County commissioner candidates spar over issues
When the county commissioner candidates were unable to attend the first Candidates Forum last month, the North Fort Myers Civic Association worked quickly to put one together for them.
On short notice, all five candidates from Districts 3 and 5 came to the North Fort Myers Recreation Center last Wednesday to debate the issues in front of a packed room.
While the first forum had little or no heat, there was plenty to be had this time, particularly between District 3 incumbent Larry Kiker and challenger Dick Anderson.
The candidates sparred on water quality, solar energy, pollution on North Shore Park and on impact fees, which drew all sorts of reaction from all the candidates.
Anderson went on the offensive during introductions, asking the audience if the water quality has gotten better in the last four years and accusing his opponent of putting a sham candidate on the ballot to close the primary to Republicans only.
During the debate on sheet flow, which doesn’t get much play, Kiker asked the audience if they were in favor of clean water. Nearly all of them raised their hands.
“It’s cute to ask you to raise your hand about liking clean water. I’d like to ask people to raise their hands if they had any luck asking the federal government for help,” Anderson responded, to one hand raised.
Meanwhile, the tone was much tamer between the District 5 candidates, incumbent Frank Mann and challengers Ken Dobson and Diane Zigrossi, who will face the winner between the former two in November.
Mann complimented his two opponents, with perhaps the most sparring, albeit more playful, coming from Kiker, whose running commentary drew more laughs than anything.
When it came to impact fees, there was disagreement. Zigrossi said there was no reason for impact fees not to be restored to 100 percent.
“The economy and construction has rebounded and there’s no reason not to give the money back into the schools and for infrastructure,” Zigrossi said.
“The impact fee is a tax. They say people who move here have an impact, but so do people who live here and build houses,” Dobson said. “Young families want to have the American dream of owning a home. A 10 percent tax is difficult for them.”
Anderson said impact fees have no effect on the economy regarding homes. Mann said impact fees build roads and schools and makes growth pay for growth, while Kiker, who ran on lower impact fees, said it went well, as has growth increment funding, which has resulted in the county doing $170 million worth of projects without raising taxes.
Michael Land, president of the NFM?Civic Association, thought it was a well-done debate that kept people interested as it poured outside.
“Many people came and asked a lot of great questions. The five commissioners’ performance was informative. It’s grass roots democracy at its core,” Land said. “There was debate, and that’s a good thing.”
Skip Mitchell, who has moderated both forums, said he always wants to educate people on the candidates so they make informed decisions. The forum did a lot to accomplish that.
“You get to the ballot box and the top person gets 10 to 12 percent of the vote and nobody knows who they are,” Mitchell said. “I encourage people to come out and learn who the candidates are and what they’re about.”
People also got to hear from Lee County Court Judge candidates in Group 4, incumbent Archie Heyward and Leah Harwood.