UPDATE: Incumbents retain seats on city council
UPDATE:
All three incumbent Sanibel City Council candidates were re-elected to the dais on March 4.
In the city of Sanibel’s Regular Election, Vice Mayor Mike Miller and Councilmembers Laura DeBruce and John Henshaw were running to retain their seats against one challenger, Lyman “Chip” Welch.
Miller won the top vote-getter spot with 1,051 votes — 29.87% of the total ballots counted. DeBruce came in behind him, earning 978 votes — 27.79% of the ballots cast. Henshaw secured the last seat with 781 total votes — 22.19%, and Welch earned a close fourth with a total of 709 votes — 20.15%.
Miller, DeBruce and Henshaw will each serve a four-year term.
In addition to the three council races on the ballot, voters also considered a charter amendment referendum about council member vacancies. The proposed referendum read as follows:
“Should the Sanibel City Charter be amended to allow the City Council discretion (1) to appoint or not appoint an interim member to a vacant City Councilmember seat if there are less than 6 months remaining in the unexpired term or if there are less than 6 months before the next regular city election and (2) to extend the deadline to hold any necessary special election from 150 days to 210 days?
The referendum passed with 69.71% of the voters supporting it and 30.29% voting no.
The city reported that a “yes” vote would support amending the charter language to state that council “may choose a successor to serve until the newly elected council member is qualified” if a council seat is vacated with less than six months remaining in the term and “may fill the vacancy on an interim basis” if there is more than six months remaining in the term. It also would extend the time period for when a special election must be held following a council seat vacancy from 150 days to 210 days.
All of the candidates shared their reaction to the election results.
“I’m honored to be elected to council by the citizens of our wonderful community and look forward to serving them for another four years,” Miller said.
“I was very happy and very honored to be reelected. I was pleased to see both Mike Miller and John Henshaw back on council,” DeBruce said, noting that she previously worked with Welch on the Sanibel Planning Commission. “He also would have been a strong advocate for Sanibel, but also I’m glad we still have him on the planning commission. He’s an important voice for the community.”
“I’m obviously pleased with the outcome and honored to serve as a city council member, recognizing that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that we continue as rapidly as we can to restore our island to pre-(Hurricane) Ian condition,” Henshaw said. “It’s going to be a large task that’s going to take a lot of work, not only for council members but on city staff as well as residents, to continue the progress that we started two and half years ago.”
“I’m disappointed in the results, but it was very close,” Welch said. “We have three good representatives on the city council who are incumbents and they will hopefully lead us forward to a strong recovery for Sanibel.”
Looking to the next four years, the winners shared their short-term and long-term priorities.
“I think rebuilding remains our number one priority. It’s complicated by the fact that we want to rebuild and recover with a greater resiliency, but we also have to hold true to our core values as a small town sanctuary,” Miller said, noting that short-term accommodation units have surpassed 50% of the pre-Ian number. “We’ve made great progress, but there’s a ton of work to be done. Hopefully, the council can continue to help that progress.”
He listed his additional priorities as ensuring that the island’s infrastructure is as resilient as possible, including hardening the sewer system to withstand future storms, working with partners like LCEC, the Island Water Association (IWA) and Comcast so services hold up better in storms and improving the city’s stormwater management system to allow water, rainfall in particular, to dissipate faster than it is.
“Immediately, I think that we have to do whatever we can to help all our citizens get back to the island and get as many of our small businesses back on the island,” DeBruce said. “There’s still a lot of ground-level homes not recovered from Ian and then Helene and Milton. How do we help people who want to come back come back to the island? I think that’s the first and most important focus.”
She listed her additional priorities as strengthening the resiliency of Sanibel’s infrastructure, pointing out an IWA project in need of funding, as well as improving the city’s stormwater management and creating a large-scale plan for the entire island — while continuing to be a voice for balance between recovery and preserving the island sanctuary. Another is focusing on better connecting the town and snowbird element with Sanibel’s preschool and elementary-middle school.
“In the short term, we need to accelerate our recovery as well as we can while still staying true to the principals associated with the Sanibel Plan,” Henshaw said. “That might include dealing with Land Development Codes and finding compromises where we can. So that we get residents, we get businesses, we gets resorts — get the visitors back, they’re important for our local economy — get them up and running.”
He listed his additional priorities as considering appropriate adjustments to the Code, maybe even the Plan, to improve the island’s resiliency in the face of what will likely be more frequent or violent storms over the next 50 years. Another is addressing the city’s stormwater management as now normal storms are becoming a challenge due to the high water table and sea level rise.
Welch also offered his thoughts on what he feels should be a priority.
