Let Marco Citizens Make Decisions for Marco Island

There have been several controversial flare-ups over the last couple of months, which have caused residents to question everything from the competency of those running the everyday operations within city hall and the perceived inability of their elected officials to put their differences aside and deal with issues before them to find solutions to those challenges instead of bickering. 

During the last couple of election cycles, I’ve had the privilege to do a video event on behalf of the Coastal Breeze News. That video was posted on our website, as well as our Facebook page in an unedited version. What you ended up seeing was what we heard directly from those candidates. 

I do believe, as do many of you, that the political relevance of smaller communities today is important, and as such,I’m hoping that we can bring some sanity to the political divide we see on much of the national level.Perhaps we can lead by example. 

A simple question to ask at this juncture is whether it might be time to have a review of the City Charter, that governing document with an eye towards making reasonable suggestions to make government more effective here within the Marco community. A small citizen committee would hear from citizens and would then bring their findings to council to determine whether there was a consensus regarding any of the committee’s suggestions. Our own United States Constitution is one of the most revered documents in the world, and the process that makes it so strong is the citizen involvement to keep it so relevant.  

Recently, our new State Representative,Yvette Benarroch, seemed to have opened a can of worms she never intended to. I can only assume that she, like many of you, grew tired of the stalemate created when council was having a difficult time filling a vacant seat previously held by former Councilman Greg Folley when he ran against Mrs. Benarroch for the local District 19 seat. Two good folks vying for the same seat, but Mrs. Benarroch soundly defeated Mr. Folley due to her deep connections on Marco Island. 

I’m sure, like many of you sitting on the sidelines, your patience level dealing with that long, drawn-out out and sometimes contentious debate had reached its breaking point. Something we all had reached our combined appreciation for. The council finally filled the vacancy and promptly started serious budget discussions which revolved around .03 cents per thousand of assessed valuation, but that’s a story for a little more time and ink. 

There is a considerable amount of room for improvement, but the folks who sit there today can make that leap, as does Mrs. Benarroch, for she too is relatively new to the complex and sometimes frustrating job she has chosen to assume. 

As a State Representative, she has chosen to file a bill (or is in the process) to change verbiage within the Marco Island Charter. Our charter, like the U.S Constitution, is our governing document; it is a sacred document and must be protected and understood. However, any changes in it must be approved by the citizens of our city, not by someone sitting in Tallahassee,as she’s proposed. 

Is this a fatal error in regard to her future in office? I would hope not, but it is a learning moment for her, regardless of what her plans are in the future. Anyone can make amistake;  the difference lies in how they handle the very negative response I've seen throughout the island. 

Taking away our citizens' right to determine their future where they live is not an acceptable choice in my opinion, and that is essentially what her bill does. Our charter is an extremely important document, and its sovereignty should be sacred, as is the U.S. Constitution. Placing our future in another’s hands is a mistake, and a serious one, but one she can recover from by withdrawing the bill she is considering to file or has filed in this next session of the Florida House of Representatives. 

Like I’ve said earlier in this piece, every person is capable of errors, but thankfully, the measure of those individuals lies in how they respond to those errors when they are pointed out to them, and I have to believe her phone has rung off the wall in regard to this one. (I’msort of dating myself, because I don’t think there are many old rotary phones hanging off the kitchen walls here on Marco in 2025) 

As always, thanks for listening!