New Lee County commissioners sworn in, want to take action to combat COVID-19

Lee County swore in three new commissioners on Tuesday. They are eager to get right to work to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases but they have other top priorities as well.

Newly sworn-in Commissioner Ray Sandelli said, “It’s jobs.”

Commissioner Frank Mann said, “Water is a subject that never goes away.”

But, newly-elected Commissioner Kevin Ruane thinks the pandemic takes precedent. “During this pandemic we really need to concentrate and make sure we’re taking care of families.”

Ruane, a former Sanibel mayor, was elected chairman of the board Tuesday. Sanibel has imposed some of the most strict measures to combat coronavirus in Lee County, including mask mandates and parking fines to keep people away from the beaches.

Ruane said he doesn’t see those kinds of restrictions going into place county-wide. “I don’t know that we need to do much more than that and I’m comfortable. I encourage people to wear masks. What I don’t want to do is give people a false sense that we can actually enforce masks.”

Sandelli agrees, even as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and the positivity rate increases. “You have to live with the success when the numbers are going down and you have to live with it when they’re going up. There’s no question that shutting down the economy caused a lot of pain. So we’re working hard to make sure that we don’t have to go through that again.”

Fort Myers and Cape Coral city councils leave these kinds of restrictions and mandates to the county. Mann said the key is to come together. “We need to coordinate whatever we’re doing with all of them. Because if we plug a hole here and it’s still leaking over here, we’re not getting the job done.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Sandelli to the commission last year to replace Larry Kiker, who passed away. Tuesday marks the beginning of Sandelli’s first full term.