Two Sanibel incumbents face challengers in Tuesday elections
More:World famous Sanibel Lighthouse damaged in Hurricane Ian glows again
At stake in Sanibel's nonpartisan Tuesday city council election: the seats now filled by the island's mayor and vice-mayor, Holly Smith and Richard Johnson.
The other three councilmen are Scott Crater, John Henshaw and Mike Miller.
The city's government is set up to work this way. Although Sanibel voters elect volunteer council members, the five council members, who serve staggered four-year terms, vote from among their ranks to select the top two spots, which are unpaid as well.
As the city works to recover from Hurricane Ian, the storm and its aftermath were top-of-mind issues for incumbents and challengers. The News-Press asked each candidate for a brief biography and to answer a series of questions, which were edited for length and clarity.
More:Paradise lost or island overcoming? Sanibel's recovery hits month five
More:Sanibel reality check: Displaced businesses, orphaned trombones and debris fields
Richard Johnson
Richard Johson's family has been in business on Sanibel for 123 years. Best known for Bailey's General Store, they also own Captiva's Island store. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration . Johnson also has served on the Sanibel Planning Commission, Sanibel's Charter Review Committee, as council liaison to The Sanibel Historic Preservation Committee, the Sanibel Historic Village and Museum, Sanibel Police Pension Board, and Sanibel General Employees Pension Board. He's a member of the Florida League of Cities Utilities, Natural Resource, and Public Works Policy Committee, a trustee to the Florida League of Cities Florida Municipal Insurance Trust, a former member of the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Committee, Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization. Johnson is past chair of the SanCap Chamber of Commerce Board, past president and chair of The Sanibel Community Association, past president and chair of the Board of Community Housing and Resources, past president of Coast and Islands Community Land Trust, past president of the Sanibel Captiva Lions Club, past member of The Sanibel School Advisory Committee and founding member of Coastal Watch Advisory Committee.
Briefly discuss the city’s response to Hurricane Ian: What worked well? Our disaster preparedness plan and our recovery plan directed by our Council of Five and implemented by our City Manager Dana Souza and his staff. Our natural environment and the 70% of our land that is preserved in perpetuity played a critical role in our weathering the worst storm we ever could imagine coming ashore. Our mangroves, natural beach dune vegetation, and commitment to our environment all contributed to our success.
Our pre-storm partners' meetings so that we were as prepared as we could be before the storm. Our evacuation plan was able to get everyone off our island who was willing to leave prior to the storm, and our communication plan before, during, and after the storm. This is the reason that after a storm of Ian's magnitude, our loss of life was limited to four unfortunate individuals. Our first responders and rescue operations that began immediately after the store. Our Public Works staff aided by our Fire Department and Crews from J.N. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge cleared debris to enable rescue and recovery crews to move about the island. Our pre-storm contracts with recovery crews involving debris removal, electrical power restoration, potable water restoration, and centralized city wastewater treatment and disposal were all prepared and stepped up to help our community recover.
Our relationship with Lee County, the State of Florida, and our federal partners all the way up to the capital. Our governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Transportation in putting in place emergency bridge repairs to reconnect our island community to the mainland and provide a path for recovery.
What would you have done differently? Encouraged more residents to evacuate before the storm.
Beyond hurricane recovery, what are your top three priorities for Sanibel? Maintain financial stability, build back a more resilient residential and business community, and continue to advocate for clean water and our environment to protect our sanctuary island.
Briefly discuss the Sanibel Plan. Should it be changed? If so, how? Written in 1976 The Sanibel Plan is an award-winning document that defines who we are on Sanibel and how we live in harmony with nature and each other. It describes how we govern ourselves, how we manage our resources, and how we live our lives. The Sanibel Land Development Code is the companion document that further defines how our environment is to be developed for the protection of our wildlife, flora, fauna, and each other. These are both living documents that make sure that we get this right, in the beginning, the present, and into the future. They both are to be studied, reviewed, and at times with proper transparency, public input, and deliberation modified to address the challenges that were not conceivable at the time they were written. The Sanibel Plan is not to be disregarded, but allowed to evolve as needed to remain true to Sanibel.
