Editor, Daily News:

Thank you all who are candidates for elected positions; you understand the need.

Thank you all who have or will vote; you keep democracy alive.

Please also remind your friends and neighbors to vote; this is an important local election and will likely be the only chance you have to voice concerns about some of Collier County’s leaders for some time to come.

There are some difficult choices to be made, others are easy. I made mine and am sharing them with you: Jim Coletta, Collier County commissioner, District 5; Kathy Smith, public defender; Joe Paterno, School Board, District 4; Kevin Rambosk, sheriff; and Kathy Curatolo, School Board, District 2.

It doesn’t matter whether you agree with me, but it does matter that you vote.

Bob Murray, East Naples

Editor, Daily News:

I have been on the Tourist Development Council (TDC) for over four years and served under Collier County Commissioner Jim Coletta last year when he was chairman.

Jim was good in directing the TDC on its mission of managing over $14 million in annual bed-tax receipts. He did his homework in discussing the issues and agenda items and was fair and accommodating.

Although I cannot vote for Jim because I live in another district, I urge his re-election.

Murray H. Hendel, Naples

Online Source

Jim Coletta is the real deal. Located in one of Collier's fastest growing districts Jim has lead the way in making sure growth is properly done and there is balance to growth. There is much more to do. Roads are and will be a continuing need as this district grows. Providing concurrent water, sewer and roads facilities will be an ongoing requirement for this district. Safety and Emergency medical service will be a continuing need. Keeping taxes low and rooting out bureaucratic waste will be a continuing need. As we go through this rough economic patch due to over expansion and inappropriate lending practices now is the time to vote for Jim. He has a proven record of accomplishment. He has shown he can work with the other Commissioners and prevail for his constituents. Now is the time to reelect Jim...he has and will continue to lead the way in District 5. Let's overwhelmingly vote for Jim in the August primary and November election.

John Barlow, Member of Collier County Productivity Committee and Affordable Housing Advocate

Read also: NDN:  Barlow has a plan to make the best of down housing market

August 13, 2008 by Mark Strain.

In less than two weeks, voters in District 5 will be asked to choose between two candidates running for the office of county commissioner. As everyone in the district knows, the incumbent is Jim Coletta, who has served his district with dedication and untiring enthusiasm. There may be reasons to seek changes for many other elected offices on the primary ballot, but considering a change from Commissioner Coletta is unwarranted for many reasons.

For decades, the focus of Collier County has been on developing the infrastructure to make the lives of citizens in the high-value coastal area as comfortable as possible. Prior administrations clearly outlined needs for constant improvements to the “coastal area of Collier" using tax resources, many times acquired from not only that area, but the eastern part of the county, as well. In the past, the western portion of the county saw its hoped-for improvements become reality one after another, while District 5 and other inland areas experienced one delay after another in realizing the same conveniences.

That all changed when Jim Coletta became District 5’s elected official to the Board of Commissioners. Rather than see more improvement derailed in our area, Jim has insisted on prioritizing budget needs for improvements within the District. During his time in office, we have benefitted from vast improvements to our road system, our parks and libraries; changes that balance development with environmental concerns for our rural farm lands and the realization that Immokalee is becoming the agricultural and industrial hub of this county, along with all the business incentives and job creation benefits that will bring.

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Editor, Daily News:

Thank you, Collier County, for preventing “big government," also known as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, from imposing flood insurance on Golden Gate Estates homeowners.

County Manager Jim Mudd and Development Services Administrator Joe Schmitt, along with county engineers Stan Chrzanowski and Robert Wiley, have done a great job of staying on top of this issue. Commissioner Jim Coletta was also personally involved, traveling to Atlanta and meeting with FEMA. I do not mean to single out Coletta, as the entire county board supported resolutions in opposition to FEMA’s misguided studies and conclusions.

