Lee County Commission Election

AS WE DRAW CLOSER TO THE GENERAL ELECTION, WE CAN TELL YOU THAT ONE HARD FOUGHT RACE ALREADY HAS DECIDED AMANDA COCHRAN WON A SEAT ON THE LEE COUNTY COMMISSION IN THE AUGUST PRIMARY DEFEATING TRUST. BUT ROSKI BOTH RAN INTO COUNTYWIDE RACE IN AUGUST AND THERE IS NO OTHER CANDIDATE FROM ANY PARTY. SO THAT MEANS THAT AMANDA COCHRAN IS ELECTED AND SHE WILL BE SWORN IN IN MID-NOVEMBER. WGCUS MIKE WALCHER JOINS US NOW TO TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT HER PRIORITIES SAW WHEN SHE TAKES OFFICE. >> YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, SHE IS PROMISING TO BE TRANSPARENT AND A FINE TIME TO TALK WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL POINTS OF VIEW ON THE ISSUES SHE BELIEVES THAT'S IMPORTANT. SHE WILL FILL THE LAST 2 YEARS OF THE LATE MIKE GREEN WELLS TERM. SOME CONSIDER VICTORY A SIGNIFICANT UP SHOP. >> IT WAS A WILD RIDE THAT I ENJOYED MY FAVORITE PART WAS ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND GETTING TO KNOW THEIR CONCERNS AND THEIR HOPES FOR LEE COUNTY'S FUTURE. >> WE MET THE COMMISSIONER ELECT ON THE GROUNDS OF THE OFF A MUSEUM. COCHRAN IS A 6 GENERATION FLORIDIAN WHO GREW UP IN LEE COUNTY AND CAMPAIGN FOR WHAT SHE CALLS RESPONSIBLE GROWTH. YOU BESTED THE ESTABLISHMENT HERE, WHICH IS NEVER EASY CARTER TO DO THAT. >> I DID THIS VERY UNCONVENTIONAL STRATEGY WHERE I TOOK MY CAMPAIGN DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE OF LEE COUNTY. AND I TOOK THESE BOOTS TO EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTY. SOME MIGHT SAY A DAVID AND GOLIATH SITUATION. AND ON THAT NIGHT, I WAS JUST ELATED THAT THIS YEAR FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, IT FELT LIKE THE PEOPLE ONE. THE PEOPLE WANT. >> COCHRAN DEFEATED, CRISP, A TRUSTEE APPOINTED TO THE SEAT BY GOVERNOR DESANTIS LAST NOVEMBER. THE LATEST FIGURES SHOW PETROSKI RAISED $326,000 FOR HER CAMPAIGN. COCHRAN, ABOUT 205,000 NOW COMES THE HARD PART FOR COCHRAN. >> DELIVERING ON PROMISES, PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. I THINK IT HAS BEEN RAPIDLY ERODED OVER THE YEARS. I WOULD SAY NOT MAYBE FOR THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE COUNTY RESIDENTS, BUT SEEMINGLY AT THE BEHEST OF OUTSIDE INTERESTS, IN MY OPINION AND ALSO ENSURING INFRASTRUCTURE KEEPS PACE WITH DEVELOPMENT. COCHRAN RAN ON A PLATFORM TO TRY TO SLOW DOWN DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH. >> DOES SHE HAVE A CHANCE TO BELIEVE NO. >> KEITH TEEN GREW UP IN LEE AND OWNS LAND IN THE AL THE AREA. >> I MEAN, I'M A PROPONENT OF SMART GROWTH. >> BUT, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMISSIONERS ARE BOUND BY THE LEAGUE. PLANS LIKE DEVELOPERS ARE SO FEW ON A PIECE OF PROPERTY WITHIN THE RIGHTS OF THE LEE PLAN AND THE GOALS THAT ARE SET FORTH IN LEE PLAN, YOU CAN DEVELOP IT. THE COMMISSIONERS ARE BOUND BY STATE PLAN, BUT THEY CAN'T DENY A DEVELOPER RIGHTS TO DEVELOP HIS PROPERTY BECAUSE INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT IN PLACE. SO ITS ALWAYS A CATCH UP. ALWAYS. IT HAS BEEN FOR EVER SINCE. I'VE LIVED IN LEE COUNTY 60 YEARS. IT'S BEEN SAME THING. >> COCHRAN SAYS SHE WILL LOOK FOR COMPROMISE AND COMMON SENSE. AND JUDGING DEVELOPMENT PLANS. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT MY CHILDREN 20 YEARS FROM NOW AND SAY I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO FIGHT. >> FOR BETTER PRACTICES THAT WOULD HELP SUSTAIN US. >> COCHRAN SAYS SHE'LL TRY TO EMULATE ONE OF HER HEROES. THE LATE FRANK MAN WHO REPRESENTED THE NORTHEAST PART OF THE COUNTY FOR 15 YEARS UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 2022, HIS NICKNAME WAS 4 TO ONE FRANK BECAUSE HE OFTEN WAS THE ONLY VOTE TO SLOW GROWTH. >> I THINK HIS LEGACY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF THAT HE DID HIS BEST TO PROTECT LEE COUNTY BUT TO PROTECT. THIS AREA OF ALVA AND EAST LEE COUNTY AND LEHIGH ACRES AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE TAKEN CARE OF EVEN IF HE WAS A LONE RANGER >> SO RIGHT NOW IS A GOOD WAY TO PUT IT IN THE U.S. OR WILL BILL BE THE LONG RANGER AND THEY WILL BE THE LONE RANGER. >> BUT I'LL BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO MY CONSTITUENTS WHY I'M VOTING THIS WAY. EVERY DECISION THAT IS MADE SHOULD BE MADE FOR THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE RESIDENTS OF LEE COUNTY. AND I THINK IF WE DO THAT, ESPECIALLY IN REGARDS TO RESPONSIBLE GROWTH MANAGEMENT THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF HOPE FOR THE COUNTY. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT. >> THIS COMMISSIONER ELECT HAS NO DOUBTS THAT SHE CAN HANDLE THE JOB. >> I AM ONE AMONG 6 SIBLINGS. WE WERE BORN WITHIN 6 YEARS AND 5 OF THEM WERE BOYS. SO MANY WOULD SAY I TRAINED FOR THIS THAT I HAVE. I HAVE A TOUGH. A TOUGH CONSTITUTION. I'M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE. >> NOW THAT WE KNOW WHEN AMANDA COCHRAN WILL OFFICIALLY BE SWORN IN. >> YES, WE DO. IT WILL BE EXACTLY 2 WEEKS AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION, IT WILL BE NOVEMBER 17TH AND SHE'LL BE SWORN IN. FIRST THING IN THAT MORNING AND SHE WILL TAKE HER SEAT ON THE COMMISSION THAT