Greater Naples Fire Rescue District

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The Greater Naples Fire Rescue District was formed in 2015 by the merger of the East Naples and Golden Gate Fire Departments. (See my post Fire and Emergency Medical Services in Collier County.) The District is overseen by a five-member Board of Fire Commissioners who serve four-year staggered terms. Seats 1 and 2 are elected as at-large seats for the East Naples Division. Seats 4 and 5 are elected as at-large seats for the Golden Gate Division. And Seat 3 is elected as an at-large seat for the district as a whole.

Seats 1 (East Naples), 3, and 4 (Golden Gate) are on the ballot this year.

Find your district here (expand the left sidebar and check “Fire Districts”).

“As elected officials, the Commissioners serve as the representatives of the citizens who live in the District. While the Fire Chief is the Chief Administrative Officer of the District and makes the day to day operational decisions, it is the Board’s responsibility to oversee the larger District considerations. Among these responsibilities are ensuring that District staff complies with applicable State and Federal mandates, preserving the District’s property and assets, stewarding the District’s finances and affairs, adopting an annual budget and monitoring progress towards reaching established goals.” (Source: Fire District website)

In this post, I will review what I learned from researching the Greater Naples Fire District candidates and the money that is financing the campaigns. I will also share excerpts from the candidates’ responses to candidate questionnaires (edited for clarity and brevity) as well as links to the complete documents. Please see How I Research Candidates and 6 Things to Consider When Evaluating Candidates for my approach to writing these posts.

Seat 1 (E Naples Division)

David Boothby, Mark Cherney, and incumbent Charlie Cottiers are running for Seat 1.

David Boothby

Internet research found no useful information about David Boothby. No Candidate Statement or financial reports have been filed with the Supervisor of Elections, and he did not respond to any candidate questionnaires.

Mark Cherney

Mark Cherney
Mark Cherney

Mark Cherney, age 61, had a 30-year career with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), retiring at the rank of Captain in 2016. Following his retirement, he served as a reserve officer with the CCSO until earlier this year, and also flew for a regional airline until 2018. He is also the founder (2006), owner, and CEO of Aircraft Management & Contract Pilot Services. He holds a BS in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1984) and a Masters’s in Public Administration from Central Michigan University (1999).

Cherney says he is running for this position because “The Greater Naples Fire District (GNFD) is currently on the verge of a full-scale tax and finance emergency.” He says the District “has many ongoing operational, financial, and near-term future issues that simply are not being adequately addressed…. We have great administrative leadership within the District. It is the Fire Commissioner’s responsibility to provide them with the tools and finances necessary to protect our community.”

In His Own Words

Charlie Cottiers

Charlie Cottiers
Charlie Cottiers

Incumbent Charlie Cottiers, age 65, was first elected to the Greater Naples Fire District Board in 2012 and was reelected in 2016 and in 2018. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where he attended Saint Francis Prep (1970 to 1974). He had a 20-year career with Grumman Aerospace Corp. and was also a small business owner for 10 years.

Upon reelection to his third term in 2018, Cottiers said he looked forward to working on further consolidation of the fire districts. If everything goes as he plans, he said, by the end of his term there would be one fire district that covers all of Collier County except for Marco Island and Naples.

That further consolidation did not take place, but Cottiers does not mention consolidation in his current campaign. The top issue facing the Fire District today, he says, is “our failing infrastructure.”

Asked what distinguishes him from his opponents and makes him the best candidate, he says that, when elected to the Board in 2012, “I straightened out the finances and have delivered a balanced budget for ten years, with no tax increase.”

In His Own Words

Seat 4 (Golden Gate Division)

For Seat 4, the candidates are incumbent Kevin Gerrity and Patrick Dearborn.

Kevin Gerrity

Kevin Gerrity

Incumbent Kevin Gerrity, age 65, began his career with the U.S. Air Force, then worked for 23 years as a Cleveland Firefighter, spending the last 6-1⁄2 years as the Fire Chief. After his retirement, he moved to Naples where, since 2006, he has been Director of Operations for Barefoot Security Services, a mid-sized local security provider. He was appointed to a vacancy on the Golden Gate Fire Commission in 2009, was elected to a full term in 2010, and was reelected in 2014 and 2018.

