Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, the top law enforcement leader in Lee County for the last six years, faces one challenger in the November General Election as he seeks another term.
Michael Hollow, a former Internal Affairs lieutenant with the Lee County Sheriff's Office, qualified June 10 to run as a write-in candidate against Marceno. Because he is a write-in, his name will not appear on the ballot.
In January of 1999, Hollow started his public service career in EMS in the greater Boston area, according to his election page . Five years later, Hollow relocated to Southwest Florida and became a sheriff’s deputy in Lee County.
Hollow retired from the sheriff's office in 2016 after heading up the IA unit. He returned in 2019 for about four years as a K-9 handler.
After his initial departure from the Lee Sheriff's Office, Hollow got into politics. In November 2017, he was edged out in a tight race for Cape Coral's mayoral seat.
Hollow has recently been endorsed by the Fort Myers Police Association.
The Lee County sheriff position pays $214,256.
Hollow has raised more than $16,000 and spent nearly $14,000 since June, according to his campaign finance report. In contrast, Marceno has raised more than$505,000 since February 2021 and spent more than $440,000 since April 2021.
Hollow has made allegations of corruption against Marceno at the cornerstone of his campaign and says the FBI is investigating Marceno.
Marceno has denied the allegations, saying they are politically motivated. The FBI will neither confirm nor deny it is investigating. Marceno has not been charged with a crime.
Lee County sheriff election: Write-in candidate who ran for Cape Coral mayor to challenge incumbent Sheriff Carmine Marceno
The News-Press reached out to Marceno and Hollow with a list of questions ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Below are Hollow's responses, followed by some background about Marceno and both of their campaigns.
Q&A with Lee sheriff candidate Mike Hollow
Why do you want to be Lee County Sheriff?
We need authentic leadership that will have true transparency. Represent all facets of Lee County, not just the affluent areas. More importantly, we need to restore the integrity and trust that has been lost over the last few years.
What makes you the best candidate?
I have served our community in many areas, such as Patrol, Major Crimes, K9, Aviation, IA (Internal Affairs) and Watch Commander. I hold a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice, I have a local business in our community. More importantly, I have zero desire to keep/put a spotlight on me as the Sheriff.
What are the biggest issues facing Lee County; how would you address them?
Financial/budget concerns. It has been proven that the current Sheriff has hired consultants and paid them very well to do little or no work. The problem we don’t know is how deep does this financial windfall actually go. On day 1 we are doing a forensic audit to determine the level of the poor financial management. Additionally, we are reallocating resources and selling off the useless equipment purchases.
What are your priorities if elected Lee County Sheriff?
Forensic Audit, Reallocation of Resources, Increase traffic and deputies on the road, mental health training and awareness for the employee.
Street racing is a huge issue for Southwest Florida. How would you address it and other road safety problems?
When we increase our traffic division, we will be able to be proactive with operations for street racing and DUIs. Sadly, the deputies in the districts don’t have time to be proactive. Nor are they encouraged to be proactive. Right now we have more people assigned to the Admin Hallway (command staff) than most districts.
What is your stance on allowing recreational marijuana in Florida, and how would you police it?
Recreational marijuana use has been in existence for long before I became a Police Officer, nor is it going to stop. I’d rather regulate the sale of it, have the growth in a controlled environment and allow for some of that money to be used for educational programs. Controlled environments prevent street dealers from putting another substance into the marijuana. Of course, we would need to increase the need for DREs (drug recognition experts) in traffic.
After your initial retirement in 2016, what prompted you to return to the sheriff’s office in 2019?
Wanted to work with my son who was getting out of the Army. I came back after Carmine solicited me at a community event to return.
Why did you decide to retire again in 2023?
I didn’t need to be there any longer, nor did I have the desire to continue to be there any longer.
In an all-hands email to the staff, you said you were retiring because you were no longer obsessed with operating at a high level. But just a few months later you launched a campaign for sheriff — why should voters vote for you if you have lost your passion for the work itself?
Within a few months of leaving, I was inundated with the allegations of misappropriation of taxpayer money/money laundering being committed by the current Sheriff. This fueled my desire to be able to be the voice for so many employees that wanted to speak out but can’t/couldn’t. The “badge” represents a lot to me, and I refuse to allow imposters tarnish it.
Why are you running as a write-in candidate rather than as a partisan or no-party-affiliated candidate with your name on the ballot?
Because of the criminal allegations that I brought forward, I wouldn’t be able to release some of the information to the public prior to September. Which meant if I stayed as a Republican, the election would’ve been over in August, without the public knowing what is going on. I switched my party affiliation, which required me to be a write-in candidate, so we could get the election to the General, but more importantly allowing the public to have insight about what is transpiring.
I couldn’t bring it forward before September because of what the FBI was doing in their investigation. If I had it would’ve jeopardized it all.
Marceno is seeking his second full term as Lee sheriff.
He started his law enforcement career in Suffolk County, NY, then came to Southwest Florida, working as a a patrol deputy and ultimately in community policing at Collier County sheriff's office
He joined the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in 2013 and worked his way to the job of undersheriff. When then-Sheriff Mike Scott left the position in 2018, Gov. Rick Scott appointed Marceno. He was elected sheriff in 2020, with landslides first in the primary with 69% of the vote and then in the general with 67%.
On his 2024 campaign site, Marceno list these priorities:
- Keeping drugs and drug dealers off the streets
- Protecting animals and stopping animal abuse
- Keeping the sheriff's office "fully funded"
- School safety
- Increasing patrols for road safety
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran , Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews .
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee sheriff election: Write-in candidate Mike Hollow weighs in on street racing, narcotics
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