Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Mike Greenwell to Lee Commission ahead of special election

Gov. Ron DeSantis reached into a Lee County special election campaign Friday and appointed a replacement for late Commissioner Frank Mann from the five candidates vying for the seat. 

The governor appointed Mike Greenwell, an east Lee County based business owner and resident of Olga, with investments in construction, land development, produce and other businesses, to the vacant District 5 seat on the Board of County Commissioners.

Greenwell sent a news release announcing the appointment Friday afternoon, sharing a release sent out by DeSantis.

"I love my hometown, and will do everything in my power to see it succeed," Greenwell said in the written statement. "Receiving the governor's appointment only drives me more to keep the seat so I can continue to work to make Lee County a better place for generations to come."

From earlier:Frank Mann, longtime Lee County political icon, dies at 80

Related:Lee County special election candidates line up for Frank Mann's empty seat

Mann died June 21 of pancreatic cancer, and a special election was hastily scheduled to pick a successor who would then serve the two years remaining on Mann's term. 

Greenwell is among three Republicans who jumped into the special election to take Mann's position on the board. 

In making the appointment, DeSantis chose Greenwell from a field of two other Republican candidates who will be on the ballot for the Aug. 23 primary: former Commissioner John Albion and political newcomer Joseph Gambino.

The winner of the primary would face Democrat Matt Wood of Lehigh Acres and a write-in candidate, Angela Chenaille of Fort Myers, in the November election.

After Mann's death, a special qualifying period was established by Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle for candidates to run in the special election that will be on the same ballot as the state primary. Seven candidates expressed an interest, but only five filed in time to run.

Mike Greenwell was a baseball star at North Fort Myers High School

A popular personality in Lee County, Greenwell rose to public attention while a student-athlete at North Fort Myers High School, where his baseball exploits became local legend.

Greenwell was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox and spent a decade as the club's left fielder before returning to Lee County after his final season in 1996.

In an interview with The News-Press when he became a candidate, Greenwell said he returned to Lee County every year after the baseball season concluded and on retirement from the game, began  business career that now includes proposed development of parts of the county's rural realm.

"We know (State Road) 31 is going to get widened, and we know that State Road 80 is probably going to start to see more commercial in the future," Greenwell said in an interview with The News-Press when he entered the race.  "But we are fortunate in a way because we have Alva, Alva  is its own little entity, I want to see it stay rural but that doesn't mean we can't go ahead and get the infrastructure on 31 and the infrastructure on 80 that makes it better for the people who live out here."

Greenwell operates several businesses, including Big League Builders, a general construction company, the popular agri-tourism businesses, 31 Produce farm stand and Cracker Shack restaurant and other ventures. 

He has applied to Lee County to construct a residential community near his property on the east side of SR 31. 

Less than a week before the deadline to run in the special election, county staff approved advancing Greenwell's proposal to the county's Local Planning Agency for review.

At the time, Greenwell said he had been out of town when county planners advanced the plan to the LPA after several revisions to the plan.

The proposal calls for rezoning nearly 77 acres from agricultural use to a mixed use planned development. It would allow up to 400,000 square feet of commercial space and 125 residential units. 

"We started that a long time ago, Frank Mann was our guiding commissioner at the time and I was just trying to do what is right for my family," Greenwell said. "We see the growth out here and we realize that we are going to be in the corridor that will be losing its land and we have to be prepared as a family."

Greenwell expects to have 17 acres of his property taken by the state to widen SR 31.

After the LPA reviews his Olga development proposal, scheduled for a meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, the Board of County Commissioners will be asked to transmit the proposal to state agencies for review. It will then be returned to the commission for a vote on approving it.

It is a process that will take weeks, putting Greenwell in the position of being a member of the board when his own project comes up for approval.

He is expected to be sworn in to take his seat on the county commission in time for the board's next meeting Aug. 2.