Gerrity says that “Dealing with growth is the most difficult challenge facing the district. The district pays lip service to strategic planning, but continues to increase operations without a plan and with no regard for financial impact. It is common at meetings for the commission to approve significant expenditures, even when the career professionals in the district urge restraint and caution. Rather than adopting a strategic plan that responsibly manages growth, the commission reacts (and overreacts) to whims.”

Asked to name a policy decision of the Board that he disagreed with, he said, “The board has made several unfortunate decisions lately, expanding operations at significant cost to the district before demand for the services has been fully documented.” He also says that “raising the millage rate at this time is unwise fiscal policy…. The district does not have an income problem, it has a spending problem.”

In His Own Words

Patrick Dearborn

Patrick Dearborn
Patrick Dearborn

Patrick Dearborn, age 54, served as a paratrooper and communication specialist with the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division (1986–1989), then studied business at Frostburg State University (1989–1992). He has been a realtor with John R. Wood Properties since 2004.

Dearborn is the only Fire Commissioner candidate endorsed by Alfie Oakes, a self-described “American farmer, businessman, and patriot” who owns the local Seed-to-Table grocery story. Dearborn also co-hosts the weekly Patriot Talk Show at Seed-to-Table.

From 2016-2020, Dearborn was a member of the Collier County Planning Board. According to his website, he is running for Fire Commissioner “because he feels called to serve others.”

In His Own Words

Seat 3

Brian Cross and William Douglass are running for Seat 3.

Brian Cross

Brian Cross
Brian Cross

Brian Cross, age 39, earned a BA at the University of Central Florida (2005) and a JD from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law (2008), and is a member of the Florida Bar and the Collier County Bar Association. Currently, he is the Managing Partner at Goede, DeBoest & Cross.

Cross was first elected to the East Naples Fire Commission Board in 2012 and was reelected in 2014. He sought a third term in 2018 but lost the race against Charlie Cottiers for Seat 1.

Cross says he is running for this position “to help fix the district, cut spending and to cut down response times.”

The most important thing voters should know about the issues at stake in this election, Cross says, is that “the financial condition of Greater Naples is on a cliff.” He says past financial decisions have required it to spend $2.4 million of reserves despite taking in an additional $6 million in increased ad valorem taxes.

He points out that during his six years as a fire commissioner for East Naples, he helped consolidate four fire districts and cut spending. Now, he says, “My experience running my firm provides me with the skill set to help Greater Naples turnaround its financial problems.”

In His Own Words

  • Campaign Website — none found
  • Facebook Page — none found
  • LinkedIn Page — none found
  • 2022 Supervisor of Elections Candidate Statement – none filed
  • VOTE411 Candidate Questionnaire – did not respond
  • Sparker’s Soapbox candidate questionnaire

William Douglass

William Douglass

William Douglass, age 60, had a 30-year fire service career in Collier County, retiring as a lieutenant with the Greater Naples Fire District in 2017.

He ran for County Commissioner District 1 in 2020 but lost in the Republican primary to Rick LoCastro. As a candidate, he said at the time that “he will employ fiscal, common-sense leadership; protect clean water, air, and pristine coastlines; and work full-time as a result-oriented commissioner.” (Sparker’s Soapbox)

In His Own Words

  • Campaign Website — none found
  • William Douglass Facebook Page
  • LinkedIn Page — none found
  • 2022 Supervisor of Elections Candidate Statement – none filed
  • VOTE411 Candidate Questionnaire – did not respond
  • Sparker’s Soapbox candidate questionnaire – did not respond

The Money

According to campaign finance filings online on 10/08/22:

Of note are contributions by the candidates to their own campaigns, either as outright contributions or as loans. Specifically:

  • Cherney — $1,000 loan
  • Cottiers — $100 contribution
  • Cross — $15,000 loan
  • Dearborn — $10,000 loan and a $1,000 check from his own firm, John R Wood Properties, 3255 Tamiami Trail N, Naples.
  • Gerrity — $285.40 loans

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