Get Ready to Vote in the November Elections

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Get Ready to Vote in the November elections

Florida’s 2022 midterm elections will take place on November 8. Registered voters can now download their sample ballot from their county Supervisor of Elections website. For Collier County voters, click here, then click “Check My Voter Info” for your personalized sample ballot. For others, click here to find your Florida county’s Supervisors of Elections.

In this post, I will give an overview of what is on the ballots of Collier County voters, and guidance for non-Collier Florida voters as well. Where available, I will provide links to the candidates’ websites.

Between now and the end of October, I will be researching the choices on the ballots of most Collier voters and sharing what I learn on Sparker’s Soapbox. So please spread the word and encourage others to read and subscribe.

At the end of this post, I will also share links to some resources I will be using in my research, should you want to begin looking into some of your ballot choices on your own.

Federal Offices

U.S. Senate

Thirty-four of the 100 seats in the Senate are being contested this year in regular elections. In Florida, senior senator Marco Rubio (Republican or REP) is running for reelection to a second six-year term. He is being challenged by Val Demings (Democrat or DEM), Dennis Misigoy (Libertarian Party of Florida or LPF), Steven B. Grant and Tuan TQ Nguyen (both No Party Affiliation or NPA), and Uloma Uma Ekpete, Edward A. Gray, Howard Knepper, and Moses Quiles (all Write-Ins or WRI).

U.S. House of Representatives

All 28 seats in Florida’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives are on the ballot every two years. Collier County voters live in House Districts 19, 26, or 18. Find your House district here; find out who’s running in your district here.

In District 19, incumbent Byron Donalds (REP) is facing challenger Cindy Banyai (DEM) and Write-In Patrick Post.

In District 26, incumbent Mario Diaz-Balart (REP) faces Christine Olivo (DEM).

And in District 18, incumbent Scott Franklin (REP) is facing Keith Hayden (NPA) and Leonard Serratore (WRI).

State Offices – Legislative Branch

Florida Senate

Florida’s 40 Senators serve four-year staggered terms. Usually, they are divided into three groups, or classes, whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. But this year, all 40 seats are on the ballot because of the recent redistricting. Find your Florida Senate district here; find out who’s running in your district here.

All Collier County voters live in Florida Senate District 28. Incumbent Kathleen Passidomo (REP) was unopposed for a second term, so she will be automatically reelected in November.

Florida House

All 120 seats in the Florida House of Representatives are on the ballot every two years. Collier County voters live in State House District 80, 81, or 82. Find your State House district here; find out who’s running in your district here.

In District 80, Adam Botana (REP) is facing Mitchel Schlayer (DEM).

In Districts 81 and 82, incumbents Bob Rommel (REP) and Lauren Melo (REP) were unopposed and will be automatically reelected in November.

State Offices – Executive Branch

Florida’s Executive Branch is made up of a Governor and three independently elected Cabinet members: Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Chief Financial Officer. They are elected during the mid-term years, and serve for four-year terms with a two-term limit.

Florida Governor

Incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis (REP) is running for a second four-year term. He is being challenged by Charlie Crist (DEM), Hector Roos (LPF), and Carmen Jackie Gimenez (NPA).

Florida Attorney General

Incumbent Attorney General Ashley Moody (REP) is running for a second four-year term. She faces challenger Aramis Ayala (DEM).

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried (DEM) chose not to run for a second term because she was running for Governor.

Outgoing Senate President Wilton Simpson (REP) faces Naomi Esther Blemur (DEM) for the open seat.

Florida Chief Financial Officer

Incumbent Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (REP) is running for a second term. He is being challenged by Adam Hattersley (DEM).

State Offices – Judicial Branch

Florida’s Supreme Court Justices and District Appeals Court judges serve six-year staggered terms with no term limits. There is a mandatory retirement at age 75.

Supreme Court

Five Supreme Court Justices whose terms expire in 2022 will be on the ballot of all Florida voters for a merit retention vote. They are Charles T. Canady, John D. Couriel, Jamie Grosshans, Jorge Labarga, and Ricky Polston.

District Courts of Appeal

In addition, District Court of Appeal (DCA) judges whose terms expire in 2022 will be on the ballot of voters in their district. There are five District Courts of Appeal; Collier County is in the Second District. Find your Appeals Court district here; find out who’s running in your district here.

Eight Second DCA judges will be on Collier voters’ ballots. They are Patricia Kelly, Nelly Khouzam, Suzanne Labrit, Matt Lucas, Robert Morris, Stevan Northcutt, John Stargel, and Craig Villanti.

Amendments to the Florida Constitution

Three amendments to the Florida Constitution will be on the ballot of all Florida voters:

  • Amendment 1 — Limit on increased property assessment for flood improvements (HJR 1377)
  • Amendment 2 — Abolish the state Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) (SJR 204)
  • Amendment 3 — New $50,000 homestead exemption for certain public service employees (CS/CS/HJR 1)

Local Offices

Collier County Board of County Commissioners

Collier County’s five county commissioners are elected in single-district, partisan elections to 4-year terms, with a limit of 3 consecutive terms. This year, Districts 2 and 4 are on the ballot.

