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BILL BARNETT
WE NEED YOUR VOTES DESPERATELY.

his is by far the most direct political opinion article I have ever Three of the City Council Candidates have teamed up with Gary
written, and it pertains to the City of Naples upcoming March Price because they share in his goals and beliefs, yet they are all strong
th
T 19 Election. For those of you who have followed my last three individual thinkers. I will guarantee you they won’t agree with each
months articles in Life in Naples you know I have been leading up to this other on every vote but will do their own research and make their own
final article on the above. decisions. I’m sure by now you have seen all of their campaign literature,
The following for the most part is strictly my opinion, but I will give and I will vouch for them individually as outstanding community grass
you the results of the Naples Better Government Committee’s candidate root leaders who have backgrounds that excel in the work they have done
recommendations because they are the only group at this time who have and still do for our City of Naples. I could write positive pages on each of
carefully interviewed the candidates individually. There are six candidates them but see for yourselves as you do your research.
running for three City Council seats, and three candidates running for They are Bill Kramer, former football coach of Naples High School,
the Mayor’s seat, one of them is the current Mayor. I’m going to keep who holds his share of Master’s degrees and has a stellar reputation in
my remarks brief and to the point. I am well qualified to make these not only our City but Collier County as well. He is a true motivator and
recommendations and I say that having served a total of 28 years as an leader.
elected official for the City of Naples. Twelve years as a City Council Berne Barton, who was raised in the City of Naples and whose parents
member and sixteen years as the Mayor of the City of Naples. were and still are community leaders. He owns his own insurance agency
I have stated in recent articles how important this election is, it’s not and is all about representing the City he grew up in. He understands the
just an ordinary election. Although the average citizen of the City of needs of the City of Naples and knows its citizens.
Naples most likely thinks that our City Government has been running Tony Perez-Benitoa a local attorney and mediator with an outstanding
smoothly these last four years nothing could be farther from the truth. reputation in our local community. In addition to his law practice Tony
We have lost over 200 employees, many of them key employees from a has worked with the youth in our community by coaching many sports
City Manager on down the line and it’s because of the lack of leadership at Naples High School.
from the top, the mayor. I have asked you the reader to please do your The other three City Council Candidates are Garey Cooper, a local
homework carefully and don’t believe what you read on the campaign realtor, Nick Del Rosso, a local resident for about two years, and Linda
literature that is in your e-mail or your mailbox on a daily basis. They Penniman, a former City Council Member and for years very involved
make it sound great, but unfortunately a lot is just plain misinformation. in the Naples community. Both Mr. Cooper and Mr. Del Rosso deserve
Make it a point to check each candidate out and if you have a chance kudos for throwing their hats in the ring, but would probably be better
watch them and listen to them on a public forum. off serving on some of the City’s advisory boards and familiarizing
I will start with the three Mayoral candidates. Two of them, the themselves with key issues that are happening in the City.
current Mayor Teresa Heitmann and Ted Blankenship, a current first I have known and served with Linda Penniman and her heart is in
term Council member are partially responsible for the micromanagement the right place for wanting to run for City Council, and I can relate to
that has besieged this current council causing loss of employees and mass her, but it would be like me running for Mayor again, age is a factor. Her
confusion dealing with important issues that haven’t been resolved. issues as she sees them in my opinion have either been done or just aren’t
Ms. Heitmann’s campaign literature states she is running on her doable.
record and I’m sorry to say that’s not the case. The Naples Better Government Committee who serves as An
Mr. Blankenship, by his own words, states, “Council should stop Informed Voice for the Voters in Collier County for the last 30 years,
micromanaging projects that our City staff are qualified to run and have endorsed Gary Price, Bill Kramer, Tony Perez-Benitoa & Berne
ensure we have the right project management tools in place.” He states Barton. I concur!
this and yet he is a member of that council. Please do your homework & research and vote on March 19th!
The third candidate is Gary Price. He is a long-time resident of the WE NEED YOUR VOTES DESPERATELY!!!!!
City of Naples and has vast experience having served on various City
boards from our Planning Advisory Board to being a Naples City Bill Barnett, Former Mayor
Council member, vice mayor and being a valuable member of our pension I do respond to e-mails at: mayornaples@gmail.com
boards and others. He has done it all and done it well. I have had the
honor of serving with him and he is a true leader and worthy of your vote
for Mayor of our City.

8 Life in Naples | March 2024