FEMA proposed in 2000 to change the flood zone for Golden Gate Estates from D to A. Flood zone D means “undetermined" and flood insurance is available but not required. Flood zone A means there is a 1 percent annual chance of flooding and therefore flood insurance is mandatory if you have a mortgage.

A house with a replacement cost of $100,000 would expect a premium of about $1,000 per year. Therefore, if every home (and guest home) were required to purchase flood insurance every year, the annual cost to Estates residents could easily top $50 million. “Thank you" to them all.

The cost of living is high enough without having to pay the federal government another $1,000 to $2,000 per year for something we do not need.

David Farmer, Golden Gate Estates

Anne Goodnight, David Lawrence Center, former Collier County Commissioner
"I’ve been a Collier County resident for 53 years and I was a County Commissioner myself in the eighties and early nineties. I’m supporting Jim Coletta, and I ask you to support him, as well. Jim has been the best commissioner Collier County has seen in many years"

Dick Rice, Executive Director, Immokalee Chamber of Commerce
"I’m extremely proud to endorse Jim Coletta for re-election. He’s done an outstanding job, not only for Immokalee, but for all of Eastern Collier County. He’s always there leading the way. Jim’s open to any suggestion and he’ll answer any question. He is just the kind of person we need to represent us."

Doug Rankin, Vice-Chair, Republican Executive Committee
"I support Jim Coletta, because he has worked to improve Golden Gate Estates and Collier County for over twenty years. These last eight years, he has been doing great things as a commissioner. He helps everybody regardless of their income or potential. We should reelect him."

Fred Thomas, Community Activist, former Executive Director, Collier County Housing Authority
"If we want to continue our positive growth in Immokalee, we need Jim Coletta back in office for another term. He’s a good family man and a supporter of programs for the less fortunate. Jim has done an outstanding job representing us. If all the commissioners followed his lead, we could make the county one we could really be proud of"

John Norman, Aid for State Representative David Riviera
"I have known Jim Coletta for many, many years and I’ve watched his career on the County Commission for the last eight. I have seen great progress in Immokalee, in the Golden Gate, the Estates, and in the County overall under his leadership. This man has been a devoted civic leader in Collier County and we need to keep him in office. "

John Lawson, Executive Director, One By One Leadership Foundation
"I’m endorsing Jim Coletta for County Commissioner. I’ve worked with him in the Leadership Collier group and in Rotary. He has a great heart and is always out there helping someone less fortunate.The first time I met him, he was volunteering to help some people with mental disabilities. He is the right person for the job and he’s a person you should know. I hope you will support him, too."

Karen Acquard, Community Civic Leader
"I have known Jim Coletta for over 14 years. Before he was ever County Commissioner, he took on FEMA and Mosquito Control. He’s why we don't have high insurance and we don't have mosquitoes. He’s also the reason we’re not in gridlock on Immokalee Road. He has done great things for us and we need to keep him in office"

Lauren Liefer, Executive Director, Physicians Led Access Network (PLAN)
"No one cares more about the residents of Collier County than Commissioner Coletta….He helped PLAN bring health care to low income, uninsured adults. He’s always there for the small guy as well as the big guy"

Linda Hartman, President, Homeowner Association of Golden Gate Estates
"I have been active in the Golden Gate estates for over 24 years. There is no one that I know who has done more for Collier County and District 5 than our commissioner, Jim Coletta. Please vote for him."

Mario Diaz-Balart, US Congressman District 25
"I will never forget walking with Jim in Immokalee after Hurricane Wilma. Residents told me how Jim knocked on doors the night the hurricane hit, asking people to evacuate so no one would get hurt. That's the kind of commitment, passion, and integrity Jim has. That's why I support Jim Coletta for County Commissioner."

