In the Lee County Commission 5 race, Amanda Cochran was allegedly attacked verbally by Mike Greenwell’s backers. This is truly one cluster of an election cycle especially if Joe Gambino unexpectedly withdraws from his Lee Health Board bid for office and jumps into the race with Greenwell and Amanda Cochran.
This is truly Kingdom against Kingdom. The righteous daughter of a Pastor who just wants to do the right thing vs. corporate testosterone in the form of developers and a has-been baseball player who is considered by some a hometown hero.
Voters will ultimately decide who they want to represent them; however, this is a dicey situation for the commissioner. Terry Miller and his consultants must walk a fine line in this race – because one; she is a female, two she is the daughter of a Pastor, and three the environmentalists and closet treehuggers are waiting to weigh in on this one.
Everyone secretly wants someone who can’t have their jobs threatened to run against Greenwell. This is why Commissioner Greenwell can easily be defeated if this is not handled properly. The residents in Cape Coral are already ticked off that the city council gave themselves stipends and are looking for ways to strike back at incumbent elected officials who they feel are abusing their power or blatantly betraying the public trust.
As a businessman, Mike shouldn’t give a fat baby’s load how someone feels about decisions that affect his bottom line because, at the end of the day, the bottom line is the bottom line. However, as an elected official the lines get easily blurred especially when exceptions are made that JUST HAPPEN to benefit you. I feel Mike’s pain. Every man who played sports at a college level or higher has to redirect that competitive drive somewhere. Most of us (including myself) turn to business as an outlet, and winning is what matters the most. It’s not Mike’s fault. Winning at all costs just comes with being a great athlete. You position yourself to win. You can’t and don’t give a damn about the public’s feelings because you know that everyone likes a winner at the end of the day… Guess what?
In the long run, the people who will be working, playing, shopping, and living in the new development Mike Greenwell wants to build won’t care about the residents of Alva’s sentiments for that quaint small town warm and fuzzy feeling of community while they are downing their smoothies or coffee. Conversely, if Mike Greenwell’s camp makes one misstep, every Christian female (including churches), and environmentalists will be after his political hide and he will be easily ousted especially if Joseph Gambino who is NOT a fan of the incumbent jumps in at the last minute.
In Amanda’s situation, she has no ties to the political establishment or developers. She already has an arsenal of supporters backing her who feel Grant Fichter (a former candidate against the incumbent) was blackmailed and had his job threatened. She has nothing to lose by running for office. Amanda Cochran is the most dangerous type of political opponent to run against; especially since she has no hidden agenda.
In an era where anything goes in politics to win an election, the newcomers like Amanda are the voting public’s way of chastising incumbents. After all, political newcomers are impervious to influence because they are not corrupted by the system…
YET
It would be a little less shrapnel to clean up if Dr. Joseph “Joe” Gambino maintained his course and got elected to the Lee Health Board. But time will tell. Politics makes strange bedfellows. It would be in The Establishment’s best interest for Gambino to stay out of the race. It would be in Amanda’s best interest if Gambino jumped in the county commission seat 5 race. Seems like the establishment’s consulting firm better do some lobbying to the Gambino camp or else Greenwell is toast.
GET YOUR POPCORN AND
WATCH THIS SAGA –
IT WILL BE INTERESTING…
