"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion."
-Thomas Jefferson
Keep Collier's Character
Collier County is growing, but growth should not mean abandoning the locally rooted, quiet way of life that longtime residents built, and that new families moved here to enjoy. Today, oversized, developer-driven projects are overwhelming our roads, straining our environment, and pricing out small businesses and working families.
County government should stand with residents, not special interests. Growth must be guided by clear principles: neighborhood character, environmental stewardship, infrastructure capacity, and genuine affordability, not by whichever well-connected developer shows up with a proposal.
Development should be a partnership with the community, not an extraction from it. Developers should succeed when Collier succeeds, not at its expense.
As Commissioner, I will champion bottom-up, incremental, community-shaped growth that strengthens Collierâs identity rather than erasing it.
Restore Conservation Collier
In 2023, the Board of County Commissioners, Mr. Hall of District 2 among them, voted to divert $53 million from Conservation Collier, a program repeatedly affirmed by voters through supermajority referenda to protect Collier County's natural lands. Nearly $30 million was used to plug a general budget shortfall caused by an unsustainable "tax cut" that Mr. Hall championed. Even after public pushback, when Commissioners considered restitution, Mr. Hall stated:
âWe did not talk about borrowing the funds last year. We never said the word âborrow.â We said we're gonna take those funds and balance the deficit in our budget.â
This decision violated the clearly expressed will of the people and undermined public trust. These funds were intended, by both the original program design and repeated voter referenda, to be dedicated to conservation, not budget balancing. Voters did not approve Conservation Collier to serve as a rainy-day fund.
As Commissioner, I will fight to reallocate and restore the funds to their proper place. Conservation Collier should be protected from political gamesmanship. In a self-governing republic, the people's will, expressed repeatedly and plainly through direct vote, should be sacred. A Commissioner should be a steward of both the land and the public trust, not an irresponsible accountant shuffling funds to cover poor planning.
Source for quote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT5PoLmC05M (Min. 51)
Fairness in Land-Use Decisions
Collier Countyâs land-use process has become a system of inconsistent rules and special treatment, and residents are being left behind.
Recently, the Commission approved a major density increase for a project on Vanderbilt Beach Road because the developer committed to providing substantial affordable housing. But only months later, a large project on Immokalee Road was allowed to cut its affordable-housing obligation by more than half at Commissioner Hall's suggestion ("I would be ok with doing 129 units at only 30% affordability"), while also dropping a planned daycare, without any meaningful accountability.
These contradictory decisions send a clear message:
- Big, well-connected developers get flexibility,
- Ordinary homeowners and small businesses get rigidity,
- And public commitments can be renegotiated based on convenience
If affordability is used to justify more density, it must actually be delivered. And if ordinary residents are
expected to follow the rules, those with deep pockets shouldnât be allowed to rewrite them for themselves.
As Commissioner, I will fight to:
- Hold developers accountable to the commitments that justify their approvals
- Ensure consistent land-use decisions, not favoritism
- Promote bottom-up, incremental development that aligns with neighborhood character
- Protect neighborhoods from chaotic and unsustainable overdevelopment
Zoning should serve all of Collier County, not just the few who have the resources and know-how to work the system.
Source for quote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yhK50ZCUrc (Min. 59)
Cody Davis
Jeffersonian For Collier County Commissioner District 2
Get in touch
Committee To Elect Cody Davis
Paid by Committee to Elect Cody Davis, Jeffersonian for Collier County Commissioner, District 2