`On Tuesday, March 9th, the Town of Fort Myers Beach will hold it's sixth election – this one for the two seats open on Town Council being sought by Larry Kiker (seeking re-election), Joe Kosinski and Alan Mandel. While it is important for every citizen to vote, it should be noted that it has only been a short time that the citizens of Fort Myers Beach had the opportunity to vote for their own local leaders. For the benefit of our newcomers as well as the memory of those who have been here a long time, the Sand Paper decided to present a history of the elections - including our incorporation in 1995 - followed by Editor and Publisher Carl Conley's endorsements for this year's Town Council.

Incorporation Efforts

Before the last attempt succeeded in 1995, there were many attempts to incorporate Fort Myers Beach. The first one, in the mid '40's, failed by just six or seven votes. A second try later in the '40's lost by a larger number, but not overwhelmingly so. Another, in November 1953 was so poorly handled that the proponents pulled out before the referendum date.

An entirely new charter was drawn up in 1957 which stipulated that not more than two mills could be assessed without special referendum, and incorporation came up for another vote. Again it was defeated, this time by a margin of 88 votes. The same charter was used in the winter of 1960 and lost by 50 votes. Feeling ran strong, naturally, and the voting was heavy. Those who worked for incorporation were tired of government by remote control and felt we were ready for home rule. The opposition feared that once enacted, incorporation would mean a continual raise in taxes.

Another attempt in 1986 failed by less than 170 votes, but proponents of incorporation did not give up - citing the fact that they felt their interests were being ignored by the county. However, it would take a controversy about a certain property on the Gulf side of Virginia Avenue to finally push the issue to the breaking point.

"There is always something that becomes the ‘straw that breaks the camels back', and in this instance the developers of that property (where DiamondHead now stands) needed an easement vacated on Virginia Avenue, which the county ended up granting, and that's what did it,” said former Mayor Ray Murphy, who served on the first town council.

The Fort Myers Beach Incorporation Committee gathered 1,350 signatures favoring a referendum. According to an Incorporation Feasibility Study the group commissioned from city planners Bill Spikowski and Associates in March of that year, the area to be incorporated would be limited to Estero Island after conversations with residents and business owners on San Carlos Island.

The Committee then ensured that the community of Fort Myers Beach met the state guidelines for incorporation, which include such standards as: in counties with a population over 50,000 (such as Lee), the area to be incorporated must have a minimum population of 5,000 and an average density of 1.5 persons per acre. There also had to be a proposed municipal charter, which the Committee drew up during the summer of 1995.

The vote was held on July 25, 1995, and this time the effort passed by a 53% margin. According to Bernie Feliciano of the Lee County Elections Office, voter turnout for that historic event was 70%. The first council election was held on November 7th, 1995, and the town officially became a Town on New Year's Eve of that year.

"That was a very exciting time,” Murphy remembers. "There was so much work to do, and we met every week! Since we didn't have a Town Hall then, we'd meet in church halls, whereever we could.”

Island native Anita Cereceda was the first Mayor, and Ted Fitzsimmons, Garr Reynolds and Rusty Isler joined Murphy as the first councilmembers.

Government Lite

The original charter still stands today though some changes have been made. It was created with the idea of "Government Lite” – described by original Town Manager Marsha Segal-George in articles she wrote for the July 1997 and July 1998 issues of "Public Management”.

"The residents of Estero Island wanted local control over issues but a limited government with few employees and a limited budget,” she wrote. "The Town's charter was restrictive and put boundaries on financing and bonding options. All of these preliminary restrictions were developed to prevent this new government from growing.”

What this accomplishes, according to Segal-George – who served as our Town Manager until 2005, is a local government that is "turned outward, always in a service delivery mode, rather than inward, looking to create and extend bureaucracy and process.”

This philosophy was put to the test in the first year of incorporation, and when Segal-George weighed in on the subject in 1997, she pointed out that the fledgling Town of Fort Myers Beach had accomplished several important things during that critical time period – applying for and receiving two major grants and capturing state revenues that otherwise might have been distributed throughout the county.

"In the past, the residents of Estero Island, because of their ownership of valuable beach property, have felt that the county has treated the area as a "cash cow” – collecting substantial property taxes yet spending and returning little to the community,” she wrote.

Government Lite means that our Town has what is known as a "strong manager” form of government.

The charter reads, "The town manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the town and shall implement and administer all ordinances, resolutions, and policies adopted by the council and shall perform such other duties as may be required by the council or law.”

Initially the Town had one manager for a long time, but since then keeping a manager has been a lot harder. After Segal-George's contract was bought out by that council in December of 2005, John Gucciardo served as Interim Town Manager until he resigned in February of 2006, then Rachel Lambert was appointed in April following an exhaustive search. She stayed until her resignation in October of that same year, when David Sallee took over as Interim until Gary Parker was hired in February 2007. Parker then resigned in October 2007, and Sallee returned until Scott Janke was hired in March 2008. When Janke asked to be terminated in July of last year, Jack Green served as Interim Manager until his retirement in February, when Terry Stewart was selected by council to be the new Interim Manager.

