Dear Editor,
In 2011, when Lee County Commissioners – none of whom has any significant business experience, provided VR Labs with $5 million to open a manufacturing facility in Bonita Springs, I was the only one who spoke out against it., writing on my website that VR Laboratories would fail. :
http://www.sawyer2012.com/1_SOLYNDRA.html. I got a lot of flak from my fellow Republicans – contributing (along with the Paul Ryan scheme) to my decision to run for County Commissioner as an NPA.
Even after the Solyndra collapse, no one cared to hear my opinion, until Saturday’s News-Press Headlines: (http://www.news-press.com/article/20120901/BUSINESS/309010015/-1/todaysnews/As-spat-lingers-VR-Labs-hiring-hold) “AS SPAT LINGERS, HIRING ON HOLD.” And that headline is only the beginning of the story.
Now Lee County voters have yet another boondoggle to go with the $90 million we spent on Jet Blue Stadium. And we have tens of millions more coming up for the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals.
Lee County Government is bloated and inefficient, and being led by Commissioners who simply have no experience in dealing with business matters. While Insurance Agents, Environmentalists, Architects, and former Government Employees (my opponent is a retired police officer with no business experience), certainly have a place in County Government leadership roles, times have changed. No longer a sleepy resort area, Lee County is a Billion dollar business, and should be run like a business. With 40 years of business experience (http://www.sawyer2012.com/ABOUT-JOHN.html ) and the guts to take on all the crooks, I can be a valuable addition to the Lee County Board of Commissioners.
John W. Sawyer III
Candidate for County Commissioner
District 2