Greg Scasny is the 4th Fort Myers Beach resident to announce he is running for Fort Myers Beach Town Council. Scasny made the announcement outside Town Hall Monday morning prior to the Town Council meeting. You can watch that video HERE.
Scasny joins Mayor Dan Allers, Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt and councilman Scott Safford who have all announced they are running. There are 3 council seats on the ballot in November of 2024. The Fort Myers Beach Town Council is non-partisan. The three candidates who receive the most votes will be elected to a 4-year term. Council members can serve two consecutive terms before they have to sit out a year before being eligible to run again. The deadline to file the paperwork to run for Town Council is June 14th.
Scasny posted the statement below to his Facebook page after he made the Monday morning announcement:
Today I am announcing my intentions to run for a Town Council seat for the Town of Fort Myers Beach Florida this November
I have been a full-time FMB resident with my family since 2018. This is our only home.
My desire to run for the Town council comes because we are at a pivotal moment for the future of our island. We as residents need to decide if we want the island to be a place where people and families can still come and live, and will want to live, or if we will be an island of transients , with large hotels and short term rentals being the majority. My choice is for the former, as the latter to me would be the end of the Town of Fort Myers Beach. The Town exists because we have residents, so if we have no residents, we do not have the need for a Town.
I have no delusions, I know FMB will never be the same as it was pre-Ian. I know there are going to have to be some compromises, but that does not mean we should throw in the towel and allow for over development of the island and become the next Hollywood or Clearwater Beach. The island may look different, but residents have the say on what we allow to rebuild on the island. In my view, allowing more density and intensity to projects should only come with a proportional benefit to the Town and its residents, not just benefits to developers and tourists.
Allowing more density and intensity should be the last exception, not a foregone conclusion.
On other issues, I tend to lean towards the “Government Lite” approach, and using common sense when we have ordinances that need enacted or amended. Being a good steward of tax dollars is also a top priority of mine. I am not only very interested in ways the Town can improve its revenue stream outside of just property taxes from residents and property owners, but ways to be more efficient with tax dollars we do get.
I do not make my living on the island. This is not a dig at anyone that does, but it’s just to say I have no motives other than keeping this island a place that people and families want to live.
A little about me, I am the Co-Founder and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of a cybersecurity company (Blueshift Cybersecurity) based out of Fort Myers. I also serve on the Board of Directors.
I have served on advisory/director boards for FGCU, Hodges University, Dunbar High School, The Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership, The News Press and others.
I have taught and presented as an S.M.E. (Subject Matter Expert) for NASA, the IRS, the MITRE Corporation, The Florida Bar Association, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and many others.
I am currently appointed to an elected position on the Fort Myers Beach Library Board of Directors.
After Ian, my wife and I fought very hard along with other beach residents to reopen the beach school. We volunteered for the island little league both pre and post storm. I am very vocal to our council on issues that affect myself and other residents.
If you have questions or want clarification on where I stand on issues, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Message me on Facebook or send me an email at gregscasny@gmail.com.
If you would like to support my campaign, I will be posting details on how you can do that here in the upcoming days.
I too support change to the current town council and multitude of conflicts of interest .
Anybody interested in who voted to shut down the beach in 2020 and severely damage all the Island business , specifically small businesses that are life blood of Island ?
Outside of the Fight to prevent this onslaught of overpriced , overbuilt development – we can NEVER lose sight of our individual LIBERTY –
what were Dan Ailers and Jim Attleholts votes when the chips were down in 2020??????
Anyone who voted to shut the Island and beaches down should have NO. BUSINESS being on the ballot
Jim and Dan voted against shutting down the beach during COVID. Karen, John and Scott were not even on the Town Council back then.
You will always have conflicts of interests. Mine conflicts with yours
I was extremely outspoken against closing the beach, and many covid measures, and even had many moments of civil disobedience. It cost me a lot both personally and professionally.
We are so happy Greg is running!
If the town council approves a zoning change from residential to commercial, the whole island will be at risk!
If we are going to allow unlimited development on our small island, we may as well dissolve the town and go back to Lee County management.
I agree with his views regarding development, but I’m concerned as he stated that he blatantly disregards the city’s ordinance regarding riding his e-bike on the sidewalk.
Greg’s perspective is spot on! I will be supporting him and his efforts. As a property owner and former resident trying to return after Ian, I bought property on Estero Island in part due the Town being present. I was told that the Town of FMB was incorporated by residents to preserve the character of the Island and prevent it from being a Clearwater Beach, or worse, a Vanderbilt beach. There is no need for a Town if the resident’s needs are not a priority – we can just be another trashy beach town for tourists and businesses. I’m not anti-development, but space and resources are limited – that’s a fact and a balanced view is needed. I appreciate Greg’s public stance of keeping FMB a place to live – not just visit.
A resident voting for Greg Scasny is a vote for balancing residential and commercial uses on our island as well as density as we continue our recovery post Ian. It is a vote for those that don’t want to be sleepy like Sanibel, but that also don’t want to be commercially over developed like Clearwater Beach. Greg is all for supporting our expeditious recovery and doing it in a guided way to achieve the desired end result. FMB is known for its energy and love of the beach and waters, and likely why most all of us fell in love with it and chose to live here. Greg will help guide us forwards with an eye on maintaining these priorities and balance. I for one encourage your support of Greg.
Many residents felt Margaritaville was a commercially overdevelopment project.