Naples City Council Candidates — 2026

Published: 4:30 pm. ET December 28, 2025
Updated: 8:52 am. ET January 1, 2026 / By
Naples City Council Candidates 2026
  • Vote-By-Mail ballots will be sent to City of Naples residents who requested them beginning Dec. 31, 2025.
  • Deadline to register to vote in this election is Jan. 5, 2026.
  • Deadline to request a Vote-By-Mail ballot to be mailed is Jan. 22, 2026.
  • There is no early voting.
  • Election Day is Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.

Overview

The Naples City Council election will be held on Feb. 3, 2026. Eight candidates are running for three seats on the seven-member board.

The seats on the ballot are currently held by Ray Christman, Terry Hutchison, and Beth Petrunoff. The terms of Mayor Teresa Heitmann and council members Berne Barton, Bill Kramer, and Linda Penniman run through 2028.

The candidates are Dan Barone, Ted (Edward) Blankenship, incumbent Ray Christman, John J. Krol, John A. Langley, Sally Petersen, Scott T. Schultz, and Penny Taylor. The top three vote-getters will win.

In this post, you will find brief candidate biographies, links to their websites and social media pages, and their responses to my Sparker’s Soapbox candidate questionnaire. Selected endorsements by local community leaders or business figures whose names may be familiar to Naples voters are also included; see candidate websites, where noted, for more.

You’ll also find an abbreviated, comparative summary of the questionnaire responses, a look at the contributions to and spending by each campaign, and a link to a recording of a Dec. 11, 2025, Candidate Forum. For a list of upcoming forums, click here.

This post will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Dan Barone

2026 naples candidate dan barone
Barone

Dan Barone, age 42, has been a Naples resident since 2005 and a Collier County resident since 1991. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Business Administration from Florida Gulf Coast University. He spent his career in finance, property, and strategic planning, and for nearly 20 years, served as the CFO for his family’s custom home/remodeling business. He is also a licensed real estate broker.

Barone has served in volunteer roles with the Collier County Public Schools (CCPS), including its Audit Committee; the Naples Planning Advisory Board; and the Collier County Value Adjustment Board.

Ted (Edward) Blankenship

2026 candidate Ted Blankenship
Blankenship

Ted Blankenship, age 60, has been a Naples resident for 15 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Auburn University and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Blankenship is a CPA and former partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers with over 30 years of experience in business and large global corporations. He has served as CFO of three companies.

His community service has included a prior term on the Naples City Council (2020–2024), and service on the Moorings Property Owners Association Board, the Community Services Advisory Board, Metropolitan Planning Organization Board, the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, and as chair of the Naples Pension Board. He has also been a high school coach and was involved with the National Christian Foundation.

  • Website
  • Social media: no current posts found
  • Questionnaire (about 1,000 words; ~5 minutes)
  • Endorsements: None listed on campaign website

Ray Christman

2026 candidate Ray Christman
Christman

Ray Christman, age 76, has been a Naples resident for 22 years (Old Naples). He attended Florida State University, then earned a Master’s degree in City Planning from the University of Pittsburgh.

The first 25 years of his career were spent in local and state government and nonprofit organizations concerned with the economic and environmental challenges facing the Pittsburgh region. His later career in banking and finance included 15 years as head of the Federal Home Loan Banks of Pittsburgh and Atlanta. He was a founding board member of Hamilton State Bank, which became one of the ten largest banks in Georgia before it was sold in 2018.

He has served since 2019 on the Naples City Council, prior to which he served on its Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board. He also helped form and served as Executive Director of Ethics Naples.

  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Questionnaire (about 2,900 words; ~15 minutes)
  • Endorsements include Bigham Jewelers owner Kathy Bigham; developer and luxury home builder Mark Borelli; Gulf Shore Association of Condominiums (GSAC) President Emeritus Dave Feight; Collier County Planning Commission chairman and GSAC Secretary Ned Fryer; former State Rep. Dudley Goodlette; former Naples councilman Gary Price; and more.

John J. Krol

2026 candidate John Krol
Krol

John Krol, age 63, has been a resident of the Royal Harbor area of Golden Shores for 22 years. He holds an undergraduate degree in Finance and an MBA.

Krol served for 18 years as a vice president at Goldman Sachs, and for five years as a managing director at Charles Schwab Capital Markets. He is currently the president of three real estate-related companies in Naples.

Krol serves as a two-term member and chairman of the City of Naples Code Enforcement Board, and has also served on the board of Junior Achievement Manhattan and of Rider University’s business advisory board.

John A. Langley

2026 candidate John Langley
Langley

John Langley, 66, has been a Naples resident for 24 years (Seagate neighborhood). He has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida.

Langley formed and after 18 years sold his own CPA firm. He also founded and after 32 years sold MedScribe Information Systems, which provided medical transcription services to hospitals nationwide.

His community service includes leadership positions in the Rotary Club of Naples and the First United Methodist Church of Naples.

Sally Petersen

2026 candidate Sally Petersen
Petersen

Sally Petersen, 61, has been a Naples resident since 2022, after visiting the area for over 10 years. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard University.

