Fort Myers Beach Mayor Plans to Run for County Commission District 3
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Larry Kiker has unofficially declared his 2012 candidacy for District 3 on the Lee County Board of County Commission according to the FMB Observer. Although he has yet to file qualifying papers for candidacy, he is expected to join incumbent Ray Judah and San Carlos Island resident Charlie Whitehead on the ticket.

"I have intentions of running for County Commission," Kiker confirmed by phone on Monday. "I still have to qualify, and I intend to qualify for the race this week."

Kiker is currently in his second term as a member of the FMB Town Council. During his five years of Council service to the Town, he has been the mayor for four years after serving in the vice mayor capacity his first year. District 3 covers the South Lee County and Fort Myers Beach area.

In election news, the bond issue to pay for a new Town Council hall was roundly defeated by voters Tuesday night.

Presidential Primary – All Eyes on Florida
As the nation set all eyes on Florida, Mitt Romney routed Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary Tuesday night, rebounding smartly from an earlier defeat and taking a major step toward the Republican presidential nomination. Gingrich vowed to press on despite the one-sided setback. It should be noted that in both Iowa and South Carolina, primaries are open to all. In Florida, closed primaries are the rule. Thus, it is more likely Florida is a truer gauge of partisan voter sentiment, as it is a much more populated, diverse state with no potential for partisan gamesmanship.

Romney, talking unity like a nominee, said he was ready to take the Republican helm and "lead this party and our nation." In remarks to cheering supporters, the former Massachusetts governor unleashed a strong attack on Democratic President Barack Obama and said the competitive fight for the GOP nomination "does not divide us, it prepares us" for the fall campaign.

"Mr. President, you were elected to lead, you chose to follow, and now it's time to get out of the way," he declared.

Ginrich came in second, with Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum coming in third and Texas Rep. Ron Paul last. Neither mounted a substantial effort in the state, with Ron Paul staying away altogether.

For the first time in the campaign, exit polls showed a gender gap, and it worked to Romney's advantage. He was leading Gingrich 51-28 among women voters and was winning men by a far smaller margin of 41-35. Ominously for the thrice-married Gingrich, only about half of women voters said they had a favorable view of him as a person, compared to about eight in 10 for Romney.

Nor was Romney's victory a narrow one. His winning percentage approached 50 percent and a majority that would demolish Gingrich's oft-stated contention that the voters who oppose Romney outnumber those who favor him. Still, the former speaker said, "We're going to contest everyplace and we are going to win." Meanwhile, Senator Marco Rubio has since been quoted that he believes the nominee that wins Florida will ultimately be the final party nominee.

The winner-take-all primary was worth 50 Republican National Convention delegates, by far the most of any primary state so far. That gave Romney a total of 87, to 26 for Gingrich, 14 for Santorum and four for Paul, with 1,144 required to clinch the nomination.

State Election Shake-Up
Former State Rep. Adam Hasner has announced he will drop out of the Republican Senate primary and run for Congress, taking advantage of an opportunity created when Republican U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney and Allen West decided to shift districts.

Hasner, who trails far behind frontrunner Rep. Connie Mack IV at this time in polls, will start his bid for Congress with $700,000 he'll transfer from his Senate campaign. The congressional district also contains the entire state House district Hasner used to represent.

This follows after Rooney announced he will run for a newly drawn district that contains about half of his current district and West said he will run in the district Rooney is leaving. The Legislature is drawing the new political maps, but they have yet to receive final approval.

It also means the once crowded Republican primary to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is getting smaller. Former Ruth's Chris Steak House CEO Craig Miller dropped out of the race Monday, also saying he will run for Congress. Still in the race are Mack, former Sen. George LeMieux and retired Army Col. Mike McCalister.

Benacquisto Bill to Provide Educational Opportunities Passes Committee
This week a bill filed by State Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, SB 962 relating to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, was passed favorably out of the Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax. SB962 will allow a one-time extra bump in the statewide tax credit cap in 2012-13, from $218.7 million to $250 million which constitutes an additional increase of 14%.

The Florida Legislature created the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program in 2001 to help low-income students have the opportunity to attend private schools through tax credits provided to companies doing business in Florida. Current law allows for an increase in the cap by 25% in any year after 90% of the cap is reached.

Sen. Benacquisto’s bill seeks to meet the increase in demand for children whose low-income families qualify for the scholarship program to be able to seek a quality education they can afford. The extra bump proposed would serve an additional 6,500 low income students. The bill is now in the Budget Committee, which is its last committee stop before the Senate floor.

Voter Referendum on November 6th Ballot Still Set for Slot Machines at local pari-mutuels
The Voter Referendum on the November 6th Ballot is still set. The BOCC was going to continue to debate the issue but instead they were asked to move fast by an amendment last week to Senate Bill 382. That amendment imposed a Jan. 31 deadline for counties to approve a referendum on slot machines at greyhound tracks. Several other rural counties as well as panhandle counties also have added the referendum to their ballots.

The amendment to SB 382 would also enable dog tracks to cut out live racing in favor of slots, poker tables and remotely viewed races. The dog track owner has stated that Lee County’s voters have a right to decide about their local issues, but it is an economic benefit to a county that still needs jobs. Mann and Bigelow voted against the measure.