Thank you, District 1 Voters,
A heartfelt thank you to all the voters in District 1 who supported, encouraged and voted for me. I feel honored and humbled by your support. District 1 includes East Naples, Marco Island, Isles of Capri, Fiddler’s Creek, Goodland, Verona Walk, Forest Glen, Port of the Islands, Copeland and all communities within this area.
I will continue to be intimately involved in all of District 1 and work to solve our challenges and overcome our obstacles. We are looking better all the time, and now the prestigious development community has found us and will begin to make positive, major improvements to our community, bringing us retail, restaurants and commercial, which are greatly needed. Within the next two years the upgrades and improvements will be visibly seen and enjoyed. So will our Eagle Lakes Community Center and the upgraded Tigertail Park.
Thank you to everyone for being there for me. You can count on me being there for you. I’m proud to serve all of you!
Donna Fiala
Commissioner, District 1
With just over 80 percent of the vote, Collier County District One Commissioner Donna Fiala was returned to office Nov. 6 for another four-year term!
"I am very humbled and very thankful for all our friends and supporters. Thank you, very much," Donna said. "I will continue to work for the best interests of all of Collier County. That's what you've asked of me and that will be my focus."
Read the Marco News. Read coverage on Fox 4 site.
See the full Collier County election results here:
The general election is here! Early voting begins! Election Day is November 6!
If voting by absentee, make sure to sign your name to the ballot and make sure your address is correct on the ballot before returning it!
Early voting runs from October 27 through November 3, including Sunday, October 28, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Vote early at the Marco Island Library, 210 South Heathwood Drive or at the Collier Supervisor of Elections Office at the Collier Government Center in East Naples.
For more information on voting visit: CollierVotes.com
Thank you! We need your vote!
The message of voters in Collier County Commission District 1 is clear: they like Donna Fiala serving as their commissioner!
Donna garnered over 67 percent of the Republican Primary vote Tuesday to take a giant step toward re-election in November (where she faces an independent challenger).
"I am overwhelmed and very grateful for all the support and, especially, all the hard work on behalf of our campaign by friends and allies," Donna said. "We won this together and together we will continue to work for the betterment of Collier Commission District 1 for four more years!
"Thank you for your love. Thank your for your support. Thank you for your loyalty and wonderful advice and guidance. Let's go on from here and win in November, too!"
Noting Donna's opponent for the Collier County Commission District One seat actually lives "across town" from District One, the Naples Daily News recommends her re-election by pointing out she is able to "connect with and lead" District One voters because we "treasure" her "immersion in all walks" of District One life.
Her opponent, points out the Naples Daily News, "comes after incumbent Donna Fiala for an anti-business climate in Collier County and wasteful spending. He takes the next step by offering detailed suggestions for improvement. But there is little new in those suggestions, some of which are already works in progress in county government."
Donna enjoys visiting with friends and supporters this week as a ribbon-cutting ceremony is held for the new traffic signal at U.S. 41 East and Barefoot Williams Road in East Naples. Donna worked hard to persuade the Florida Department of Transportation to install the light at the dangerous intersection...and another just a little west along U.S. 41.
Donna celebrated our nation's freedom and heritage with a large group of supporters in the annual Fourth of July Parade through downtown Naples.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/7a9j7aF7REQ?rel=0
The Greater Naples Better Government Committee publicly endorsed Donna Fiala in a special announcement on July 2.
"We will be encouraging our general membership, friends, and neighbors to support you in the upcoming election and wish you the best of luck," said GNBGC President Sally Tiffany.
"I am thrilled and grateful for this endorsement," Donna said. "It means a great deal when such an outstanding group of dedicated public volunteers has confidence in me to continue my job."
Formed in 1991, the GNBGC is the oldest continuously operating nonpartisan political committee in Collier County. It is led by a Board of Directors comprised of community and business leaders from throughout the area. General membership is open to any resident interested in becoming informed on what is going on behind the political scene in Collier County and in helping to bring about change where needed.
Rhona Saunders is vice-president of the organization; David Crisp is secretary and Tom Lykos is treasurer. The group's board of directors includes: Jim Brennan, Hina Sanghvi, David Farmer, Lou Vlasho and Doug Rankin.
The committee also endorsed Jim Coletta in Collier County Commission District 5; Dwight Brock for Clerk of Courts; Abe Skinner for Property Appraiser; Kevin Rambosk for Sheriff and Larry Ray for Tax Collector.
In an unusal move, the group made no endorsement in the Collier County Commission District 3 race, explaining neither candidate in that race garnered the necessary 60 percent of committee membership votes to gain a formal endorsement.
There is nothing scientific or binding about the straw vote taken each election season at Politics in the Park but when you're a big winner - as was Donna at the 2012 edition of the community political fair - it all seems like a wonderful boost!
And it is!
