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Vote Maughan

3 min read

To the editor:

Water quality is paramount to the future of our community, so Jason (Maughan) has put his time and money into fighting the industrial agricultural polluters others would cozy up to. Jason has lobbied the state to carry out the voter’s Constitutional mandate to acquire land South of Lake Okeechobee. Only with that acquisition can we finally restore our estuary’s water quality, protect our local economy and our home values.

Traffic solutions must be implemented now, not studied in 2022 as currently planned. Jason recalls the traffic commission of 17 years ago, and traffic is still worse today because we are not addressing causation and imbalance in the community. We need new ideas to focus our efforts on preserving Sanibel the community, instead of just advertising the “destination.”

Senior islanders’ issues must be respected by the city and their recreational and meeting facility enhanced. The Seniors’ Center 4 Life should be rebuilt on pilings to protect it from storms while providing additional parking without requiring additional development.

Our “relationship” with Lee County must be reexamined equitably. Sanibel’s infrastructure and environment have been overburdened without commensurate support for island citizens and businesses in return, it is time that imbalance is addressed.

The Sanibel School has had disproportionate incidents of children with cancer and no action has been taken by the county or state. According to six years of studies, Lee County has had three to five times higher pediatric cancer rates than all of Florida. Jason demands that the County Health Department spend whatever money is necessary to find the environmental factors and persons threatening our greatest resource – our children.

Florida citizens have realized career politicians are not in their best interest, therefore it is time Sanibel conformed to the norm of term limits for City Council. Fresh ideas and new faces clean the political slate and allow for unencumbered legislation. Jason supports a maximum of two consecutive terms for any councilman, including himself.

What Jason brings to the council is a unique perspective and understanding about the islands. Since riding the school bus into town as a boy, Jason has seen Sanibel evolve and adapt to changes in the environment and community. At 46, he still lives in the same Sanibel neighborhood he grew up in, but is now a family man himself. We have been married 22 years and our son, Ronan, attends the Sanibel School. Jason owns a successful island law firm with a nearly two-decade long reputation for helping residents and the city work together. This skill and institutional knowledge have led to the current council appointing him a Planning Commissioner, twice. He serves as pro bono general counsel/director for numerous island charities and he and I lead a Cub Scout Den on the island. Having been on the island for 40 years, Jason has personally experienced the effects of earlier council decisions and learned how to anticipate policies necessary to address future threats as well as support community initiatives.

Babs Maughan

Sanibel