Coll seeks to unseat Neugent

By Steve Estes

For the first time in three election cycles, Republican District Two County Commissioner George Neugent will face someone other than a perennial also-ran in the upcoming race to retain his seat.

Local businessman Danny Coll, owner of Keys Medical Transport and NAPA Auto Parts on Big Pine Key Wednesday filed paperwork to run as a Republican against the three-term incumbent in the August primary.

Coll will face off against Neugent in the Republican primary in August.

Neugent was first elected in 1998 against a host of other candidates, but faced perennial electoral loser Joannie “Bicycle” Nelson in the 2002 race and perennial electoral loser Sloan Bashinsky in the 2006 race. He handily won both those elections.

Coll said he felt as though he needs to run because Neugent has been in place too long and needs some good competition.

“George is as nice a guy as they come, but he’s getting complacent and not doing for the people of his district what they need for him to do,” said Coll.

District Two covers from Shark Key to midway through Marathon. Coll lives on Sugarloaf Key while Neugent lives in the Marathon section of the district. County commissioners run county-wide, however, and Coll is aware that Neugent’s name is much better known than his own in the Upper Keys due to the long tenure Neugent has spent on the commission.

Coll said there are a lot of issues facing folks in the Lower Keys, particularly the business community, that aren’t being properly addressed.

He’s also concerned that smaller issues, such as a long-term solution for the animal control issue on Big Pine Key and the traffic congestion issues on Sugarloaf Key aren’t being as strongly addressed as the people would like.

During Neugent’s tenure, Big Pine and Sugarloaf Keys have both been the recipients of brand-new community parks, Big Pine’s at the end of Sands Road and Sugarloaf’s at the school.

Neugent has been at the forefront of the county’s battle to upgrade wastewater treatment throughout the county.

Coll feels as though the Lower Keys got short shrift in that fight and is now the only major service area in unincorporated Monroe County without either a completed or definitely planned central wastewater collection system, with local residents potentially facing fees thousands of dollars higher than other areas for hook ups and monthly fees that could run some of them out of the island chain.

Coll said he is also deeply interested in reaching some conclusion to the downstairs enclosure inspection issue that is amenable to the Federal Emergency Management Agency yet less Draconian on the people of the Lower Keys.

Coll is also worried that tax rates continue to go up on commercial property and non-homesteaded properties while the commission does little in the way of cost cutting to bring those rates down.

Nuegent has said that this campaign would probably be his last, and hadn’t decided to run until a new commission was put in place in 2008.

“I have some learning to do to get up to speed on issues that George has been part of for more than a decade, but I’m a quick study,” said Coll.

Coll is a former member of the Big Pine and Lower Keys Rotary Club, a member of the Sugarloaf Key volunteer fire department, a volunteer instructor at Lower Keys Medical Center for rescue personnel and a business owner twice over.

Neugent is the former owner of Porky’s Bayside in Marathon and 53rd Street Dock and Deli. He is a long-time member of the South Florida Regional Planning Council and the National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Board. He also sits on several other non-profit boards.

No other candidates have yet filed intention to run for the District Two seat, which at this point means the winner of the August primary will win the seat. Should no other candidates file, the primary will be open, allowing all voters regardless of political affiliation to cast ballots.

The current county commission is all Republican save District Three Commissioner Heather Carruthers, a Democrat.

The seat of District Four Commissioner Mario DiGennaro is also up for grabs this year, with the incumbent set to face off against former seat holder David Rice in the Republican primary.