A modest victory for modest development

Now that the dust has settled, it might be a good time to take stock of what happened in the Naples elections last month.

The outcome could be titled “Every Vote Counts” or “Divide and Conquer.”

As most know by now, the initial tally in the barnburner mayoral race had incumbent Teresa Heitmann beating Gary Price by 12 votes. Heitmann extended her lead in the recount for a final victory margin of 22 votes. Pretty close. Every vote did indeed count, an object lesson for those of us who stay home on election day.

Bill Kramer, Linda Penniman and Berne Barton won the three open city council seats. Overall, it was a win for moderation.

What does that mean?

It means the election went a long way toward ensuring development within the city would be modest and carefully controlled, and the community’s “small-town charm” would be retained. The pro-growth mayoral candidates, Price and Ted Blankenship, split the vote. If only one of them had run, it’s likely Heitmann would have lost by a considerable margin, with the special-interest PACs carrying the day. But both did run and Heitmann divided and conquered.

TRECKER

Many were glad to see Price and Blankenship go down the tubes. With Blankenship finishing a distant third in the mayoral race, kingmaker Alfie Oakes doesn’t look like a kingmaker anymore. Maybe Oakes’ widely quoted “I despise the Republican Party” had something to do with it. Or maybe voters just got tired of hearing him sound off.

Gary Price, the other pro-growth candidate, did himself no favors by denigrating Pelican Bay at a February forum. Price said, conjuring up a past position, “Annexation of Pelican Bay would have been the worse thing that could have ever happened to Naples.” If you listen closely, you can hear the satisfied jeers from the north. Hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of Price.

The Naples outcome underscored another point. It takes more than money to win elections. A total of six political action committees (PACs) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on five pro-development candidates and only two of them won — not a very good return on investment.

Here’s another observation.

Many folks I know are always surprised when Naples, a tiny sliver of massive Collier County, gets as much attention as it does. The reason is that Naples punches above its weight. Although comprising only about 6% of the county’s population, it pays 4-5 times that percentage in property taxes.

The city is a luxury enclave with some of the most expensive real estate in the country. According to American Home Shield, Port Royal and Aqualane Shores are two of America’s priciest neighborhoods. To get an idea of the coastal wealth, take a boat trip along the southern shore. I just did. It’s quite a sight.

Another observation is that, calling the new city council “moderate” may be splitting hairs. In fact, it’s part of a growing Republican juggernaut. Once known for its balanced politics (recall the “hanging chad” election of 2000), Florida is now a GOP stronghold. It has a conservative governor, Republican supermajorities in both legislative houses and “safe” GOP voting majorities in 55 of its 67 counties. There are now 780,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats in the state.

One final thought. Good prognosticators are hard to find. One of them, my friend Jon Zoler, correctly picked Heitmann, Penniman and Kramer to win in Naples. I’m counting on Jon’s crystal ball to pick winners in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness next month.

Hey, what else are friends are for? ¦

Dave Trecker is a chemist and retired Pfizer executive living in Florida.

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