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Fourteen years of service. Key West Mayor Teri Johnston decided to not seek re-election, after serving a total of 14 years as a city commissioner and then mayor. Her decision, along with term limits for three commissioners, now means a minimum of four new faces on the city commission later this year.
- Wide open race. To date, only Danise "Dee Dee" Henriquez had officially filed to run for the office at the time of Johnston's announcement. She has already raised over $20,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
- Kaufman likely to run. Incumbent Commissioner Sam Kaufman previously indicated that he would run if Johnston chose not to. Kaufman acknowledged that if he ran, he would have to resign his District II commission seat a week before qualifying occurs in the mayor’s race in June.
- Mark Rossi has a choice. Past Commissioner and unsuccessful mayoral candidate in 2018 Rossi may seek either Kaufman's Commission seat (which Rossi occupied from 2004 to 2016) or even run again for mayor.
- Margaret Romero has a choice as well. Romero was easily defeated by Johnston in her mayoral bid in 2022, garnering about 44% of the vote. She is currently filed to seek the Supervisor of Elections seat, but could withdraw from her candidacy to instead mount yet another mayoral bid.
Haskell seeks commission seat. Key West resident Monica Haskell filed to run for City Commissioner in Key West’s District I, currently held by term-limited Jimmy Weekley.
Marathon wants to 'borrow' ROGOs. During a contentious and well-attended workshop, Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi and County Attorney Bob Shillinger, outlined a deal that would 'loan' ROGO/BPAS allocations from Monroe County to Marathon. Several citizens rose to express opposition to Marathon's earlier request for up to 8,000 residential building permits, but some spoke in favor out of concern for 'takings' liability.
- WLRN presented a detailed review of the meeting, the controversy, and the actions that led to Marathon's surprise request.
- Bartus says yes. Former Marathon Mayor John Bartus wrote in support of finding a solution.
- ROGO referendum? Monroe County commissioners are still considering asking the voters if the Florida Keys should receive more state building allocations and change hurricane evacuation times. Such a vote would weigh resident's interest in public safety against further development and reduced 'takings' liability.
Florida Keys Day in Tallahassee. Continuing an annual ritual, Keys leaders descended on the state Capitol for the annual Florida Keys Day on January 25 to educate and lobby state officials on Keys' legislative priorities.
- Tourist tax dollars for affordable housing. Among other pursuits, Monroe County officials pursued changing state legislation to allow a roughly $25 million tourist tax surplus to go toward the construction of affordable housing.
Little Torch variance request postponed. The owners of Little Palm Island postponed their request for a parking variance from Monroe County for a redevelopment project of a Little Torch Key marina, putting the entire development project on hold.
Grinnell garage deal authorized. The Key West Utility Board authorized Keys Energy Services to finalize and approve a lease for the City garage at Grinnell and Caroline. The 20-year lease that ends in 2044 includes a provision to extend. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, the City will make annual lease payments to KEYS of $225,000, with 2.5% annual increases thereafter. The Key West City Commission is expected to vote on the lease on Feb. 8.
Safer and cleaner ship christened. The American Glory, the second of American Cruise Lines’ new series of 100-passenger ships, was christened in Key West, Florida on January 21 by Mayor Johnston, among others.
Duval revitalization redux. The City of Key West kicks off a series of public workshops for the Duval Street Revitalization and Resiliency project at a community open house on Wednesday, January 31 from 5-7 p.m. at the San Carlos Institute.
Sprawling coonties. Linda Cunningham rooted around in search of a rare butterfly.
Not playing favorites. Mark Hedden was asked to name his favorite book about birds, but that's a tough question.
Our Eyes
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| The rare and endangered Florida Keys Atala butterfly loves the coonties at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden - Ed Cunningham |
Previously in Key West Voices
Marathon's ROGO request.
- In the face of growing opposition, the Marathon City Council planned to discuss the City Manager George Garrett's stealthy request that the state give the entire Florida Keys 8,000 more building allocations and increase the allowable hurricane evacuation time from 24 hours to 31 hours.
- No Zoom? The Council will have discussed the proposal at 5:30 p.m. Monday, January 22, at its monthly in-person workshop.
- Call to action. Advocacy group Last Stand issued a call to action for its members to attend.
- Blindsided. Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi w inas “blindsided” by the request.
- Starting a conversation, indeed. Garret acknowledged that the request was 'extreme.'
- What was he thinking? Linda Cunningham used her famous biblical expletive to aim squarely at Garrett. "The good news, if there’s any to be had in this unnecessary drama, is that Rep. Mooney is not in the slightest inclined to assist Garrett’s end run."
- Juking the stats. In his Florida Phoenix column, journalist Craig Pittman took a biting look at the current clash and history of the fight about further development in the Keys. Other Florida publications carried his column.
Marathon's hotel ordinance. As if the ROGO request wasn't enough, an ordinance that would expand redevelopment rights for hotel and motel units was once again tabled for future discussion. The proposal drew strong concerns from councilmen Kenny Matlock and Jeff Smith.
DeSantis backs down; quits the race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday that he is ending his 2024 presidential bid. Speculation is that he'll now be angling for the 2028 nomination. Needless to say, he endorsed Trump.
Yeah, that'll fix it. Airbnb formed a new housing council to examine how to address the nationwide issue of housing affordability, focusing on increasing the supply and driving down prices. The group will explore how the vacation rental company can work with cities on short-term rental policies. The newly formed council will inform Airbnb on “affordability policy frameworks and research.”
Fraudulent vacation rentals targeted. Monroe County Tax Collector Sam Steele is used to being lied to; it comes with the territory. He's combining an information campaign to inform the lessors of their tax obligations, and software that compares online vacation rental listings with tax payments received. “Once you’re on my radar, there’s no getting around paying back taxes” said a member of Steele's staff.
Profane t-shirts banned from public view. The Key West City commission passed a measure to require businesses to remove “obscene, vulgar, and sexually oriented materials” from storefront displays. The new rules allow businesses to display the offensive wares inside the store in an area not visible from the street or sidewalk.
Rainbow flag ban attempt. Flag displays that depict a “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint” would be banned from any state or local government building, including public schools and universities, under the bill authored by Rep. David Borrero. Local officials voiced strong opposition.
Tinker, tailor, soldier, dove. Mark Hedden's lovely prose connected common ground-doves with George Smiley (of the John le Carré spy novels), because everything about their persona, as a species, seems designed to make them underestimated and largely unnoticed.
