
Aug. 16, 2022
Today marks one week until Primary Election Day, Aug. 23, in Collier and Lee counties. Early in-person voting is already available and mail-in ballots can be mailed or deposited in ballot intake stations (formerly known as drop-boxes) from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at specific locations in Lee and Collier counties. (See Lee County’s list here and Collier County’s list here.)
In response to reader queries, below is a list of all Paradise Progressive endorsements for elected office. Not all have been fully explained in editorials. Nor is this a complete list of offices up for election.
The Paradise Progressive is a media outlet with a progressive slant, as the name implies. However, it is not affiliated with any single party nor does it follow any party’s dictates.
The endorsements below cover both parties. In a closed primary state like Florida only voters registered with their parties will get to vote in the party’s primary. Other elections, for example school board and judiciar are non-partisan races in which anyone of any party can vote.
There are three criteria for The Paradise Progressive’s endorsements:
1. Is the candidate qualified for the office he or she is seeking?
2. Can the candidate be relied upon to make clear, understandable, rational decisions based on facts, data, logic and science?
3. Does the candidate support the United States Constitution, the peaceful transition of power and—most of all—democracy?
These criteria transcend party or faction. Based on them, this is a summary of The Paradise Progressive’s endorsements, with links to those editorials that explain them in detail.
Democratic primary
Statewide
- Senator: Val Demings
- Governor: Nikki Fried
Endorsing the next Democratic governor
- Attorney General: Daniel Uhlfelder
- Commissioner of Agriculture: JR Gaillot
Republican Primary
19th Congressional District
- Congress: Jim Huff
Editorial: Rep. Byron Donalds has failed Southwest Florida and can’t be allowed to do it again
Collier County Commission
- District 2 Commissioner: Nancy Lewis
- District 4 Commissioner: Penny Taylor
Endorsing Republican candidates for Collier Commission Districts 2 and 4
Non-partisan, Collier County judge
- Judge: Pamela Barger
Endorsing a new judge for Collier County
Non-partisan, Collier County Board of Education
- District 1: Jory Westberry
- District 3: Jen Mitchell
- District 5: Roy Terry
Non-partisan, Lee County Board of Education
- District 1: Kathy Fanny
- District 4: Debbie Jordan
- District 5: Gwynetta Gittens
- District 6: Tia Collin
Endorsing real education at the Collier and Lee county school boards—and rebuking anti-Semitism
Liberty lives in light
© 2022 by David Silverberg