Cape Coral Councilmember Tom Hayden not running for reelection in 2024
Cape Coral Councilmember Tom Hayden, 66, announces he will not run for reelection in 2024.
He said he made the decision last summer and cited his age, his wife's retirement, and wanting to spend more time with his family.
"Serving a second term, had I been elected, would have been a tremendous honor, but as I've looked at my age and as I've looked at the fact that my wife retires; about the same time that my first term ends, life is precious, and as you get older, you start to look at things that you want to accomplish," Hayden said. "These are important years for us coming up to be able to accomplish all that, and I don't want to have any regrets about missing years that I'm going to treasure."
Hayden has served as the District 3 council member since 2020, and his term is set to expire in November.
He plans to spend his last month in office working on a 10-year sidewalk plan for the city, making progress on the city's transportation plan, and helping the city in collective bargaining with the unions.
"That goes to my vision of we are here to plan this city for the next 20 or 30 years, and this transportation plan will do that," Hayden said.
Recent Cape Coral news Lee County GOP will vote to condemn Cape Coral City Council's controversial stipends
For Subscribers Cape Coral man removed from meeting over Jaycee Park, now city faces 'legally shaky ground'
Who is Tom Hayden?
Hayden worked for The News-Press for more than 20 years in various roles, including sports editor, Cape Coral news editor, and opinion page editor, and has 41 years of experience as a journalist.
He moved to Cape Coral in 1996 after accepting a job with The News-Press and was struck by the more than 400 miles of canals and the potential growth that was ahead of it.
"The fact that it was mostly residential at that time, getting younger, then it was known as a bedroom community, but you knew that it probably wasn't going to stay that way, and I wanted to be a part of that," Hayden said.
When he came to the council role, he said he prioritized speaking and listening to the residents.
He said his experience as a journalist helped him learn how to talk with residents, address criticism, and deal with nonstop issues in the city.
What shocked Hayden about the role was the amount of information available to him, how caring and conscious the city staff is, and the hours it takes to prepare for a meeting.
During his term, he had to contend with COVID-19, decisions on parks and attractions such as the Yacht Club and Coral Oaks Golf Course, the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, and delivering needed infrastructure to the growing city of Cape Coral.
What are his proudest accomplishments?
As a council member, Hayden said he focused on getting more sidewalks near schools, preserving and improving environmental spaces, talking to developers to get more affordable and workforce housing, and improving traffic congestion.
"I think we've been able to stay on a path of sight that we're almost finished now getting sidewalks completed within 1 mile of schools, and now we move on to get them done within 2 miles of schools," Hayden said.
He also hopes to see a 10-year sidewalk plan developed for roads still in need.
Hayden touts Coviello Park and Yellow Fever Creek as areas that have their natural state of wetland preserved while undergoing improvements.
He said he led the charge on getting the planning development and engineered study for Pine Island Road done.
"So we could fast-track getting that road widened," Hayden said. "Not only because of all the development going on that road, we know it's heavily congested now, but also as a hurricane evacuation route for Pine Island and the city."
Hayden also helped complete a master plan for the Utility Extension Project and passed the water conservation ordinance, which requires certain standards to be met when installing new irrigation systems.
"Getting that passed was huge for me because I know how important it's going to be, not immediately but 20, 30 years from now," Hayden said. "If we don't start conserving water, we're not going to be in a very good place."
Hayden also served as the Cape Coral Youth Council liaison, and he said he was proud to help guide the members.
What about his controversial decisions?
The councilmember is not afraid of being an outlier against the majority opinion or even residents.
Hayden had voted against the budget during 2021 and 2022 as he didn't agree with going with the rollback rate, which is the tax rate that would produce the same amount of property tax revenue as the prior year, and wanted a budget that would invest more in hiring, programs, and maintenance.
"My vision for the city was you can't have a flat, no gross budget in a growing city," Hayden said. "There are certain things that have to be done, people have to be hired, programs need to be put in place, facilities need to be maintained or built, and you can't you can't do that on a flat budget."
He also pointed to the planned improvement of Jaycee Park as another example.
"We've heard a lot that we weren't listening to residents," Hayden said. "I told them during one meeting, 'I'm listening to you; I just don't agree with you.' I liked the changes to what is one of our few waterfront parks and what we're going to do there."
Though, he did change his mind in a few areas.
He initially was against any privatization of Cape Coral's city-owned Coral Oaks Golf Course but came around as he noticed the course deteriorate.
"I realized that we probably weren't the ones to be managing and running that golf course," Hayden said.
Hayden also stood as a dissenting voice against the demolition of the main building of the Cape Coral Yacht Club as he said it carried so much history for the city.
"It was important in some way to preserve that history and that memory and what that meant to the community," Hayden said.
The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which includes the yacht basin, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a ballroom, and a riverside beach, is the city's premier waterfront attraction and has served as a popular attraction and staple for the city since the 1960s.
Hurricane Ian, a Category 5 storm, devastated the city on Sept. 28, leading to the Yacht Club's closure.
The demolition of the yacht club's existing building has been contentious as residents and officials are mixed on the council's decision to take a "clean slate" approach in January to renovate the area and its facilities after Ian paused the initial renovation plans.
The majority opinion won out, and Hayden changed his strategy to preserve parts of the main building.
Hayden also disagreed with getting rid of volunteer committees such as the Community Redevelopment Agency.
"As soon as we started to eliminate them, we continued to separate government from the people, and I never wanted to do that, I wanted them to be a part of it," Hayden said.
More recently, Hayden and other council members came under fire after approving a monthly stipend.
The council approved monthly stipends for each member, doubling their annual salaries, on Dec. 14 despite heavy residential backlash.
It was a voting item listed on the consent agenda and approved without discussion in a 5-1 vote, with each council member receiving a monthly $3,333 and the mayor receiving a monthly $5,000.
Hayden said he understands that the stipends are controversial, but stands by his support of them.
He maintains that his family kept falling further into debt as the city's salary was not enough and he had to get a second job.
"This makes things easier financially for me," Hayden said. "It also now allows me to spend my last year in office, dedicating even more time to council, and getting things accomplished that I want to get accomplished this last year, or at least get the ball rolling on some projects that won't be finished this year."
What should the next council member look out for?
Hayden plans to spend the rest of his life in the city and says whoever wins the District 3 seat next must be someone who can look far ahead.
"I've said many times that I really believe a significant part of what we do is that future plan for our city, not only how we implemented a strategic plan, but how we move forward with other issues in the city," Hayden said.
He also encourages the next council member to be open to residents and the media.
"So I think whoever takes a seat has to know they have to be dedicated to their community, this job first," Hayden said.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral Councilmember Tom Hayden choosing not to run in 2024