Donna garnered just over 62 percent of the straw ballots cast in her the District One Collier County Commission race. She posted 327 votes to rival Steve Cosgrove's 222 votes. Independent candidate Russell Kish received 36 votes.
"I'm very thankful for all the wonderful friends and supporters who came out to Politics in the Park and took the time to cast votes for me," Donna said, following the announcement of the vote tallies. "It was a great event and we had a wonderful afternoon and evening.
Politics in the Park is produced each election season by the Collier Building Industry Association and is always one of the highlights of each campaign year.
While please with the vote and turnout, Donna's campaign coordinator, Ken Drum, was quick to point out campaign volunteers and supporters still have plenty of work to do between now and the August 14th Republic Party Primary.
"He hasn't really campaigned all that much but Mr. Cosgrove managed to get 222 votes at the event," Drum pointed out. We need to continue to work hard, talk to our friends, promote Donna at every opportunity and make sure our supporters get to the polls when the real voting begins."
It's Election Season! We're deep into the campaign and, as always, I'm looking forward to Politics-in-the-Park!
Produced each election cycle by the Collier Building Industry Association and sponsored this year by the Naples Daily News, the 2012 edition is THIS THURSDAY, June 28th, 4 to 7 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 111th Avenue.
The dream of establishing a cultural arts center along Bayshore Drive took one major step toward reality June 13 when the Collier County Commission approved a zoning change for the Bayshore Drive property that will one day be home to the center.
"This is just wonderful," said Donna Fiala, who represents East Naples and Marco Island on the county lawmaking panel and has been working on the cultural arts center project since 1991.
"The community is completely supportive," she said. "Thirty-seven people attended (a) community informational meeting...we never see that (many people at such a meeting. And the other thing is we have 36 letters and 35 were glowing in supoort and only one (letter writer) said she'd rather see more flora and fauna in the area."
Come out June 13 to support Donna as she debates her opponents for the District One seat on the Collier County Commission!
The debate is set for 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the South Regional Library, in front of the Collier Emergency Operations Building in Lely Resort. The forum is sponsored and organized by the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. Jeff Lytle, editorial page editor of the Naples Daily News, will serve as moderator. Panelists will include Bob Murray and Keith Dameron.
"I really need your support now," said Donna. "It is so VERY important that all of my supporters in District One be there that evening to show strength and unity. Please, also, call all your friends, Let's make an evening of it!"
There are always a lot of good news items to talk about these days. To start off, the community center at Eagle Lakes Community Park is going to be a reality.
It has been 6 long years of fighting to get this much needed center built for the children of East Naples. Right now, Eagle Lakes is the only community park in Collier County without a community center. This will be a great place where after school programs and summer programs can be held. Plus, a park superintendent will be stationed at the park. Right now there is no adult supervision there because they have no place to set up an office or offer programs.
By the way, the Marco Island YMCA has offered to oversee the after school program and the summer programs, thanks to a grant they received from the Naples Winter Wine Festival. Now, if we could only have a pool built like they have in Golden Gate and another in Immokalee, they could teach these children how to swim as well. Who knows? Maybe somewhere along the line we will find some grant money, or even a donor or 10 who would like to help get that pool built for these kids. Right now they have no place to keep them busy and off the streets.
With six elementary schools and two middle schools in East Naples, we have lots and lots of kids, and most in the underprivileged, or free lunch, category. I’ve been told that we now have the money from a grant to build the center, but it will still take two years. Hopefully we can speed that up a lot. We’ll see.
With much anticipation and excitement, the Isles of Capri Paddlecraft Park has officially opened.
The ribbon cutting was held on Friday, March 30, and was attended by Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) officials, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve staff, Collier County Manager Leo Ochs, myself, and happy people from the Collier County Parks and Recreation Department. (Photos compliments of Jim Hughes.)
Rookery Bay and FDEP financed the park and worked cooperatively with the county to plan the design for the park, which includes overflow parking for boaters from the County Road 951 (Collier Boulevard) boat ramp, a bathroom, a covered picnic shelter, and a lovely view of this gorgeous area of the Gulf of Mexico.
The kayakers were excitedly waiting to launch their crafts and were happy to learn that the launching fee had been dropped from $8 to $4.
My goodness isn’t the year going by quickly! I can’t believe it is almost Easter and soon our Winter Residents will be leaving………….which means a huge portion of our volunteers will be leaving.
These nice people come down from up north, roll up their sleeves and pitch in where they are needed. Another thing we will notice is all the fun and activities, parties, fund raisers, events, plays and entertainment will scale down to a minimum until next fall when our Winter Residents return.
This year has been a good year for all. Much of our unemployed work force has gone back to work; business has been better than it has been in – I bet - five years. Tourism revenues are up, foreclosures are coming down and home sales are improving. We hope our summer weather will be kind to us so we can relax a little before we start gearing up for the beginning of a new and successful Season.
