By: The Honorable Matt Caldwell | Lee County Property Appraiser
Thursday, January 9, 2025 marked a historic day in Lee County history. By a vote of 6-1, the Lee County Legislative Delegation advanced a bill calling for a referendum in 2026 for five (5) single-member districts for the county commission! This is the closest opportunity that the voters of Lee County have had in over two decades. However, the work is not yet finished. This local bill still must go through the Local Government subcommittee and State Affairs Committee (at least), then onto the House floor for a vote of the entire body. Once passing there, it will go to the Senate, where the last real effort, led by Rep. Bruce Kyle, was killed in 2003 and 2004. Those of us who believe this is a critical reform for our county government eagerly await final passage of this bill. But that will not be the end. Although very rare, local bills are subject to Gubernatorial veto, the same as all state laws; watch for our opponents to push for that “solution”. Considering that Governor Desantis hails from Northeast Florida and Pinellas County, where single-member districts are a familiar sight in the major urban counties, one can hope that he will see the wisdom in bringing this issue forward to a referendum in Lee County, now the 74th largest county (out of roughly 3,000) in the United States!
The idea that the voters of Lee County should have the right to vote on their form of government is a no brainer for most people, but the critics are working hard to mislead the public on this as well. First and foremost, Lee County never voted to be governed by a five member at-large commission. This form was imposed on all non-charter counties in 1947, when Lee County was smaller than 25,000 residents. In 1984, we made our position clear on this abuse of authority, by voting 57% to repeal that statewide preemption of home rule. But over the ensuing 41 years, we have yet to finalize the alternative we desire for ourselves. In 1988, there was a referendum on moving to the 5 single/2 at-large model, but forces conspired to hide it on the primary ballot, where it barely failed 52%/48%. When Lee County opted to become a charter county in 1996, the framers of our charter avoided this question and the only structural difference between our charter and a default statutory county is that our executive and legislative branches were legally separated, without creating an elected official to oversee the executive branch; a strange creature to be sure, but a debate for another time. The county commission and charter review tackled the question of how best to organize our county legislature periodically since 1996. In 2000 and 2004, the charter review debated this issue heavily, without resolution. In 2008, the charter review voted 11-2 to reject the five at-large system but failed to gain a 10-vote consensus for the system to propose for replacement. That same year the county commission took up the 5 single/2 at-large proposal again, but it failed on a tie 2-2 vote.
But as frustrating as the 11th hour Senate maneuvers were in 2003 and 2004, the 2016 charter review is perhaps the most infamous example of how manipulation prevails in this debate. It was clear going into that cycle that there were at least 10 votes prepared to bring the 5 single/2 at-large proposal to the voters. But county commissioners directly interfered with their appointees, ultimately resulting in an 8-7 vote; and yes, while that was still a majority, the goalpost was set at 9 votes for passage. Taking all of this experience together, it is little wonder that advocates for single-member districts concluded that the local process is rigged against us. Thus, we invested only a cursory effort into the 2024 charter review process; the fix was in before we even put our shoes on. It should be noted that still today, the county commission only mustered a 3-vote majority for a letter of opposition to the legislative route in 2024. This history was clearly not lost on the legislative delegation. Every member has lived through this saga personally over the last four decades; they have seen firsthand that this issue will not get a fair vote unless they bring it forward. In an effort to present the issue as clearly as possible, the delegation has chosen to bring forward just five (5) single-member districts, with no provision for any at-large seats.
And that brings us to the latest ploy, to claim that somehow our legislators are imposing this from on high. Of course, that claim is absurd on its’ face, as the bill calls for a referendum, the same kind of referendum that the voters were given in 2014 when they approved moving the school board to a 5 single/2 at-large system. But more importantly, it reveals the hypocrisy of this crowd, many of whom claim deep fidelity to the Constitutional order of our republic but then attempt to undercut that very same order. Lazy civics teachers will present our system as one organized as Federal to State to Local, much like is found in Britain or Germany. But that is not the case. It is the States who are the plenary (unlimited) power government in America. The States created the Federal government, with enumerated (limited) powers, and it is the States who create the local government. Lee County did not spring forth from the forehead of Zeus; the Legislature created it and still today has the power to dissolve Lee County, without a referendum, if they see fit. The opposition hopes that the voters are too ignorant to understand this; I, for one, do not hold so low an opinion of my fellow citizens.
In my testimony last Thursday, I spoke on the fundamental injustice of at-large districts, and I referenced that they are racist in origin. And while I have no reason to believe that the proponents of the status quo today are driven by the same energy, it is fanciful to pretend that this is not the entire basis of their imposition in Florida. This is an established fact in multiple legal proceedings in recent decades. They are, by their very nature, designed to suppress the voters’ will. And they still achieve that goal today. Look no further than the fact that in the last 23 election cycles, at least 14 times the winner of the local district has lost because of the at-large vote.
And finally, I outlined that even the Founders of this Nation understood the critical nature of this issue. James Madison, in Federalist 56, wrote about the structure of legislative bodies, and discussed the fact that the House of Commons in Britain was at that time mixed between single-member and at-large/multi-member districts. Referring to the latter he shares: “It cannot be supposed that the half thus elected, and who do not even reside among the people…can add anything either to the security of the people against the government, or to the knowledge of their circumstances and interests in the legislative councils. On the contrary, it is notorious, that they are more frequently the representatives and instruments of the executive magistrate, than the guardians and advocates of the popular rights. They might therefore, with great propriety, be considered as something more than a mere deduction from the real representatives of the nation.”
As we embark upon this new day, I am secure in the knowledge that we find ourselves in fidelity with the very author of our republic. I encourage you to share this opportunity to support five (5) single-member districts for our county commission with every voter you know in Lee County. Even once the bill passes, the real work will begin as we head to the vote in 2026. Our opponents will not rest on their laurels, and we must not as well.
