William Poteet is a Naples area Realtor who has aims of serving the people of eastern rural Collier County as well as Hendry County as a state legislator in District 82, which stretches from the coastal Everglades to Lake Okeechobee.
Poteet, 75, owns Poteet Properties, Inc. and has worked in the real estate industry for 40 years.
He says private property rights and reducing unnecessary, costly government restrictions are among his top priorities.
Poteet is competing to be the Republican nominee for the Florida House of Representatives District 82 seat against fellow Republican Liesa Priddy in the Aug. 18 primary election. The winner will face Democrat Arthur Boyer in the Nov. 3 general election.
Republicans can vote in the race with a mail in-ballot or in-person during early voting beginning Aug. 8 or on election day, which is Aug. 18.
Q&A with Florida House of Representative District 82 Republican candidate William Poteet
Poteet is the president of the Naples Area Realtors Association and is involved in numerous other social, industry and volunteer efforts in Southwest Florida.
He spent most of his professional career in real estate, starting his own firm in 1996.
The News-Press & Naples Daily news asked Poteet and Priddy questions about themselves and Florida issues.
Here are Poteet’s answers:
Q: Why are you the best person to represent District 80 in Tallahassee, and what in your background has prepared you to do the job effectively?
A: I am the strongest candidate in this race because I bring the most relevant experience. I have served numerous leadership roles at the local, regional, and state levels, and that background has given me hands-on experience with the issues affecting our community.
I have held leadership roles across real estate, civic, youth, business, and education organizations, including District Vice President of Florida Realtors; President of the Golden Gate Area Civic Association, President of the Naples Area Board of Realtors, Chairman of the Alligator District, Boy Scouts of America; Chairman of Conservation Collier; Chairman of Florida Realtors PAC Trustees; and Chairman of Florida Realtors’ Land Use, Property Rights, and Sustainable Development committee.
Q: Describe your political brand and where you fall on the political spectrum?
A: I am a conservative Republican. I support the policies of President Trump and Gov. DeSantis. I believe the Florida Legislature needs to adhere with its constitutional responsibility regarding separation of powers, and I believe strongly in civility, that we need more of it in government and less name blaming.
Top Florida legislative priorities for William Poteet, if elected
Q: If elected, what are your top three priorities for this district, and what specific legislation or actions would you push to address them.
A: Housing is the number one affordability issue in the state. We need to reduce the cost of development, streamline the process, and look at density and other factors that could reduce urban sprawl. I will support legislation that encourages more affordable housing and uses smart growth principles while protecting our natural resources.
We need more roads, water systems, and public utilities to keep current with our growth. This includes stormwater management. Currently, the largest polluter in Southwest Florida is Golden Gate City. Their stormwater system is in total failure. I will support legislation to reconstruct their stormwater system which will result in a major cleansing of Naples Bay.
Education is one of my priorities. Currently our many of our children are leaving Southwest Florida to find better paying jobs. We need to reverse that role. I will support legislation to upgrade our current workforce education programs that teach skills for higher paying careers.
Affordability in the Naples area, Florida
Q: Southwest Florida residents consistently cite affordability — including homeowners’ insurance, rent, utility bills, groceries and property taxes — as a top concern. What should the state do to bring costs down or provide relief?
A: We should do several things. We should incentivize utilities to invest in technologies that will reduce costs for their consumers. We should make home ownership more transparent. Last year the legislature passed a bill the created more transparency in Condo Associations. It seems to have helped curb costs. We need to do the same with HOAs so homeowners can see what their actual HOA dues are paying for. I will support this kind of legislation.
Property tax reform in Florida
Q: The governor and Legislature are making moves to reduce or eliminate property taxes. What is your stance?
A: I support lower taxes. Per Governor DeSantis’s proposal, I am still studying it. I like the direction of it but want to ensure local governments and agencies can find the funding to run their operations. We cannot jeopardize police, fire, or emergency care.
Additionally small rural county operations could be at serious risk because they do not have the snowbirds or commercial real estate to cover the reduction in tax revenue. I just need to know if there is a revenue stream to replace homestead property tax reductions or if we are going to transfer the tax burden to non-homestead properties before I can give the Governor’s idea full support.
