With more than 75 elections taking place in Collier County in 2024, Rick Asnani, executive director of the Florida Institute for Political Leadership, provided political insights and discussed what to expect for the upcoming election cycle during the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce’s Wake Up Naples event Feb. 1.
The Florida Institute of Political Leadership is a free, nonpartisan training program sponsored by the Florida Chamber that allows those interested in running for office to learn about how campaigns are run and how to get more involved within the community. Asnani spoke to the chamber about the benefits of the program, even for those who are unsure about jumping into the political scene.
In four years, the institute has conducted the five-hour program 31 times, producing more than 800 graduates.
“We’re really trying to encourage an opportunity to help people understand … how the political process works and how campaigns work so they can prepare for the opportunity to be able to run more effectively in the future,” Asnani said.
Collier County has more than 256,000 registered voters as of January 2024, an increase of more than 50,000 since the last presidential election in 2020.
“If you’re a candidate in the room, I would encourage you to look at new voters and make sure that you’re talking to them,” Asnani said. “Those new voters are going to be a big impact in every single election from the top down, not just in Collier County but in many other states that are seeing these kind of numbers.”
Asnani said that Collier is seeing a significant shift back to voters showing up at the polls on election day compared to early voting.
“It’s kind of moving back into that one-day sale, where what’s going to happen on Election Day will matter,” Asnani said.
Since it is a presidential election year, Asnani said that there could be upward of 8,000 more people voting for local seats, including on Naples and Marco Island city councils, compared to a nonpresidential year. City of Naples elections in 2020 had a more than 21,000 voters turnout, a drastic increase to the voter turnout in 2022 of 6,500 voters.
In March, Naples residents will be voting for mayor and three Council seats. Marco Island voters will vote on two charter amendments—changes of the chair and vice chair titles to mayor and vice-mayor and Council salary increases. Marco Island Council seats 1, 3, 5 and 7 will be up for election in November.
Those who are still planning on voting early should be aware of Florida Senate Bill 90 that was adopted in 2020 and requires a vote-by-mail ballot to be requested after each general election cycle. The deadline to request a ballot be mailed for the March election is March 7, with early voting for the March 19 primary election occurring from March 9-16.
Asnani said the newly required Form 6—the full, public disclosure of financial interests for local elected officials won’t have much of an impact on the future of elections. The form, which has been a requirement for state-level officials but is now required for city and county-level seats, has created tension on boards, such as Naples City Council. It was the reason for Vice Mayor Mike McCabe’s resignation, and Marco Island City Council said proposed salary increases could combat hesitation due to the required disclosure.
“If you are a local candidate planning to run at the state level one day and you move up the ranks to run for something, eventually Form 6 would become a part of your life, and you’d have to accept that,” Asnani said. “I do understand that, on the one hand, it’s going to create a little bit of a deterrent for some people, but I think that basically this is an opportunity to standardize the process across the state.”
With the presidential election quickly approaching, Asnani said those seeking election locally should focus on creating more comfort within the community as someone working to become a voice for residents’ well-being.