Jude Sincoskie
Jude Sincoskie is Rutgers University-educated stay-at-home-mom who owns a small online direct sales business. After Ian, she was named chair of the newly created Parent-District Liaison Committee to foster communication between the Lee County School District and Sanibel School families. She's chair of The Sanibel School Advisory Council and represents it to Lee County Schools’ District Advisory Council. She's also volunteered in several island cleanup efforts. She's volunteered with the Sanibel School PTA, is a member of the Sanibel Captiva Business Women’s Association and was one of the first women to be inducted into the Sanibel & Captiva Kiwanis Club.
Briefly discuss the city’s response to Hurricane Ian: What worked well? Unfortunately, it is difficult to say. What was most visible to residents was the causeway opening in three weeks despite what we were initially told. It’s not clear to me what the city’s involvement was, but I assume they worked with county and state officials to make this happen as quickly as it did. The city contracted with a local boat tour company to transport city employees and essential workers to repair infrastructure while the causeway was being repaired. Additionally, those of us who were able to watch, appreciated the frequent Facebook live informational meetings.
What would you have done differently? Although few and far between, extreme weather events like Hurricane Ian are always possible given our location. Knowing that fact, and that those events can bring massive winds and storm surge island-wide, the first step should be putting a plan in place to cover any and all potential storm outcomes, including an emergency plan for if the causeway is inaccessible. Effective communication between the city, the police department, the fire department, and residents both on and off the island should be a top priority. On top of that, a task force should be created, made up of expert community members, residents, and business owners, that would be activated along with city leadership to put the emergency plan into action. Sanibel needs to be able to operate closely with, but also independently of county and state, as we are the people living here. Lastly, the plan should focus on assisting property owners rather than hindering remediation efforts.
Beyond hurricane recovery, what are your top three priorities for Sanibel? Ensure transparency at all levels of city government, assure Sanibel’s future resiliency and improve water quality in the years to come; ensure fiscal responsibility and meticulous financial planning for the future of Sanibel.
I will do this by collaborating with and bringing together fellow council members, experts and community members as we strive to make Sanibel the best it can be.
Briefly discuss the Sanibel Plan. Should it be changed? If so, how? The Sanibel Plan is almost 50 years old and has stood the test of time. Conservation of our natural environment is vital and has been extraordinarily successful, however, I feel we have lost sight of the most important part: The community of residents and families across all generations. I do not feel the Sanibel Plan needs to be changed or amended at this time, but we need to focus more on our people so our city can be successful well into the future. Living on Sanibel means coexisting with nature, but also with each other to survive and thrive. Ensuring quality of life for people and nature is of the utmost importance and we will make that happen for years to come. Our diverse community is made up of families, empty nesters, retirees, and small business owners. The Sanibel Plan should be used as a guide to focus on balancing the varying needs of these citizens.
Holly Smith
Holly Smith, who has a bachelor's degree from the University of Maine, is a hotelier and owner/operator/principal of Gumbo Limbo Management and Development LLC. She serves as council liaison to the planning commission, to the Sanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, and Treasurer for the Southwest Florida League of Cities. She's served as the liaison to the Contractor Review Board, the Sanibel Bike Club, Community Housing Resources, Inc. and the Coast & Island Community Land Trust as well as three terms as a member of the F.I.S.H. (Food Programs, Island Based, Social Services and Helping Hands) board of directors. She's the representative for the Lee County Tourist Development Council, liaison and vice chair to the Lee County Horizon Council, and Lee County Coalition of Mayors, holds several positions in Florida League of Cities and is a member of the United States Conference of Mayors and the National League and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association of Southwest Florida.
Briefly discuss the city’s response to Hurricane Ian: What worked well? The magnitude of impact of Ian was unprecedented at the national level. Our team work: That's what sets us apart. Our contracted partners through the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust were pre-positioned as was the State of Florida. The assumption that Sanibel is alone preparing for the storm is unfortunate and simply not true. No municipality or county handles a event like this alone. Partnerships matter. The bridge being breached was the game changer. The Governor and his office was in communication with us constantly. He quietly and efficiently came to the island a few days post-storm (and) saw firsthand the devastation on the island. (He) cut through the red tape and miraculously was able to get our lifeline, our causeway reconnected. Five months later, two comments I consistently hear: No one who came (responders) had seen devastation as they saw on Sanibel, especially with the bridge breaches. Second, no one had seen such an organized response. That response is credited to the thousands ready to help Sanibel at every level. We will need that for years to come. Our City Manager Dana Souza deserves credit for his leadership; staff are the ones doing the work. We are policy makers.
