Wilson to seek Bonita mayoral post

When he was a boy, the main thoroughfare, Bonita Beach Road, was covered with shells to keep vehicles from slipping off. The beach was condo-free. Neighbors were like family.

Not all the changes he has witnessed over the past three and a half decades have been for the better, Wilson said. So he has decided to become a candidate for the city's mayoral slot.

Paul Pass, the city's first mayor, has announced he will be stepping down next April when his four-year term expires.

"I'm interested in helping out the community," said Wilson, a 36-year-old father of three boys. "I was thinking if they ever had an office to run for, I'd like to try it. I know I could because I have a lot of friends."

Wilson lives in the Leitner Creek Manor neighborhood, where life has changed as often as the weather in recent years. Crime has festered in the low-income community, he said. A few years ago, he removed 13 bullet slugs from his roof.

"I just don't think people that are here don't want to leave their doors unlocked anymore," Wilson said, adding that the city's plan to route the Three Oaks Parkway extension within feet of his house confounded him. He said he is looking to move soon.

Bonita's rural areas are disappearing at an alarming rate, and none are being saved to offset the mounting development, Wilson said.

He remembers east Bonita, where a Publix and a handful of gated communities have sprouted, as his fishing and four-wheeling grounds.

Two other hopefuls are in the mayoral race: Councilman Jay Arend and political newcomer Alberto Bailleres. Wilson said that if he wins the March 9 nonpartisan election for a four-year term, it wouldn't be the first miracle he's experienced.

At 19, Wilson was riding in the passenger seat of his 1984 Nissan pickup while his friend drove them home from a party in Golden Gate. On Old 41 Road, near the Imperial River, the truck slammed headlong into a light pole and Wilson was ejected.

Three days later at Lee Memorial, doctors pronounced Wilson dead when his brain waves ceased and heart stopped. It wasn't until a few moments later when his right leg reflexively kicked into the air that the doctors realized their error.

Wilson hasn't been able to work much since the accident. He splits time between pool cleaning and being a stay-at-home-dad for his three boys, who range in age from 10 to 12.

Wilson wants the city to be as fiscally sound as possible. He supports the initiative being headed by the Bonita-based Taypayer Action Group that would limit city spending and put tax increases up to a citywide vote.

"The way I would rather see it done is that they have a set budget and if they want to go above and beyond that budget, they will have to take a vote of the people of the city. A lot of people would not want to be taxed heavier," he said.