Petersen’s career included professional positions in marketing, career development, human resources, program management, and banking, followed by service on the City of Ann Arbor, MI, City Council; economic development policy advisor to the Ann Arbor City Administrator; and as president and board member of the Ann Arbor Economic Development Corporation.

She recently served as Events Chair for the Old Naples Association.

Scott T. Schultz

2026 candidate Scott Schultz
Schultz

Scott Schultz, 68, has been a Naples resident since 2004. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University.

He was a senior executive in global asset management, managing risk, budgets, negotiations, and accountability.

He currently serves on the Naples Planning Advisory Board, having previously chaired the Collier County Coastal Storm Risk Management Ad Hoc Advisory Committee. In that role, he worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, city and county officials, residents, and the media on coastal resiliency and flood mitigation.

Penny Taylor

2026 candidate Penny Taylor
Taylor

Penny Taylor, 76, has been a Naples resident for 46 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and completed postgraduate studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Photography.

Taylor started her photography business in Naples in 1983; her work has appeared in major publications and is on permanent exhibit at the Norris Center.

Taylor currently serves as State Grant and Program Coordinator for Collier Community Foundation, a position that ends in December 2025. Following Hurricane Ian in 2022, she served as Disaster Response Coordinator for the Baker Senior Center Naples. She previously served a total of 18 years on the Naples City Council and the Collier County Commission, as well as on regional advisory boards.

Campaign Finance

Naples City Council candidates 2026 campaign finance summary
Naples City Council Candidate Money to 12-12-25

Naples City Council candidates are required to file periodic Campaign Treasurer Reports detailing contributions, loans, and expenditures. The table above summarizes each campaign’s reported activity through Dec. 12, 2025, based on filings available on the City Clerk’s 2026 general election web page. Future reports are due by 5:00 PM on Jan. 9, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, and May 4, 2026.

Several patterns stand out at this stage of the campaign. Some candidates are relying primarily on individual contributions, while others have loaned significant personal funds to their campaigns. Expenditures also vary widely, perhaps reflecting different campaign strategies and timelines.

Contributors mentioned below highlight illustrative examples, not exhaustive totals. Review the full, itemized Campaign Treasurer Reports for complete details on contributions and spending. Titles are provided to help readers identify community leaders and public figures.

Of note through Dec. 12, 2025:

  • Dan Barone reported 58 contributors, including Sunshine Ace Hardware CEO Michael Wynn ($1,000); former state Rep. Thomas Grady ($1,000); former state Sen. Garrett Richter ($500); former council member and mayoral candidate Gary Price ($500); Lutgert Companies chairman Scott Lutgert ($1,000); and council member Bill Kramer ($100).
  • Ted Blankenship reported 16 contributors, including council member Beth Petrunoff ($1,000). He also loaned his campaign $2,000.
  • Ray Christman reported 69 contributors, including Michael Wynn ($1,000); Mark Borelli ($1,000); Kathy Bigham ($500); and NCH CEO Paul Hiltz ($500).
  • John Krol reported six contributors, including Beth Petrunoff ($1,000) and a $1,000 contribution from himself.
  • John Langley reported 33 contributors, including Michael Wynn ($1,000); Scott Lutgert ($1,000); Thomas Grady ($1,000); and Paul Hiltz ($500). Langley also loaned his campaign $15,600.
  • Sally Petersen reported 39 contributors, including Beth Petrunoff ($1,000). She loaned her campaign $12,000.
  • Scott Schultz reported 35 contributors, including Collier County Commissioner William McDaniel Jr. ($1,000) and Beth Petrunoff ($1,000). He loaned his campaign $25,000.
  • Penny Taylor reported 29 contributors, including local philanthropists Jay and Patty Baker, Edwin (Ned) Fryer, and former Naples Daily News editor Alan Horton ($1,000 each), as well as Eileen Connolly-Keesler ($200).

Questionnaire Summary

Ideally, you will take the time to read each candidate’s responses to my questionnaire, as that is the best way to understand and evaluate their own words. In addition, I have prepared a summary which attempts to capture and present the highlights in a way that makes a comparison of the candidate’s responses easier for you, the reader.

Candidate Forum—Dec. 11

The candidates participated in a forum hosted by RedBlue4Green, a self-described “informal group of Collier County citizens who are focused on environmental issues that affect us all.” The forum was moderated by Judy Freiberg, President of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, and Kathi Lewis, President of the Women’s Republican Club of Naples Federated.

Watch the recording of the Forum here.

Candidates were asked their thoughts about the City’s current resiliency plans, including the Kimley-Horn proposal and how the many needed mitigation projects should be prioritized. They were also asked about home rule and preemption (2025 SB 180) and the proposed election of members of the Naples Airport Authority (2026 HB 4005).

Learn More

Learn more about this seven-member governing body in Naples City Council: A Primer Post.

Read about past Naples City Council elections in these Sparker’s Soapbox posts:

Thank you for wanting to be a more informed voter in the 2026 Naples City Council election.

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