Have we learned lessons? Absolutely. We can help other communities learn. We already are. I hope no other community faces what Sanibel has faced. It’s a club you don’t want to be in … but we will do the hard work to get to the other side. Our community will again be amazing. It already is proving that
What would you have done differently? We are learning lessons every day. No one pretends perfection. There was no playbook for this one. Communication is key. Communication on the ground between agencies, to our citizens. We have asked for a dedicated bulkhead – God forbid the causeway ever fails – (but) dedicated ferry service will be looked at to get citizens on island. We need to continue to include the residents and businesses in the conversations. We are already working to do that with shared community workshops and partnering with island non profits. It takes us all to work together constructively on solutions. We can all learn from each other. Clearly the road ahead is not easy. We all have much to learn and pass on.
Beyond hurricane recovery, what are your top three priorities for Sanibel? Seriously, it's hard to not have that as the priority as it will be our primary priority for several years. Rebuilding in accordance with the Sanibel Plan: Water quality/quantity must always be top of mind. Advocating for local decision making: Home rule – if we lose that, Sanibel will lose; fiscal responsibility: We will have very challenging years ahead with our revenue streams being impacted. There will be tough decisions ahead on our “wants versus our needs” as a community. Only about 17% of our taxes come back to Sanibel. We need to live within our means. We need to be very cognizant of where our dollars go.
Briefly discuss the Sanibel Plan. Should it be changed? If so, how? The value of Sanibel is in the Sanibel Plan – period. We need to protect it. In our strategic planning, we dedicated to review and update. That will begin in FY '24. The Plan is a living document. It hasn’t been reviewed in over 10 years – some areas are wholly outdated. This will be a community-driven review as was our strategic planning process last year.
Troy Cobb Thompson
Troy Cobb Thompson is operations manager for his family's restaurants: Lazy Flamingo, Sunset Grill, Santiva General Store and Sanibel Fresh. A graduate of Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers, he attended the University of Alabama and Braxton College Fire & EMT in Bonita Springs. He's serving his third term on the Sanibel Historical Preservation Committee and has supported many island and area charities through his business.
Briefly discuss the city’s response to Hurricane Ian: What worked well? We have an amazing community here on Sanibel. Our city has amazing employees that worked tirelessly in the face of adversity. I was very impressed with our city manager Dana Souza.
What would you have done differently? Communication could have been better. Also getting every resident an opportunity to get back (to the island afterwards) rather than if you still had a boat or enough money to over-pay for a ride then you could go home, if not you were out of luck.
Beyond hurricane recovery, what are your top three priorities for Sanibel? After we rebuild, water quality is still going to be a great issue for us. We can rebuild this island as nice as we possibly can, but will it matter if the water quality continues to deteriorate? We are completely surrounded by water. It is imperative we figure it out – not just for us but for our children and their children. I’d love to sit down with the right people and figure out a better solution than push the water this way or that way.
Briefly discuss the Sanibel Plan. Should it be changed? If so, how? The Sanibel Plan is the most important document that we have. It is what separates us from the over-built beach towns you find all along the coast. This is a significant time in our island's history and I think we need to look at the plan with our new perspective and make sure that in this rebuilding process we do not lose what makes us truly unique. Were the original authors of the Sanibel Plan anticipating $10 to $30 million mansions being built on our beaches? Just because we can build it, does that mean we should? Maybe that’s something to think about. The last revisions to the plan were made 10 years ago. I think it’s time for some revisions and some tough conversations about where the future of our island is going and having to face some hard realities. My goal is to always stay true to the Plan and keep Sanibel Sanibel.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Two Sanibel incumbents face challengers in Tuesday elections
