November 08, 2017 9:55 AM
The Key West mayoral race is getting a little more crowded in advance of the Nov. 6, 2018, election that will feature no incumbent for the first time in many years.
Two new candidates have emerged while one, Wayne Coulter, who runs a mattress store in Key West, has dropped out of the race.
Newly filed are David Bethune and Rick Brown, while early bird candidates Bill Foley and Mitchell Jones remain in the race to succeed term-limited Mayor Craig Cates, who was first elected in 2009 by toppling the incumbent Morgan McPherson.
Bethune, a 15-year resident who works at a real estate company, says tourism, housing and public spending are his top three issues.
“It’s not about my agenda, it’s about finding out what people want,” Bethune said. “That’s something I’m pretty good at. I’m a good investigator and educator. A lot of these things are complicated. I want to bring some clarity to that.”
Brown, who has lived in Key West a little over a year, is the administrator of Key West Health and Rehabilitation. He said he wants to be mayor because after Hurricane Irma, “I saw a community pull itself together and I want to be a part of it.”
Brown says the Keys senior population needs more services and he would like to see Key West “rebrand” itself as more of a family vacation destination than a boozy party town.
Affordable workforce housing will likely dominate the race.
Foley says housing and traffic issues are connected because the cost of rentals for Key West’s workforce have grown so high it has forced many to move up the Keys and commute to the island.
Jones moonlights as a comedian but turns completely serious when it comes to the dearth of affordable housing for working people in Key West. The island must consider rent control, he says.
So far only one city commissioner has competition in next fall’s election. Mary Lou Hoover has signed up to run for the District 5 seat held by Margaret Romero.
Gwen Filosa: @KeyWestGwen
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