In District 2, Chris Hall (REP) faces Bebe Kanter (DEM).

In District 4, Daniel Kowal (REP), who won the closed Republican primary in August, will be automatically elected in November. That is because Bill Oppenheimer, a Write-In candidate whose presence closed that election, withdrew from the race two days after the primary. See Write-in loophole sparks Collier voter disenfranchisement debate after candidate withdraws, Naples Daily News, 9/1/22.

Collier County School Board

Collier County’s five School Board members are elected in nonpartisan, at-large elections. They serve staggered, four-year terms, with 3-term limits beginning for candidates elected in the 2022 election cycle.

While one School Board member is required to live in each of the five County districts, all voters vote for all five School Board members.

The District 1, 3 and 5 seats are on the ballot this year, and the incumbents in those seats are running for reelection. In the August primaries, each of them faced several challengers. But no candidate in any of the races received a majority of the vote, so the top two vote-getters for each district will face off in November:

Collier Mosquito Control District

Residents of most of Collier County (with the exception of state and federally-owned park lands) are covered by and pay taxes to support services provided by the Collier Mosquito Control District (CMCD). The CMCD’s Board is elected by residents of the District and is made up of five at-large commissioners who serve four-year staggered terms.

Seats 1, 2, and 3 are on the ballot this year.

Seat 1 incumbent John Johnson had no challengers and will be automatically reelected in November.

Seat 2 incumbent Sandra Lee Buxton is being challenged by Elizabeth Yiachos. Seat 3 incumbent Jacquelyn D. Thompson-Fresenius is not running for reelection. Ed Brandt and Emily Dalton are vying for the open seat.

Collier County Fire Districts

Most Collier County residents receive fire protection from one of three Fire Service Districts: Greater Naples, North Collier, or Immokalee. The Greater Naples Fire District was created in 2014 with the merger of the East Naples and the Golden Gate Fire Districts. Find your District here; expand the sidebar and check the box to show the Fire Districts.

Residents of each District elect the members of its Board of Fire Commissioners, who serve for four-year staggered terms.

The Cities of Naples and Marco Island independently provide fire services to their residents.

Greater Naples FD

Seats 1, 3, and 4 are on the ballot this year. Seat 1 (E Naples Division) incumbent Charlie Cottiers, is being challenged by David Boothby and Mark Cherney. Seat 4 (Golden Gate Division) incumbent Kevin Gerrity is being challenged by Patrick Dearborn. Brian Cross and William Douglass are running for Seat 3.

North Collier FD

Seats 1, 2, and 4 are on the ballot this year. Christopher Crossan and Anthony Scire are running for Seat 1. Seat 2 incumbent Jim Burke is being challenged by Tyler Hardt. And incumbent Chris Lombardo is unopposed and will be automatically reelected in November.

Immokalee FD

Seats 1, 3, and 5 are on the ballot this year. Incumbents Bonnie Keen (Seat 3) and Robert Dean Halman (Seat 5) are running for reelection and were unopposed. So, they will be automatically reelected in November.

For Seat 1, currently held by Edward (Ski) Olesky, Donald Gunther, Jr., is unopposed and will also be automatically reelected in November.

Collier Soil & Water Conservation District

The Collier Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) administers two Mobile Irrigation Labs to promote water conservation. Its governing body is made up of five Supervisors elected in nonpartisan, district-wide elections to staggered four-year terms.

This year, SWCD Group 4 incumbent Rob Griffin is unopposed and will be automatically reelected in November.

Community Development Districts

In addition to the above races, a number of Community Development Districts (CDD) are also on the ballot for some Collier voters. A CDD is a local, special-purpose unit of local government created for the purposes of financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining community-wide infrastructure, improvements, and services for the benefit of the properties within its boundaries. These CDD races will be on the ballots of voters who live in them: Port of the Islands CID Seats 2 and 4; Lely CDD Seats 2 and 4; Pelican Marsh CDD Seats 2, 3, and 4; Heritage Greens CDD Seats 4 and 5; Naples Heritage CDD Seats 3, 4, and 5; Cedar Hammock CDD Seats 1, 2, and 3; Heritage Bay CDD Seat 5; Fiddlers Creek 2 CDD Seats 2 and 5; Verona Walk CDD Seats 1 and 5; Wentworth Estates CDD Seats 1 and 2; Hacienda Lakes CDD Seats 2 and 4; Talis Park CDD Seat 5; Flow Way CDD Seats 1, 2, and 4; Winding Cypress CDD Seats 1 and 3; Naples Reserve CDD Seats 2 and 5; and Ave Maria Stewardship District Seats 3 and 5.

Due to their specialty nature, I will not be researching them for Sparker’s Soapbox. Residents who have them on their ballot are encouraged to research the candidates and issues on their own.

Resources

In addition to Google searches for recent news and candidates’ websites and social media postings, these are some additional resources I will use in my research:

About candidates

In addition, see My Approach to How I Research Candidates on my website.

About Proposed Amendments

About Polling

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