Paul Midney, RN,Collier Health, Member of Collier County Planning Commission
"I am a registered nurse here at the Collier Health Center and I’ve known Jim Coletta for over twenty years. I can tell you so many good things Jim has done for health care, for roads, for community development, and for people who just have problems. He works to make sure our government is there to help." "

Robert Grassi, Member of Rotary Club, Supervisor at Immokalee Disposal
""I work and live in Immokalee and I consider Jim Coletta a good friend. He has been really supportive of the Lake Trafford Restoration, fought for mosquito control, and helped start the CRA in Immokalee. I encourage you to vote for him." "

Editorial: Coletta in Collier, Janes, Judah, Mann in Lee

Republican nomination

It’s an easy choice in the Republican primary for the only Collier board seat up for voter review this year. Jim Coletta has been an outstanding public servant for the past eight years as the commissioner from District 5, which includes Golden Gate Estates, Immokalee and Everglades City. He is a friend to business and the underprivileged and everyone in between. He champions economic diversification and work-force housing for Immokalee and the rest of the county. He beats the drum for better roads, and gets results. He leads the fight for better drainage as well as sensible flood maps that save constituents money on their homeowners insurance. He lobbies for impact-fee deferrals for social agencies that ease the costs of services for taxpayers. He has helped guide land-use planning at and around Ave Maria.

And there is more work to do.

(...)

Dear Editor:

Almost decade ago, prior to moving to Naples, I had a telephone conversation
with Jim Coletta. He was then the President of the Golden Gate Estates Area
Civic Association. We had never met or talked before, but he graciously
spent 45 minutes answering my questions about Naples and Collier County. A
few months after our phone conversation, he was elected Commissioner for
District 5.

From the day he first took office to the present day he has worked
tirelessly and effectively on behalf of Estates residents. Working closely
with state and federal agencies, Jim Coletta was the driving force in
identifying and implementing the security measures Collier County needed in
the post 9/11 world. His leadership shaped the County's response to West
Nile Virus and brought mosquito control services to all the Estates. Without
his tireless efforts, Golden Gate Boulevard and Immokalee Road would still
be backed up for miles daily.

As Commissioner, Jim Coletta has worked ceaselessly for the good of
residents of District 5 and has consistently exemplified the highest
standards of ethical conduct.

Commissioner Jim Coletta will get my vote on August 26th because he is a
living example of a true public servant.

Dr. Sparks Lunney, Golden Gate Estates

Russel Tuff writes today

"The Republican ticket for Collier Commission District 5 is an easy choice. Incumbent Jim Coletta’s dedication, sincerity, and incorruptibility speak for themselves. In addition, he has represented his constituents well. He and I have had our differences, but he’s a politician who can set opinions aside and still move forward. He knows the issues and the challenges of his district better than anyone, and has made good progress on a board that doesn’t always see a need to invest in Eastern Collier County."

Read the complete article on this month's primary elections

• 120 new lane miles Added of roads added in Collier County
  
  
• 225 lane miles in Planning or Construction.

• I-75/Everglades interchange. Over $2,000,000 funded with federal recognition.
  

• Over 40 Miles of Golden Gate Estates' lime rock roads are paved.

• Over 110,000 acres of rural land protected.

• Mosquito control expanded to far Golden Gate Estates and Immokalee.

• Medical clinic for the 'working poor' opened in Golden Gate City.

• Five new civic associations created to assure community involvement.

• Redirect SHIP and HUD funding for abandoned and foreclosed homes.

• Two new large public parks are planned for Golden Gate Estates.
  
  
• Economic incentives for new and existing businesses.

August 4, 2008 Naples, Florida,  The Greater Naples Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the League of Women Voters of Collier County (LWVCC) release the results of their joint candidate survey to assist voters in their deliberations in the August 26, 2008 Primary. 

Neither AAUW nor LWVCC endorse or oppose any candidates or political party.  The questions were sent to the candidates for Collier County School Board, Collier County Commission District 5, Collier County Sheriff, and State Representative Candidates for House District 75, 77, 101 and 112.
(...)
County Commission candidates were asked their positions on environmental issues, gender equity, affordable housing, diversity and funding of social services. 

(...) Get the complete survey in PDF format and click here