Property insurance in Florida
Q: Property insurance remains a critical issue in Florida, especially in coastal and hurricane-prone communities. What changes, if any, would you support to improve coverage availability and lower premiums?
A: Florida should continue monitoring the results in the insurance market from the tort reforms done two years ago. They are working. The number of litigated cases has greatly reduced but is still a lot higher than the national average. Since the reform changes, 20 new insurance carriers have entered the market. Citizens Insurance has reduced its policyholders from over 1 million to just above 400,000 and we saw for the first time in a number of years that the premiums went down slightly. We should take another look to see if there are other changes that could be made that will reduce litigation without penalizing consumer protection.
Growth and development management in Florida
Q: Rapid growth and overdevelopment are major concerns in Southwest Florida, contributing to housing shortages, strained infrastructure and traffic congestion. What role should the state play in managing growth while protecting quality of life? What related legislation would you support or introduce?
A: The State should assist in streamlining the processes. We have a statewide building code. Why cannot we have a statewide permitting process? The state could also tighten up the time allowed on certain approvals. A common complaint among developers is the time it takes from start to actual construction drives up the costs of housing.
Protecting Florida’s water and environment
Q: Clean water, environmental protection and resilience remain major issues in this region. What should the state legislature do to better protect waterways, address pollution and safeguard Florida’s natural environment?
A: Clean water is essential. The massive discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River caused widespread health risks and crippled our tourist economy. We cannot let this happen again. We must continue to support Everglades Restoration and restore Florida Forever funding in the 2027 legislative session. My 20 years on Conservation Collier should clearly indicate my support for our environment.
Affordable housing in SW Florida
Q: Affordable housing is an ongoing challenge, including for renters. What state-level solutions do you support to increase housing affordability and availability?
A: I support funding programs like Live Local and Hometown Heroes, The Sadowski fund (affordable housing act) needs to be fully funded. I will also support housing affordability programs that create smaller units, higher density, townhomes, and zero lot line projects that increase housing and use smaller land footprints thus reducing development costs. Additionally, I would support a state version of the Federal More Homes on the Market legislation. We have homeowners locked in their homes because of the taxes they would owe if they were to sell, so they don’t. We need to change this.
Education in Florida
Q: Education remains a major issue, from school choice and public-school funding shortfalls to teacher shortages and curriculum debates. What changes would you support, and where do you think the state is getting it right or wrong?
A: I support charter schools because parent should have the choice on the school environment that is best suited for their children. My three children all graduated from mainstream public schools and received a quality education so public schools work, especially when parents are involved with the children’s education. I would concentrate on retaining our best teachers, expanding academic programs for the gifted students, and raising the academic expectations for our education system. I agree with Congressman Donalds: Florida should strive to be the best in the world, not just the country. To get there we need to start with preschool education and infuse reading, math, and sciences into their curriculum.
Immigration policy in Florida
Q: President Trump and Governor DeSantis have made immigration enforcement and deportation top priorities in their second terms. Do you agree or disagree with the policies? Why? How do you think immigration should be handled by Florida
A: I support our country’s immigration policy. We need to protect our borders and know which foreign nationals are in our country. President Trump and Governor DeSantis are enforcing our laws. I support those who are detained having the right of due process, to be treated and cared for humanely, and there should be a process for routine inspections of any detainment facilities subject to security procedures.
Arts and culture in Florida
Q: The state has dramatically cut arts-and-culture funding over the last three years. Do you agree or disagree with that? Why? How would you do things differently?
A: I like the arts, especially public art which can define the character of a community. I would not be averse to the state providing matching grants to communities for fine art and music programs that benefit the community. However, I would not support programs that use the arts to invoke a social “woke” agenda.
Chad Gillis is an environment reporter and can be reached by email at cgillis@news-press.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SWFL growth is top issue as Realtor William Poteet eyes Florida House seat in election ’26
Reporting by Chad Gillis, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chad Gillis, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
