Republican voters will have a choice in the primary to decide who gets on the November ballot for the open Lee County District 3 Commissioner seat being vacated by Commissioner Ray Sandelli.

David Mulicka, owner and founder of HONC Destruction, and Matt Thornton, a retired contractor who operates a ranch in North Fort Myers, are running for the Republican nomination.

The candidates have different visions of the district and county, with Mulicka favoring more development, while Thornton calls himself an “environmental conservation” candidate.

“I am very pro-property rights,” Mulicka said. “We are never going to stop growth from happening.”

Mulicka favors the Kingston project, which has drawn widespread opposition from environmental groups who say it represents threats to the endangered Florida panther population. He said the developers behind the project, Cameratta Companies, “are very thoughtful about conservation.”

PHOTO PROVIDED David Mulicka

Mulicka, a lifelong resident of Lee County, is married to state Rep. Jenna-Persons Mulicka. He sees his years of experience in the contracting business and pulling permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a positive.

“I love Lee County and have had a wonderful life growing up here,” Mulicka said. “I want to use my conservative business and community involvement experience to help rebuild and improve our paradise, keep our residents safe, restore and protect our waterways, and get government red tape out of the way for businesses.

Thornton, who grew up around Fernandina Beach, bought a residence in Fort Myers Beach — outside the town limits — eight months ago with his wife, Christi. They had been living in Cape Coral but Thornton said they grew tired of increasing taxes and paying tolls for trips to Fort Myers Beach. He moved to Lee County four years ago and also owns a ranch in North Fort Myers.

Thornton and his wife have started a golf cart business on Fort Myers Beach called Trippin Rides.

“It’s better to go tripping with us then tripping on the sidewalks,” he said.

PHOTO PROVIDED Matt Thornton

Thornton said they have plans to expand to shuttling visitors to the area from the airport to Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel in what he sees as “a big need” due to the traffic.

Thornton said the infrastructure cannot handle the multiple large-scale hotel development projects heading for the Fort Myers Beach area and infrastructure is a problem. He is concerned about increasing development leading to delays evacuating the island in the event of another hurricane.

Mulicka said it was important to learn from Hurricane Ian to ensure properties are rebuilt the right way.

“We will learn from this thing,” he said. “The market knows where the best place in the world is to build and will continue to build here.”

That said, Mulicka also sees the county’s growth as “putting strain on roadways and infrastructure. We must change the mindset of building for today’s needs, and instead build for the needs of our future.”

He is also concerned about water quality and wants better water restoration plans.

Thornton said the county needs a better mass transit plan and wants to conserve more land.

“Our inland areas are being overrun by developers that are not doing their part to improve our infrastructure prior to building, then leaving it up to the taxpayers to foot the bill. Yes, we need to continue to build, but in a sustainable way that serves the environment and the community equally. Housing in our suburbs should have larger parcels to promote an environmentally sustainable growth for those areas as those before us have determined,” he said.

County commission candidates must live in the district which they represent but are elected countywide.

The District 3 race has no Democratic candidate but does have a write-in candidate, Jake Cataldo.

– DAVID MULICKA

Age: 57

Party: Republican

Occupation: Owner and founder of HONC Destruction

Education: Graduated from Cape Coral High School, attended University of Florida

Family: Married with two children

Years in district: 19, lifelong resident of Lee County

Campaign website: DavidMulicka.com

– MATT THORNTON

Age: 62

Party: Republican

Occupation: Retired contractor, cattle rancher

Education: Graduated from North East High School in St. Petersburg

Family: Married with six children

Years in district: Eight months (four years in Lee County)

Campaign website: Thornton4Lee.com