“I would like to see an increased focus on the multigenerational community on Sanibel, especially young families that are coming to our community and need support,” he said. “The Sanibel School in particular is not at full capacity right now. It’s been difficult with the hurricanes, but we have a great school and a great community.”
When asked, each of the winners had something to add.
“Obtaining funding is important. We’re not going to pay for this with ad valorem taxes,” Miller said of the improvements. “We need a new police station, we’re trying to get funding for that. Repairs and some elevation of our roads, and we’d like to repair the bike path — all of which will require funding.”
“I had filled in a term previously that was just about 10 months and no one had run against me, so it actually felt very good that I earned the confidence of the voters on Sanibel,” DeBruce said. “They put their trust in me, and I take that very seriously as I start this next term.”
“Our residents are typically, because they’re retired, they’re fairly well off in the sense of stable in their economic situations. They’ve done a lot of good things in their careers, accomplished a lot. I’d like to see more and more of our residents engaged,” Henshaw said. “It’s going to take many of us to preserve Sanibel for the next 50 years.”
All four candidates expressed their appreciation for those who voted.
“I want to thank my supporters, and I want to congratulate both Laura DeBruce and John Henshaw for their election and look forward to working with them and Richard Johnson and Holly Smith in the coming years,” Miller said.
“I would definitely like to thank not only everyone who voted for me, but everyone who kindly offered to put up my signs — and my husband, Jeff, who put those up,” DeBruce said. “I would also thank my very dear friends, Kate Sergeant and Diana Taylor. They’re also my business partners.”
“I would like to thank everybody who gave me a vote of confidence to serve on the city council again. I’m very honored and will not disappoint,” Henshaw said. “I will continue to work on their behalf and on the behalf of Sanibel, and to those who didn’t vote for me, I’m with them as well.”
“I thank everyone who voted in the election and participated,” Welch said. “I really appreciate all of the support that I’ve had throughout the community from all sides of the equation. That support throughout the community has been very energizing for me.”
He added that he will continue to serve on the planning commission.
“And hoping to improve Sanibel and helping us through the recovery in the months and years ahead,” Welch said.
According to the Lee County Elections Office, a total of 1,309 ballots were cast on the island out of 4,839 total registered voters, which equates to a voter turnout of 27.05% in the Regular Election.
All election results are unofficial until certified.
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ORIGINAL (March 4, 2025):
All three members of the Sanibel City Council were re-elected in victories today, March 4.
In the city of Sanibel’s Regular Election, Vice Mayor Mike Miller and Councilmembers Laura DeBruce and John Henshaw were running to retain their seats against one challenger, Lyman “Chip” Welch.
Miller came in as the top vote-getter with 1,050 votes — 29.89% of the total ballots counted. DeBruce was close behind him, garnering 976 votes — 27.78% of the ballots cast. Henshaw took the third spot with 780 total votes — 22.20%, with Welch earning a close fourth with a total of 707 votes — 20.13%.
Miller, DeBruce and Henshaw will each serve a four-year term.
In addition to the three council races on the ballot, voters also considered a charter amendment referendum about council member vacancies. The proposed referendum read as follows:
“Should the Sanibel City Charter be amended to allow the City Council discretion (1) to appoint or not appoint an interim member to a vacant City Councilmember seat if there are less than 6 months remaining in the unexpired term or if there are less than 6 months before the next regular city election and (2) to extend the deadline to hold any necessary special election from 150 days to 210 days?
The referendum passed with 69.66% supporting the change and 30.34% voting against it.
The city reported that a “yes” vote would support amending the charter language to state that council “may choose a successor to serve until the newly elected council member is qualified” if a council seat is vacated with less than six months remaining in the term and “may fill the vacancy on an interim basis” if there is more than six months remaining in the term. It also would extend the time period for when a special election must be held following a council seat vacancy from 150 days to 210 days.
Henshaw shared that he is honored to serve again and will not disappoint.
“I’m obviously pleased with the outcome and honored to serve as a city council member, recognizing that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that we continue as rapidly as we can to restore our island to pre-(Hurricane) Ian condition,” he said. “It’s going to be a large task that’s going to take a lot of work, not only for council members, but on city staff as well as residents, to continue the progress that we started two and half years ago.”
Welch shared that he will continue to serve the island on the Sanibel Planning Commission.
“I’m disappointed in the results, but it was very close,” he said. “We have three good representatives on the city council who are incumbents and they will hopefully lead us forward to a strong recovery for Sanibel.”
Miller and DeBruce could not immediately be reached for comment.
A full story is forthcoming.
All election results are unofficial until certified.