pilot, still working part-time in general aviation, according to his resume. He is a corporate and airline pilot with 50 years in aviation, including 30 years as a captain for United Airlines and decades of concurrent corporate aviation experience.
Active in the community, Dohm has served on the Collier County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Citizens Advisory Committee, Collier County MPO Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Marco Island AD HOC Bicycle Committee, Marco Island Fire Rescue Foundation, Marco Island Police Foundation and the Marco Island Historical Society.
Councilors chose from seven applicants. There had been eight, but Anthony Oliverio withdrew his application prior to the meeting.
Councilor Tamara Goehler nominated Rick Woodworth, who served as a member of the city’s Waterways Advisory Committee and its Audit Advisory Committee. He also is co-founder and partner in Clean Marco Waters, LLC., a community-based water quality advocacy group that pushed the advancement and eventual approval by City Council of upgrading Marco Item’s wastewater treatment plant to Advanced Wastewater Treatment.
Councilor Stephen Gray seconded Woodworth’s nomination. Gray and Goehler were the no votes against naming Dohm to the seat.
The last time the council had to fill a seat was in 2024 – right after four new councilors had been elected – Goehler, Gray, Henry and Bonita Schwan. It took four months to fill the vacant seat, from November 2024 to March 2025, with multiple special meetings and 3-3 votes. Finally, Rene Champagne was chosen to fill the seat by a 6-0 vote.
Palumbo was determined things weren’t going to go that way this time. He told his fellow councilors to be ready to nominate and vote on May 18. The council gave residents a week to apply for the position – to May 11 – and had a week to research and interview the candidates.
Speaking to the quick nomination and vote on the agenda, Palumbo said, “be assured we knew the clock was ticking on our city charter. We knew Erik, former Councilman Brechnitz who we miss in our hearts, would not want us to sit around and allow what happened last time. We did our homework ahead of time. We interviewed. We asked questions. We did you the service you deserve.”
Seat will expire with Nov. 3 election
Dohm’s seat will expire with the Nov. 3 general election when Brechnitz’s term expires, along with two other seats.
Two other seats, held by Palumbo and by Champagne, are up as well.
“We have three seats in November,” said Henry to the applicants. “I encourage all of you to apply and run, because you’re all more than qualified.”
New 7-member council names Lucius city manager
The new council unanimously approved Lucius, who had been the interim city manager, to the city manager position following interviews May 11 with her and three other applicants for the position.
Lucius was named interim city manager Nov. 3 when then city manager Mike McNees resigned as of Nov. 14. She had been assistant city manager since March 2020.
Lucius has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Hawaii, a master’s degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in California and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ashland University in Ohio. Lucius served as a city council member for four years in Pacific Grove, California, from December 2012 to November 2016.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Marco Island City Council fills open seat; selects next city manager
Reporting by J. Kyle Foster, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
