I'm running for Collier County Commissioner of District 2 to make a difference in the growth of my community. Being a native of Naples, I felt it was an unfulfilled duty of mine to give back to the place I grew up.
My family has been in Naples since 1952. My grandfather was an Architect and designed
many of the original Naples’ neighborhoods; Naples Manor, The Moorings, and on Marco
Island. He also worked with the Army
Corps of Engineers to design Homestead Air Force Base.
My mom worked at Naples Federal and my dad followed the path
of my grandfather building Naples Park homes in the 80’s. My Grandmother is very active at the Naples
Senior Center. I have links on my website where you can read about her at www.votejasonbrooke.com.
I was born and raised in Naples. I grew up in East Naples
because there wasn’t really a North Naples. I went to St. Ann Catholic School
and graduated from Lely High. I grew up when Naples was mostly wooded and had fruit
stands where Publix now stands. When Sugden Park was McCormick’s Lake and you
went there on Sunday morning to bass fish or sit in an innertube.
I am a US Navy Veteran; serving 7 ½ years. Nearly four years
of that was on the Carl Vinson. The Carl Vinson might sound familiar to you
because it’s the aircraft carrier that committed Osama Bin Ladens’ remains to
the sea. I served during Desert Storm, Operation Desert Strike and Operation
Southern Watch. I can’t exactly say I was a big participant in Desert Storm
because I spent nearly all of that war being yelled at by a Drill Instructor. During
the other two, I was in the Persian Gulf repairing F/A-18 Avionics and Missile
Systems in an engineering lab. I am an engineer by education but have spent
more than half my career in Business Development running small organizations to
very large ones; my largest was the head of North American Sales for
Safran-Zodiac, a $21 Billion dollar company. I now sell missionized aircraft on
behalf of the US Air Force to foreign nations under US military support
contracts.
My service to my country took me to other cities during my career. I spent 20+ years “on the road” living in;
Seattle, San Francisco, Fallon and Memphis (all military stations). I have traveled to more than 35 countries and
49 of these United States. I have seen a
thing or two and have an open mind to the needs of people. I also have a broad
understanding of how people that weren’t born here might expect things. I will make sure every voice is heard.
Where do I stand on local issues:
Naples Growth: Like it or not, Naples is going to grow. We
all love the Naples I grew up in and no matter when you moved here, the thing I
hear is that it is growing so fast. The other side of that is people wanting
more convenience. I think we need a smart plan to plan growth so that it
matches the expansion of the infrastructure needed to support it. Smoothing the
flow of traffic is one of my major concerns.
Another issue is that the people that work in Naples can’t
afford to live here. I want to help the other commissioners find that balance. I
don’t want this to be Miami any more than anyone else does, so I have your back
on that one.
Life will never be what it was for me as a kid nor for you.
It’s going to grow, let’s just do it intelligently.
Taxes: The word everyone hates to hear. I am against
big government or the government taking over things that people don’t need or
can manage on their own. We need to work with the State of Florida and other
local governments to limit Washington’s overreach into our community and desire
to increase the federal tax burden on our citizens.
Governing of Citizens: I am completely against
mandates of any kind that infringe upon the rights of the citizens. You will
never hear a YES out of me for things like that. I am pro-freedom and
pro-constitution.
General Items: As you would likely hear anyone, “I am
for clean water, I want clean air, I hate traffic, It’s too expensive” please show
me the person that doesn’t want a better community. We all want a better life,
we all want to live a worry free lifestyle. The citizens of Naples come first
to me but it will be difficult to be all things to all people so we need to focus
on the things that everyone enjoys here.