Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann filed Friday to seek a second term in what has become a three-way race to lead the city.  

Teresa Heitmann

It has been nearly four years since Heitmann was swept into office by defeating former mayor Bill Barnett. She now has two challengers—councilman Ted Blankenship and former councilman Gary Price—in the March 19 mayoral election.  

“There are stark differences between my candidacy and my two opponents,” Heitmann said. “They are not in touch with the residents’ priorities and how our citizens want to take the city forward. The campaign will unfold and the citizens will have the benefit of our voting records, all three of us, so there will be no room for rhetoric.”  

Heitmann, whose 2020 campaign slogan was “It’s time for a change,” was part of a major change on City Council that year as three other incumbents were unseated by Blankenship, Mike McCabe and Paul Perry. So far, only former Naples High School football coach Bill Kramer, a political newcomer, has announced that he intends to run for one of the three Council seats up in March. The filing deadline is in January.  

In kicking off her reelection campaign, Heitmann said she has a proven track record of making tough decisions with integrity. Since her election in 2020, she said the city has become more resident-focused and made progress in addressing community priorities that had been ignored for a long time, but more work needs to be done, she said.  

Heitmann’s campaign slogan for reelection—“Our Home. Our Voice.”—stems from her commitment to defend the city’s small-town feel and character, she said.  

“The future of our community is about preserving the uniqueness of this wonderful place,” she said in a campaign statement. “This is our home, and it is our voice that will define the future of our city.”  

Heitmann has supported policies that restrict intense development and strived to maintain neighborhood cohesiveness, she said. Setting a new tone at city hall, she said her Council meetings have emphasized stronger resident engagement, greater transparency, respect for all points of view and a strong defense of “home rule,” promoting more local control in the face of Collier County growth just outside city limits. These priorities and principles will continue to be the hallmark of her second term, she said.  

For instance, the mayor has concerns about the proposed redevelopment by Aspen-based M Development of nearly two blocks on Fifth Avenue South for Restoration Hardware, Whole Foods Market, luxury condominiums and underground parking. She said the city does not have a definition of codes for underground parking nor the infrastructure necessary for a project of such magnitude.  

“We don’t have the roads. We don’t have the capacity for the roads. We have stormwater issues. That’s one of the largest flooding areas in town,” said Heitmann, who also is concerned about plans to vacate interior alleyways there.  

 “Taking away the grid is the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard because that’s how we do our services. That’s how we go to the back of the house. That’s how we do our garbage, our recycling. Nobody wants to drive through areas that look like that.” 

Facing a backlog of pressing issues during her first term, Heitmann said she quickly energized multiple projects to improve water quality, restore a more equitable balance of resident and commercial interests, and aligned the city’s budget with resident priorities, including a stronger emphasis on investments in public safety.  

Heitmann looks back with pride at the way her staff and the Naples community responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hurricane Ian devastation.  

“The key message from the pandemic and Hurricane Ian was the professionalism of our staff, our first responders, our resiliency and our focus on the tasks at hand,” she said. “We still pressed on with our agenda, worked long hours and delivered results aligned with community priorities.”  

Before serving as mayor, Heitmann was elected to Naples City Council in 2008 and reelected in 2012. In 2016, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor against former mayors Bill Barnett and John Sorey before defeating Barnett four years later in his bid for a fifth term as mayor.  

Heitmann is a former account executive for Lancôme and Revlon Inc. She and her husband, Jeff, an obstetrician and gynecologist specialist, have resided in Naples for 34 years and have raised three children there.