Legislature votes to put single-member Commission districts on Lee Co. ballot

Lee County Courthouse 2015. Image via Leegov.com

Lee County voters are one step closer to deciding whether they want to change how they elect Lee County Commissioners

The Senate, as part of a collection of local bills, approved legislation (HB 4001) that would put the change in government before voters. If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the legislation, the measure will appear on Lee County ballots in the 2026 General Election. If a majority supports the referendum, single-member districts will go into effect beginning in 2028.

That would be a change from the current system where all five Lee County Commissioners must live in their respective districts but are elected through countywide elections. The county of nearly 835,000 residents is the largest in Florida that currently elects all County Commissioners through at-large votes.

Senators can pull local bills to be debated individually, and in the past, efforts to place this issue on the ballot stalled in the upper chamber as a result. Former Sen. Burt Saunders nixed legislation in both 2003 and 2004.

But this year, none of the three Senators representing portions of Lee County objected to the bill, which was advanced by the Lee County legislative delegation on a 6-1 vote before the Legislative Session.

Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, a Fort Myers Republican, cast the only vote against the measure in Lee County and spoke against the bill on the floor.

“Our local community doesn’t want this,” she said. “They don’t want to lose their ability to vote for all five County Commissioners. They don’t want to lose their ability to hold all five County Commissioners accountable at the ballot box.”

But Rep. Mike Giallombardo, a Cape Coral Republican, said that isn’t the case. He fought for years now to pass a local bill and get it placed on the ballot to find out for sure.

“I’m pleased that we are finally putting this important issue on the ballot, giving residents the chance to have their voices heard,” he said in a statement to Florida Politics. “This is the people’s government, and they deserve the right to determine how it’s structured — something they’ve been denied for far too long.”

The issue has divided elected officials locally. But many now say they are ready to see the results for the referendum.

“I’ll support whatever the voters choose to do,” said Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman.