Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation changing how the Naples Airport Authority board is selected, replacing the current appointment system with countywide elections. Under the new law, all five seats on the board overseeing Naples Municipal Airport will appear on the ballot in the 2026 general election, with Collier County voters choosing members rather than the Naples City Council appointing them.
The law also sets residency and qualification requirements for the board. Three members must live within the city of Naples, while two must live in Collier County outside the city limits, though all five will be elected by voters across the county. Candidates will need at least five years of experience in financial management, small-business operations or aerospace. Members elected to odd-numbered seats will serve four-year terms, while those elected to even-numbered seats will initially serve two-year terms before moving to regular four-year cycles.
Rep. Adam Botana, who sponsored the measure, said the change was intended to broaden voter involvement in oversight of the airport. “We said, all right, we’re going to leave it to the people,” Botana told Gulf Coast News.
Botana also told Fort Myers News-Press he was “happy to see it go into law, to give power back to the people of the city and the county.”
Several city officials opposed the bill, however, arguing it would reduce local oversight of airport property and operations. In a letter to DeSantis urging a veto, the Naples City Council said the measure would “usurp the Naples City Council’s proper and necessary governance and oversight” of the airport.
Fort Myers News-Press also reported that Mayor Teresa Heitmann said at a council meeting that “an entity challenging our home rule or trying to take away our home rule, is something that we have to adamantly protect and defend.”
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