Candidate: JAMIE BRUSH

Pine Island has always been my home away from home, perhaps like many of you.  I started out as a part-timer, spending summers at my dad’s house in Bokeelia.  I loved fishing the gorgeous Gulf and camping under the stars at Cayo Costa.  About a year and a half ago, my husband (who is fifth generation Pine Island) and I decided that with two young children, it was important we move back to Pine Island and have our children grow up near their grandparents.  We didn't realize how different Pine Island would look when we returned.

As you well know, Lee County continues to make headlines because Lake Okeechobee has once again dumped its polluted waters into our Gulf of Mexico.  As voters, we have demanded change, but a resolution has yet to be passed in our favor.  I am devastated that my children aren't able to enjoy the ocean waters in our area because of the risk of fatal bacterial infection.  

While studying at Florida Gulf Coast University, I was part of a select group of students nominated by the biology department to attend a six-day coastal canoeing trip through the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades National Park.  We were pushed through extreme conditions while taking in every moment of beauty around us.  That experience transformed me from a nature lover into a nature advocate.  

I went on to pursue a career in marketing, rising to the top communications position at a Central Florida construction business with yearly operating revenues totaling $100 million.  Still, Pine Island and its abundant natural beauty called.

Now that I’m back in Pine Island, I want to do everything I can to ensure it is restored to a pristine state. I am not a career politician, and I’m proud of that fact. I'm a nature advocate, an unapologetic idealist and a concerned mother who wants the best for my beloved town.  If I’m elected, I pledge to make thoughtful decisions of behalf of our community and blow the doors open on backroom deals.