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Mon. Oct 7th, 2024
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Burt Saunders is seeking his third and final term on the District 3 Collier commission

By Matthew. Jr
Burt Saunders is seeking his third and final term on the District 3 Collier commission

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Burt Saunders is hoping for a third term on the Collier County Commission in District 3.

He is one of two candidates.

After winning the August primary, he will face nonpartisan Richard Conover in the November election.

Saunders won the Republican primary with 3,608 votes, or 47.1% of the total votes cast in the race.

He handily defeated newcomers John Johnson, Frank Roberts and Floyd “Tag” Yarnell.

After the results came in, Saunders said he expected to win, but not by as big a margin.

“I didn’t expect to win by that much,” he said. “It kind of reaffirms that a lot of the things we’ve done over the last few years on the commission are of importance and interest to the community.”

Each county commissioner is elected by voters in their district for a four-year term. Terms are staggered, with five commissioners in total.

The annual salary for the position is $103,414.

District 3 covers Golden Gate and parts of North Naples and Golden Gate Estates.

Saunders, 75, has been a county resident since 1982. A former county attorney, state representative and state senator, he still works as an attorney in private practice. He specializes in local and state law and health care with the law firm GrayRobinson, where he is a shareholder.

If re-elected, he promised to continue his focus on improving traffic, managing growth and protecting the environment.

When he ran for county commission in 2016, he felt Golden Gate had been ignored by the county for decades and wanted to improve “the whole neighborhood.” While much progress has been made since then, there is much more he wants to do if given the chance.

He has raised more than $85,000 in his campaign, far more than his opponent, another political newcomer hoping to unseat him.

Here’s how Saunders answered a few questions posed by the Naples Daily News:

What do you think you ended up on board for?

“I helped develop the funding source for the ongoing road improvement plan, including projects such as widening Vanderbilt Beach Road; developed the strategy and obtained local funding for our veterans long-term care community and other projects (mentioned above), and supported the development of the Paradise Sports Complex using tourism development fees to meet the growing need for athletic fields he said.

He pointed out that with professional soccer coming to the sports complex, “this will be a great place for the thousands of families in Collier County with soccer kids.”

Another proud achievement? He supported the renewal of the Conservation Collier program and continues to fight for full funding for the program that was approved by more than 77 percent of county voters in a referendum.

More: County commissioners amend Conservation Collier, millions in acquisitions on horizon

What are the top three issues in Collier that you, as commissioner, will address and how?

He answered succinctly: “Fixing traffic problems throughout the county; managing growth to ensure our quality of life that drew us to Collier County is enhanced and fully funding Conservation Collier to help manage growth and protect our natural environment and the quality of life that is unique to Collier County.”

More: Proposed limited moratorium on buildings to solve traffic problems fails in Collier County

There have been a lot of MAGA issues addressed by the board over the past year, namely the health freedom ordinance, bill of rights sanctuary, and resolutions against Amendment 4 and advocating for election changes. Are they necessary or not and why?

“I understand the county commission’s desire to delve into issues like taking a position on Amendment 4,” he said, referring to the abortion initiative on the November ballot. “The county commission has no authority to deal with many of these highly controversial issues. My preference is not to get bogged down in matters beyond the county commission’s jurisdictional authority. But I understand the desire to respond to constituents who raise these issues. issues and no doubt the committee will continue to hear these matters.”

More: Collier Council votes to condemn Florida abortion amendment. Here’s who said what

Anything else you want to add?

“Through my experience in state and local government, I bring a unique county and county commission perspective,” he noted. “With the complexity of governance at all levels, I bring a valuable perspective.”

More about the candidate

Raised in Hampton, Virginia and moved to Florida in 1978. Has been in Collier County since 1982.

Prior to his current term, Saunders served on the county commission from 1986 to 1994. Before that, he served as county attorney from 1982 to 1986.

His civic involvement includes serving on the board of the Leadership Collier Foundation, as well as advisory boards for the Neighborhood Health Clinic, Project HELP, Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida and other charitable organizations. He is a member of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

He is married to Daphnie. He has two grown sons from a previous marriage, and she has two sons and three daughters who have become part of his extended family. Together, the couple has 14 grandchildren.

By Matthew. Jr

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