Now that the primary elections are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about the General Election, just under nine weeks away. These are the key dates:
- Last day to register to vote – Monday, October 6, 2014
- Early Voting starts – Thursday, October 23, 2014
- Early Voting ends – Saturday, November 1, 2014
- Election Day – Tuesday, November 4, 2014
What will be on the ballot for Collier County voters?
U.S. Congress
- U.S. Representative, District 19
- Incumbent Curt Clawson (REP)
- April Freeman (DEM)
- Ray Netherwood (LPF – Libertarian Party of Florida)
Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (REP), incumbent for District 25, where I live, was unopposed so is automatically re-elected to another two-year term.
Florida Executive Branch (Governor and Cabinet)
- Governor
- Rick Scott (REP) – incumbent
- Charlie Crist (DEM)
- Adrian Wyllie (LPF) vs possibly others
- Attorney General
- Pam Bondi (REP) – incumbent
- George Sheldon (DEM)
- Bill Wohlsifer (LPF)
- Chief Financial Officer
- Jeff Atwater (REP) – incumbent
- William “Will” Rankin (DEM)
- Commissioner of Agriculture
- Adam Putnam (REP) – incumbent
- Thaddeus Thad Hamilton (DEM)
- Jeffrey M. Obos (WI – Write In)
- State Representative, District 105
- Carlos Trujillo (REP) – incumbent
- Carlos A. Pereira (DEM)
Matt Hudson (REP), State Representative for District 80, and Kathleen Passidomo, State Representative for District 106, were unopposed so automatically re-elected to another two-year term.
Local Elections
Regardless of where you live, you will have the opportunity to vote for a candidate in each of these three races:
- School Board District 3 – Runoff
- Erika Donalds
- Kathy Ryan
- Soil and Water Conservation District, Group 4
- Jared Jones
- James M. Lang (incumbent for Group 5)
- Soil and Water Conservation District, Group 5
- Clarence Tears (incumbernt for Group 4)
- William Tolp
In addition, there are races to be voted on by voters in these Fire District districts:
- Big Corkscrew Island
- East Naples
- Golden Gate
- Immokalee
- North Naples
There are two Fire District mergers to be voted on by residents of the involved districts:
- East Naples and Golden Gate Fire Control and Rescue Districts (info here)
- Big Corkscrew Island and North Naples Fire Control and Rescue Districts (info here)
Four Community Development Districts have races open to those who live in them:
- Fiddler Creek
- Heritage Greens
- Mediterra South
- Verona Walk
There will also be three proposed constitutional amendments to vote on:
- Amendment 1 – Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative
- Amendment 2 – Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative
- Amendment 3 – Florida Prospective Judicial Vacancies
There will also be three District Court of Appeal judicial retention elections to vote on, and three seats on the Marco Island City Council, for voters in that city.
Between now and the start of early voting, I’ll be looking at many of these elections and issues and sharing how I will vote. I will not be looking at the Community Development or Marco Island City Council races since I don’t live in any of those areas and don’t know the issues.
I hope you’ll stay tuned, and invite others to read Sparker’s Soapbox.
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