Who won the Collier Commission District 5 race? Here's the 2024 results

Bill McDaniel has been reelected to the Collier County Commission in District 5.

In the Republican primary, he garnered 3,997 votes, or 63% of the total votes cast.

His only opponent Ralph Rodriguez, a political newcomer, received 2,349 votes, or 37%.

McDaniel won outright because there isn't a Democratic or independent candidate to challenge him in the general election. It will be his third and last term.

Each county commissioner is elected by voters in their district for a four-year term. Terms are staggered, with five commissioners in all.

Terms are capped at 12 consecutive years, a policy adopted by the board itself.

The annual salary for the job is $103,414.

District 5 covers swaths of land from Everglades City to Golden Gate Estates and includes Immokalee and Ave Maria.

More: Collier Commission incumbent Bill McDaniel pledges to prioritize traffic, managed growth

And: Election 2024: Ralph Rodriguez would prioritize managed growth, traffic on Collier commission

After his win, McDaniel said: "The bottom line is that I'm honored to have been reelected and looking forward to another four years."

He said he was a bit surprised by the low turnout, but he appreciated the amount of support he received from those who voted.

His top priorities are to "increase our infrastructure," including road work, to see to it that the veterans' nursing home is constructed at the old Golden Gate Golf Course, and to continue a focus on managing growth to "ensure that our existing residents have the capacity to move about, knowing that more people are moving here."

Another top priority? To right-size the county's budget, which is already in process, with the help of an outside consultant, ResourceX.

"I want to effectuate systemic adjustments so that Collier County can grow and prosper and not have to raise people's taxes every time we come around the corner," he said. "And that's as simple as that."

McDaniel, 63, moved to Naples in 1982.

He launched his first business, The Realty Company, in 1987, and currently owns Big Island Excavating Inc., a mining company with an office in eastern Collier County, and the Lazy Springs Recreation Park in Fort Myers.

He raised nearly $97,000 in his campaign.

That compared to $3,550 raised by Rodriguez.

McDaniel will be sworn into office after the certification of the general election results Nov. 15.

More about McDaniel

He was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania.

To pay for college, he worked as a carpenter. A job building a stable (at the Naples Therapeutic Riding Center) brought him to town in 1981, and he's been here ever since.

He was a founding director of Marine National Bank in Collier County. At one time, he served as a director for two banks.

He's the founder and president of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association.

Before he was elected to the county commission, he sat on the Collier County Housing Authority, appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, and on several commission-appointed committees.

He has two children. In their free time, the family enjoys outdoor activities, such as hunting, fishing and boating.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Who won the Collier Commission District 5 race? Here's the 2024 results