Lee County Republican primary voters will have a choice 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 Matthew R. Thornton, a retired contractor who lives off San Carlos Boulevard on Fort Myers Beach outside town limits and operates a ranch in North Fort Myers are running in the Republican primary.

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 developments proposed off Main Street in Fort Myers Beach for the Bay Harbour marina and hotel, townhouse and commercial project. The project is currently in front of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners for a land use change approval. “Something good needs to happen there,” he said.

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

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 Army Corps of Engineers as a positive that could help the county rebuild the Fort Myers Beach Pier faster. Mulicka said he has been visiting the pier since he was a child. “It’s an engine for economic development. We need to get it back as soon as we can,” he said.

“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 and began visiting Fort Myers Beach as a child in the 1970s with his family tug boating, bought a residence on San Carlos Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach (outside 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.

He said voters on Fort Myers Beach he speaks to want to keep the “small town feel” of Fort Myers Beach.

“I want to see Fort Myers Beach go back to the way it was,” Thornton said. Thornton said the town needs housing for those who work on the island and called the Bay Harbour project on Main Street “not the greatest idea.”

Thornton and his wife Christi 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. 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 can’t handle the multiple large-scale hotel development projects heading for the Fort Myers Beach area. “Infrastructure is a problem,” he said.

Thornton is concerned about increasing development leading to delays evacuating the island in the event of another hurricane — an issue cited in the initial rejection of the Bay Harbor plans by an administrative law judge.

Mulicka said the town lost a lot of hotel rooms to Hurricane Ian.

“So much has been removed, we need to start putting them back,” Mulicka said. “We’ve lost so many homes.”

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 is and will continue to build here,” Mulicka said.

He had a firsthand look at the devastation Hurricane Ian brought to Fort Myers Beach, as his company was responsible for demolishing many of the homes destroyed on the island and off-island.

“It was difficult because everybody needed everything at once,” Mulicka said. “Everybody needed us but nobody wanted it. We had tears on the contracts.”

Mulicka said the town has done a good job at rebuilding quicker than many expected.

“It was so decimated. I think people forgot how bad it was,” Mulicka said. “People are still suffering PTSD from the amount of devastation.”

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,” Thornton said.

Thornton said Fort Myers Beach needs a lot of assistance.

“Fort Myers Beach needs a lot of help,” Thornton said. “It needs help from a lot of people and needs help from people who aren’t on Fort Myers Beach.”

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 qualified write-in candidate, Jake Cataldo.

• David Mulicka

Seat sought: Lee County Commission District 3

Party: Republican

Age: 57

Occupation: Owner and founder of HONC Destruction

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

Family: Married, two children

Years in district: 19, lifelong resident of Lee County

Campaign website: DavidMulicka.com

• Matthew R. Thornton

Seat sought: Lee County Commission District 3

Party: Republican

Age: 62

Occupation: Retired contractor, cattle rancher

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

Family: Married, six children

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

Campaign website: Thornton4lee.com