The Mayor and Vice-Mayor are not elected by the voters, but rather selected by the councilmembers amongst themselves at the first regularly scheduled meeting following the election.

"The mayor shall serve as chairperson during meetings of the council and shall serve as the head of municipal government for the purpose of execution of legal documents as required by ordinance,” the charter reads. The Vice-Mayor is selected during that same meeting, and will fulfill the duties of the Mayor during his absence or disability.

All councilmembers are elected by non-partisan vote and serve for three years, and are elected in alternate years. A vote to extend that period to four years, thus allowing for biannual elections, failed in 2008.

As of February 8, 2010, there were 5,052 registered voters on Fort Myers Beach. This number includes 2,509 Republicans, 1,286 Democrats and 1,257 listed as ‘other' – which could be Independent, Green, or any of several hundred recognized parties in the state of Florida. Of course, not everyone votes, and the last election held by the Town on April 8, 2008 saw an election turnout of 34% of the registered voters. By contrast, the controversial 2005 election that swept the infamous "Three Angry Men” (Bill Shenko, Charlie Meador and Dennis Boback) into office in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley saw a 41% voter turnout.

The Town eliminated the need for primary elections in January of 2008 by passing a charter amendment to elect councilmembers by plurality vote. This means that, instead of running for a specific seat, the highest vote getters will simply fill the seats available. Because of that amendment, elections are now always held the second Tuesday of March, with the next one scheduled for March 8, 2011.

Election Day is Tuesday, March 9th. There are three places on the Island to cast your vote, depending on where you live. Chapel by the Sea is on the North end on Chapel Street, mid-island has St. Peter's Lutheran Church and St. Raphael's Episcopalian is further south. The poll workers at any of these locations will be happy to tell you if you're at the right one. Polls will be open from 7am to 7pm; giving everyone plenty of time to make sure their opinion is counted.

Keri Hendry

Endorsements for Council Elections, Tuesday, March 9, 2010

These are perhaps the easiest endorsements we have made. First, there are only three candidates for two seats, negating the need to vet a lot of people and, perhaps more important, only two candidates have a clear history in local public service making our endorsements pretty straightforward. For the record, The Island Sand Paper attends all the Council meetings, most LPA hearings and selects many other committee meetings to monitor on a selected basis throughout the year. We also attend all the County Commission meetings so we can see how our community is treated at the County level. We feel our consistent presence and coverage at these public forums provides us with a unique vantage point to make endorsements. We know there are always some who disagree with us and we welcome that as well. No matter where you stand on the candidates - just get out and Vote, for without your participation complaints about what happens later will fall on deaf ears.

We recommend voters on Ft. Myers Beach vote for Larry Kiker and Alan Mandel.

Kiker has proven his commitment to our Town over the past three years. Considering the pay a councilman gets – approximately $14,000 per year - it is hard to justify the thirty plus hours a week (sometimes far more) that Kiker has put into serving his constituents. The past several years have not been the easiest for any elected official. Budget cuts, a deeply altered tourist industry landscape and lackluster real estate and construction industry erosion have further exacerbated local difficulties. Add to that a lack of continuity in the Town Manager's position (hopefully now fixed by the hiring of Terry Stewart) and it's easy to see why Kiker, as the Mayor and most visible symbol of local elected government has put in those long hours. The plus for us is that he has pretty well familiarized himself with the most important issues we face and should be able to put a second term to great use. Right now we need that continuity so it is not a difficult endorsement to recommend to our readers to vote for Mayor Larry Kiker again and give him the chance he has earned to complete projects initiated on his watch. Vote Kiker.

Our second endorsement goes to Alan Mandel. His service on the LPA has given us a chance to evaluate his ability to be a team player and exhibit leadership as thepast Vice Chairman of that Agency. Land use issues are arguably the single biggest source of contention on an Island only 7 miles long and less that a half mile wide. The cases Mandel has heard have required familiarity with our Comp Code and that will serve him well as our next Councilman. Mandel listens and the entire Town has had the chance to see him in action over his5-year term on the LPA. Furthermore, in conversations with those who have worked with him it has been made clear to us that he believes in consensus building and we need that ability right now as we continue to battle budgetary constraints superimposed over the need to modernize our infrastructure. Mandel has put in the time to establish his credentials and deserves the opportunity to hold an elected Council seat. Vote Mandel.

It would not be fair to end these endorsements without mentioning Joe Kosinski, the third candidate for the Council. Kosinski is easy to talk with and just recently we had a conversation. I told him that if he had served on some local public body where the public and the media could have evaluated his abilities to lead us, perhaps our endorsements may have been different. He replied, quite candidly, that several other folks had mentioned that to him as well so we feel safe in saying that should Joe take his interest in public service a bit further and get on the LPA, CELCAB, MRTF or other local committee and put in some visible work that can be objectively evaluated, he would be in a better position in the future, should he decide to run again, to convince us he's the man for the job.

` Carl Conley, Ed.