Over the next 5 months I will try to clearly make comparisons between myself and Commissioner Judah. The purpose will not be to discredit or criticize, but to clearly and simply allow you to see what differences there are between the two of us.

I don’t think there will be a sharper contrast than our perspectives on money, you can call those taxes, the budget, whatever label you like, the bottom line is it’s your money.

For me, whether it’s a tax, a toll, an impact fee or an invoice in my own business, money is real. As a business owner, it’s my goal to get as much of it as I can and keep as much of that as possible because the money is mine! In government it’s just the opposite. My goal when I was the Mayor of Ft. Myers Beach, and my pledge to you as a commissioner, will be to take as little as I can and give back as much as possible because the money is yours! It’s your money and it should be collected respectfully, spent frugally and explained and budgeted transparently.

When Commissioner Judah took office twenty years ago, one of the major issues the commission faced was how to increase county revenues to meet the demands of growth. Impact fees, tolls, and other tax revenues provided the answer.

When the housing bubble began to build ten years or so ago, the county's revenues soared because the tax base soared. More and more taxes were collected even without raising the tax rate and even in light of modest reductions. The end result has been that the County budget grew several times faster than our population grew and that millions of dollars of your money now sit in reserves collecting interest for the County.

As I speak to groups and listen to the concerns of people in business, stay at home moms, students putting themselves through school, nurses and store clerks and people like you, the story is the same. No one minds paying their fair share, but when they feel abused it’s insulting and they demand change.

The message could not have been more clearly shouted as Lee County voters turned out in force to support Amendment 1 in January. Out of 67 Florida counties, Lee County was number 1 in the state and voted 82% in support the amendment effectively saying “enough is enough”.

Commissioner Judah is on record defending the budget countless times. Not surprising because after 20 years, it’s his. Commissioner Judah has even called the efforts of Governor Christ and the legislature to reduce the amount of real estate taxes local governments take "irresponsible".

That way of thinking, that government takes what it wants, and is all things to all people has to change. Those tactics might be great in running a business, but it is a very expensive and intrusive way to run a government.