?15: 115mg: 0 STER William Richie Mayor Disnkt One Katy Errington ch Mayor District Four Howard Levitan District Two lon Mclain Distn'ct Three James Boesch District F?rve Nick Batos District Six Jim Wilson Steve Sarkozy Village Manager Burt Saunders Village Attorney May 1, 2019 Ronald DeSantis, Governor 400 S. Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399 Dear Governor DeSantis, We are writing you today to endorse our friend and colleague Nicholas ?Nick? Batos for the position of Lee County Commissioner District #3 seat vacated by Commissioner Kiker?s untimely death. Mr. Batos has lived in District #3 at 9165 Hollow Pine Drive, Estero, FL 34135 since 2002. Dating back to 2005, Mr. Batos was well known as a member of the Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL). In 2012 he became chairman and began to hold public meetings to garner support for the incorporation of Estero and getting it on the November 2014 ballot. Several of us attended his public meetings and we were impressed by his professionalism in dealing with the public. He exempli?ed the core competencies needed in dealing with people and demonstrated a strong business acumen. His strategic plan in getting the Village of Estero on the map was passed with an 86% vote of support by our constituents at that November election. On March 17, 2015, we had our ?rst Village of Estero Council meeting and Mr. Batos was appointed as our ?rst Village Mayor unanimously by his fellow council members. Mr. Batos never forgot the importance of being a good Republican and kept up on his membership and the support of the party. He attended and hosted various fund-raising events for Lee County Commissioners John Manning, Larry Kiker, and Cecil Pendergrass. He also supported the event for Francis Rooney, US Congressman ?om Florida District 19. Like most communities in southwest Florida, we are concerned with water issues. Protecting our Density Reduction Groundwater Resource area is a priority for our community. We also look forward to establishing a strategic plan for ?septic to sewer? conversions. These two issues along with limiting mining in our community are areas that Mr. Bates is knowledgeable and will address with public input. Village of Estero 9401 Palms Circle - Estero, Florida 33928 Phone: (239) 221-5035 Fax: (239) 494-5343 We need a commissioner who is a locally resPected leader that is knowledgeable about our issues and can be collaborative with the other county commissioners to resolve our county and regional issues. We hope ?iat you will see ?t to appoint Mr. Batos to the Lee County Commissioner District #3 seat. Best regards, Councilmembers Village of Estero mim_ Mayor Bill Ribble Vice Mayor ty Errin Wcihnember Jon McLain Councilmember ick Batos ?lm cilrneme/rljm Boesch whilmember Jim Wilson Village of Estero 9401 Palms Circle - Estero, Florida 33928 Phone: (239) 221-5035 Fax: (239) 494-5343