Naples must fight — or admit local control means nothing
The Florida Legislature has now passed, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed, HB 4005 — a law that strips Naples City Council of its long-standing authority to appoint the Naples Airport Authority board and replaces it with countywide elections.
That is not reform. It’s a takeover dressed up in weak rationale and hypocrisy.
It is a direct assault on Naples’ local control and home rule.
Because the airport sits on 732 acres owned by the City of Naples. And because county voters outnumber Naples voters by roughly 15 to 1, the practical effect is obvious: control of a Naples-owned asset is being handed to voters outside Naples. That is not representation. That is dilution.
That is the bill.
And that is where the hypocrisy begins.
Rep. Adam Botana — the lead sponsor of HB 4005 — lives nowhere near the airport and does not live under its departures. Yet he actually said hearing jets over lunch on Third Street was part of Naples’ “charm.” Easy to say when jet noise and their soot emissions land on other people’s neighborhoods. Noise is not “charm” when you are the one living under it.
Then there is Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples resident, helping drive this legislation that strips her own city’s appointment authority over a city-owned asset — while reportedly positioning herself to run for Naples mayor, the very office whose authority she is now systematically dismantling.
You cannot run to lead a city while helping strip it of the power to govern itself.
That is not leadership.
That is political convenience at the expense of your own community.
And the two excuses used to justify this bill do not survive even basic scrutiny.
First: “The city made poor appointments.” Really? Then why is the airport financially and operationally strong?
The Naples Airport Authority projected $6.48 million in FY2025 operating income, with $69.7 million in beginning cash and investments and more than $31.8 million available for future capital expenditures after reserves. That is not failure. That is a well-run public asset with the capacity to invest in itself.
Second: “The city turned down FAA grants.” That may have been one of the smartest decisions they made.
A financially strong airport should not trade away local discretion in exchange for FAA grants that come with 22 federal preemptions on local control. If Naples can fund improvements while preserving authority over its own asset, that is not irresponsibility. That is exactly what local control requires.
So let’s call this what it is:
HB 4005 was not a response to airport failure. It was a political power play looking for an excuse.
And let’s be honest about the economics.
Naples residents have been subsidizing this airport for decades.
The city has leased this land for $1 per year. That is not rent. That is a public subsidy — a city-owned asset made available at almost no cost so the airport can operate as a local hub. Naples supplied the land. Naples neighborhoods absorb the noise. Naples residents live with the impacts. Yet under HB 4005, Naples residents will now effectively be subsidizing county control of a Naples-owned asset.
And now comes the predictable script which signals submission:
Litigation is expensive. The odds are uncertain. We have to be realistic.
Enough!
If City Council will not defend its own appointment authority over a city-owned airport, it is not just surrendering a board structure.
It is surrendering Naples’ local control and home rule itself.
Naples gets the burden. Collier gets the ballot. And City Council now gets to decide whether to fight or fold.
Joe Migliara is a Naples city resident, a longtime member of the Old Naples Association and chaired the ONA Planning and Development Committee for several years. In that capacity he provided commentary and recommendations to Naples City Council and Naples Airport Authority and has authored several position papers on key Naples city issues.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: This is an assault on Naples’ local control and home rule | Opinion
Reporting by Joe Migliara / Fort Myers News-Press
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