The Naples Daily News has sent questions to the eight candidates running for the Naples City Council in the Feb. 3 elections. The questions and answers will run individually for each of the candidates in the coming days. Check back to naplesnews.com for more.
Here are John Langley’s responses:
Candidate biography
I’ve lived in Naples since 2002 and am running for City Council. With a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Florida and as a certified CPA, I’ve founded several successful companies and was Collier County’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2011. I’m active in civic groups and prioritize stormwater management, traffic reduction, and a “City Concierge Service.” My goal is to preserve Naples’ charm, support economic growth, and enhance residents’ quality of life. I am 66.
Why are you running?
Having been a resident for the past 24 years I have seen our town change from a quaint and charming town into an overdeveloped, very expensive town with big town problems. I want to get our town back by changing the culture of the city government into a government that is all about its residents. I have the time and the experience to make a difference and to make this happen
What are the top three issues facing the city?
Ineffective government, hurricane resiliency, and upgrades to the stormwater system
How do you propose to address each of your top issues?
Changing the city government by turning the government into a resident centric government will go a long way toward addressing the issues because then things can get done. Our city council currently thrives on creating problems where there are none in order to deflect their incompetency. I would find a way to pay for the improvements sooner rather than waiting for over 20 years.
Does the council need to change its regulatory process for how it operates?
Absolutely!
What is your position about a proposal to change how the Naples Airport Authority board members are selected?
I think city councils’ overreach into the operations of the airport caused this problem, but I think not all is lost. They need to back off their consistent harping on noise from the airplanes, growth of the airport and moving the airport. The FAA determines the rules about running the airport. If the city would publicly back down on their stance with the airport, I think the state Legislature would back off from changing the way NAA members are selected. Maybe the city needs to hold its own election to choose the members of the NAA instead of appointing NAA’s members?
Anything else you would like to add?
The city of Naples is small enough to have its own identity and back off from parsing the city into distinct neighborhoods. This is very divisive because city council favors some neighborhoods over the others. I would like to see the city rebrand itself to include all of Naples, like going back to “Naples on the Gulf” so that we have our own identity than the rest of the county…