Lee County voters settled on many of its leaders and who will be on the general election ballot with the primary election Aug. 20, which had a 23% turnout.
Incumbent District 5 County Commissioner Mike Greenwell defeated fellow Alva resident Amanda Cochran, winning with about 55% of the vote to her 45%, 34,104 votes to 27,538.
Greenwell, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the seat following the death of Frank Mann in 2022, could not be reached for comment. The Republican will face Democrat Kizzie Fowler in the general election Nov. 5.
Cochran gathered at Glory Days restaurant for a watch party in a room packed full of about 40 supporters. She self-funded more than half her campaign with $100,000, but she came up short by 6,567 votes.
Amanda Cochran
County commissioners are elected countywide. But if single-district voting were in effect, Cochran would have defeated Greenwell with 65% of the vote, 5,475 votes to 2,969. Cochran won in all but two of the 17 precincts in District 5.
“I have no regrets,” Cochran said. “No regrets at all. Our sense of community is like never before. Win or lose, we made our voices heard. I am certain that we got the attention of the folks we needed to.”
The morning after, Cochran and her supporters shared their next challenge, given one of her campaign pledges to try and keep Alva an agricultural area. A zoning hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Sept. 4 at 2120 Main St. to change 788 acres of agricultural land and allow 1,099 homes no higher than 35 feet to be built. The zoning hearing signs appeared on the property off North River Road on Aug. 20, the same day as the primary election.
In District 3, Republican David Mulicka won with about 64% of the vote to Matthew Thornton’s almost 36%, 38,317 votes to 21,280. Mulicka will face write-in candidate Jake Cataldo in November.
Mulicka’s winning percentage on his home turf in District 3 mirrored the overall numbers as well, as he defeated Thornton there with 64% of the vote, 9,678 votes to 5,393, sweeping all 21 voting precincts.
David Mulicka
“I’m excited and relieved at the outcome,” said Mulicka, 14 months to the day after filing to run. Mulicka had considered running for state legislature 12 years ago but withdrew as a candidate before that election when he realized the responsibilities he had as a business owner and father were too great at the time.
Mulicka, who will succeed retiring Ray Sandelli, said he intends to bring preparation and discussion to the commission as it debates and plans Lee County’s future.
“Let me show you,” Mulicka said of how he will differentiate himself from the other commissioners. “When you see how I prepare—that’s all I can do.”
Tommy Doyle will remain Supervisor of Elections in Lee County. He won 80% of the vote, and with 82,134 votes received more than any other Lee County candidate.
Mick Peters lost that race with 20% of the vote but did win the Lee County Republican state committeeman, besting Andrew Sund with almost 60% of the vote.
Matt Caldwell will remain property appraiser, topping opponent Steve Cunningham with 70% of the vote.
Tara Jenner will become the Republican state committeewoman, winning 33% of the vote while topping three opponents.
Other results:
Circuit Judge 20th Circuit, Group 6: Tracey Redd defeated Erik Leontiev with 55% of the vote.
Circuit Judge 20th Circuit, Group 28: Elizabeth Krier defeated Michael Colombo with 51% of the vote.
School Board District 2: Melisa Giovannelli defeated Carol Frantz with 56% of the vote.
School Board District 3: Bill Ribble defeated Kaitlyn Schoeffel with 50.38% of the vote, the narrowest victory in a county race. He won by 287 votes.
School Board District 7: Vanessa Chaviano (47%) won the primary and will face Sheridan Chester (31.4%) in November after topping Joshua Molandes (21.4%).
Cape Coral City Council District 2: Laurie Lehmann (40.8%) will face incumbent Dan Sheppard (32.5%) in November after topping Craig Unroe (26.6%).
Cape Coral City Council District 3: Derrick Donnell (32.2%) will face Deborah Lee McCormick (29.7%) after topping Daniel Ludlow (20.6%) and Chad Bruening (17.3%).
Cape Coral City Council District 4: Jennifer Nelson (34.4%) hopes to return to Council. She will face Richard Carr (25.8%) in November after topping William Matthews (22.7%) and Robert Sutter (16.9%).
Cape Coral City Council District 5: Charlie Pease (34.6%) will face Joseph Kilraine (32.5%) after besting incumbent Robert Welsh (21.8%) and Jason Conzelman (11%).
Fort Myers City Council Ward 2: Diana Giraldo (48.9%) won the primary in the quest to earn the retiring Johnny Streets’ seat. She faces Jacqueline McMiller (27.5%) in the general election. Chanetta Campbell-Brunson (23.4%) finished third.
