A graduating senior at FGCU recently told me, “I have no future here when I graduate.” A young husband who was recently let go from his financial firm said, “I can’t get a job doing anything other than waiting tables or doing lawns for senior citizens. That doesn’t pay the bills.”  

To feel that way while being surrounded by foreclosed houses, unemployed neighbors and piles of bills because fees for everything are increasing and taxes are too high is unacceptable! It’s not only unacceptable, it’s essential that county leaders focus on those who we need most to fuel our new economic engine. If we want a sustained vibrant community, Lee County leaders must pay more attention to those who can make this happen; our young adult population.

Working harder at politics-as-usual approaches won’t give us the needed battery charge. While the expertise and capital of our many retirees and snow-birds provide Lee County with stability and critical access to outside resources, our young adult population provides the fuel crucial to our future. Lee County’s young adult population is our largest demographic. According to the University of Florida’s June, 2007, census update, 42.3 percent of Lee County residents are between ages 18 and 54. That’s more than the 37.5 percent of persons over 55. It’s more than the 20.2 percent under 18.

Why does government so seldom focus on the needs, interests, and resources of this 18-54 age group? It’s probably because it is so easy to get into the business-as-usual rut of “making the wheels turn” without really focusing on what’s essential to future regional vitality; our people, their energy, their talents and their enthusiasm. We’ve gotten by with this mind-set when it was O.K. to keep the status quo. But, I think we can all agree that the 2008 economy is not something desirable to keep. We must jump-start this economy. To do this will make possible exciting opportunities for our young adults. Creativity and initiative taken by thousands of individuals is needed to be pioneers. This is a job for players, not spectators. Opportunities arise in the process of creating this new tomorrow. The best opportunities are always when you are on the ground floor of starting something new.

Lee County’s tomorrow can be very exciting. We are in the right place at the right time to turn ideas into reality. Once we realize that it’s possible to make more money, save more money, and improve our quality of life by shifting gears a bit, we’ll be on the way. Yesterday’s success is gone; we can’t recreate that 30-year-old paradigm of relying on 1950s platted suburbs. Today, for a better tomorrow, let’s adopt a new smart growth paradigm. Let’s make Lee County a model for 21st century “green industries” and smart growth. Let’s become the west coast gateway to the Everglades. County government controls many ingredients useful to jump-starting this shift. Let’s revitalize our economy, provide an exciting place for young families, and implement less stressful and less expensive lifestyles.

Lee County’s public and private sector leaders can work with our young adult population to do the following: a) offer ideas and models for those wanting to start new ventures, b) provide contacts with potential new employers, c) broker opportunities for new skill development, d) offer case studies of what neighborhoods of people have done to cut their costs by “greening” their lifestyle in other places.

The point is that our future depends on our combined initiatives. Let’s be a county of players, not spectators. The fact is that the timing is opportune to make this paradigm shift. There will be two byproducts of such energized efforts on the part of government, the private sector and our young adult population. First, it will take less time to bring economic opportunity to Lee County. Second, young adults will meet each other, network, work together on innovative ideas, help each other to implement “green projects” successful in other places, and their voices will be heard. We need new leaders to turn new solutions into reality. The status quo has got to go. Lee County is at major cross-roads and we need to turn a corner. Let’s get it done!



— Carla Johnston, former Sanibel mayor and current Sanibel City Council member, is running for the Lee County Board of Commissioners, District 1, with no party affiliation.