This election was being touted as faster growth (Scott) vs. anti-big-building (Greg). In the end, Fort Myers Beach voters decided they were happy with Scott Safford’s performance since he was appointed 9 months ago and now he’ll serve a full 4-year term.
As expected both Mayor Dan Allers and Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt received more votes than Town Councilman Scott Safford and challenger Greg Scasny. Allers pulled in 2,008 votes while Atterholt racked up 1,921 votes. Safford secured a full 4-year term with 1,233 votes. Scasny came in with 1,115 votes.
Scasny’s was not afraid to say that he was not in favor of the bigger developments being proposed after Hurricane Ian. During our last Town Council debate he made it clear he would have voted no for that project and others that are about to come before the LPA and Town Council. That message was not enough to get him enough votes to win.
The campaign was somewhat interrupted when Hurricane Milton came through town last month. After the storm all 4 candidates decided not to pepper the community with campaign signs as the town worked through cleaning up another big mess left behind from a storm.
According to the Lee County Elections office 3,002 of 3,351 eligible Fort Myers Beach voters went to the polls. That’s nearly 90% of the eligible voters. Each voter could vote for three candidates for Town Council in addition to the national and state-wide candidates. That does not mean every Fort Myers Beach voter participated in the local race and when you analyze the final voting numbers it’s clear that not every beach voter that went to the polls voted for 3 beach candidates.
Town Council seats are for 4 years. Council members are allowed to serve two consecutive terms before they must sit out for at least one year before running again. Council members John King and Karen Woodson were both elected in November of 2022.
Great 🙁 So more $$ for tourists, Corporations, etc. and still no playgrounds for locals.