Naples election: City Council will see new faces, no matter the results. What to know

Laura Layden, Naples Daily News

Updated March 20, 2024 at 2:43 AM·4 min read

No matter the results, the Naples election will bring new faces to city council.

The elections will be held March 19, for those who haven't already cast their ballots.

Mayor Teresa Heitmann, who is seeking a second term, has two opponents.

She's running against councilman Ted Blankenship, who is giving up his current seat, in hopes of taking over the lead role, and Gary Price, a former councilman and vice mayor.

While both of her opponents see a need for change, arguing the city has gotten off track, Heitmann disagrees, claiming much progress has been made under her leadership, and promising she'll keep moving the city in the right direction.

A half dozen candidates are running for three open seats on council. All are newcomers, with the exception of Linda Penniman, who was elected in 2014 and served six years, two of them as vice mayor.

Three of six candidates are aligned with Gary Price, running as "Team Naples." They are Bill Kramer, Tony Perez-Benitoa, and Berne Barton. If the entire team is elected, they'll control four of seven seats.

The other two candidates for council are Garey Cooper and Nicholas Del Rosso.

This city election has been like no other, with more involvement from political action committees, or PACs, some of which have spread untruths, and made personal attacks against candidates.

Some candidates have also raised unprecedented amounts of money in their personal campaigns, leading to concerns that "special interest" groups are behind them, including developers, who hope to gain favor on council.

Residents have complained about the "dirty politics," saying they've been confusing, and there hasn't been enough focus on the issues, which are many.

In particular, Price has been criticized for how much money he's raised from the real estate and development industry.

In his defense, Price has called it a "red herring, saying even if he added every dollar from his campaign coming from builders, developers and Realtors and 100% of the PAC donations, "it’s still 40% of the total donations" he's received, with the majority of them coming from city residents.

He emphasized the PACs call their own shots.

"I have nothing to do with them, controlling them, or anything," Price said. "I have never dealt with a PAC before."

The election results are seen as critical, as city leaders are set to make big decisions over the next few years, on everything from the funding for the rebuilding of the Naples Pier and the construction of a new coastal stormwater system to the future development of the Four Corners and the "Miracle Mile," a hard-hit stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard North that's seeing a renewal in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Serving four-year terms, city council members and the mayor are limited to two consecutive terms by the city charter. The elections are nonpartisan, and candidates run at-large.

As an early voting site for city residents, The Norris Center has seen a lot of activity already, said Alex Argueta, an outreach coordinator for the Collier County Supervisor of Elections office.

However, she said, the number of votes cast for the local races won't be available until election night.

More: Development a hot topic at Naples candidate forum, and keeping height limit

Election information

The non-partisan election for Naples City Council will be held on March 19. All qualified registered voters who reside in the city may vote.
In person voting will be held at the local precincts on election day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Bring identification.
Information about what’s on the ballot, plus information provided by the candidates can be viewed here: Vote411.org.

More information on who's running can be found on these websites:

Mayor Candidates

Ted Blankenship: Tedblankenship.com

More: Election 2024: Blankenship vows to protect city, help residents and roll back taxes

Teresa Heitman: Teresa4Naples.com

More: Election 2024: Naples mayor promises to continue "preserving this great city' if reelected

Gary Price: garypricefornaples.com

More: Election 2024: Price vows to fight for property rights, advocate for residents

City Council Candidates

Berne Barton: votebernebarton.com

More: Election 2024: Berne Barton wants 'opportunity to give back' on council

William Kramer: votecoachkramer.com