Fort Myers Beach Councilman Jim Atterholt to resign his seat at end of the year

Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilman Jim Atterholt, who was one year into his four-year term in office, will resign his seat at the end of the year.

Atterholt was first elected to a four-year term in 2020 and was named Vice Mayor in 2022 by his fellow councilmembers. Earlier this year, Atterholt said he would not seek to keep his status as Vice Mayor.

Atterholt was formerly Chief of Staff to Indiana Governor Mike Pence and was the former State of Indiana Insurance Commissioner. He had also worked as a legislative aide in the U.S. Congress.

Fort Myers Beach Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart said the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council would appoint a successor to fill the remainder of Atterholt’s term in office. Atterholt was first elected to office in 2020 and then re-elected in 2024 to a four-year term that runs through 2028.

According to the Town of Fort Myers Beach charter, if a vacancy occurs on the council, except for the position of mayor, that position “shall be filled by appointment by majority vote of the council members remaining, and said appointment shall be effective until a successor is chosen at the next regular election.”

The town’s next regular election will be in November of 2026 for the seats of Councilmember John King and Councilmember Rebecca Link, though Atterholt’s seat would not have been up until 2028.

Eberhart said there would be more clarity about the process announced on Monday.

Questions have already been raised by many political observers in town about whether the town charter’s language indicates that the appointed seat should be filled until the next election in November or if the appointed councilmember should get to fill out Atterholt’s term. Atterholt said himself on Sunday that it was not clear to him, and he would be awaiting an opinion from the town’s legal counsel.

Atterholt cited the birth of his grandchild and a recent move from one of his sons to Tampa. “We hope to spend more time with him,” Atterholt said. “We will always be looking for ways to serve our community but hopefully now with a schedule that will allow us more time for travel,” he said.

Atterholt said he was looking to wind down his “formal government service” though he said he would still be looking for ways to serve the community.

Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency Chair Anita Cereceda said Atterholt had an enormous impact on the town’s recovery through his efforts in getting the U.S. Post Office open, working with Florida Power and Light, working to help businesses reopen such as CVS, Publix and Santini Marina Plaza.

“I’m sorry for the town because it’s a huge loss for him to step off the council,” Cereceda said. Cereceda that while she didn’t agree with Atterholt on every vote including his vote to support the Seagate condo building project, she said “he is really one of the finest people I have ever known. He is just a good human being. I am hoping that his retirement brings him some peace of mind and some time to enjoy his life and his grandchild,” she said.

“Jim was probably the most diplomatic person I have ever met,” Cereceda said. “Because of that he has an extraordinary way with people and getting things done. He worked a lot of magic with FPL (Florida Power and Light). We never would have got up and running as quickly as we did without Jim,” she said.

“Brenda (Atterholt’s wife) and I were on the island for Hurricane Ian,” Atterholt said. “The way that experience impacted us is I developed a sense of urgency in getting this island back open again. I tried to focus on some of the fundamental basics of life. Obviously the Post Office, and having a pharmacy and a gas station, and of course Santini Plaza was critical because it serves so many needs on the south end,” Atterholt said.

Atterholt became involved in the ad-hoc committee of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School parents and community members who advocated to reopen the elementary school after Hurricane Ian when it seemed tenuous. “It was an honor working with those parents to get the school back open again and then tragically we had a few more hurricanes,” he said. Atterholt has continued to be passionate about reopening the school and has been critical of the school district’s leadership in not reopening the school since Hurricane Milton last year. He said it was “sad to see what has happened since then.”

One of his first successes was to get the U.S. Post Office back open on Carolina Avenue. At first, residents were being directed to the post office location off North Airport Road in Fort Myers, about 15 miles away.

“That was an odd thing to the people of Fort Myers Beach when every single vehicle on the island was destroyed,” Atterholt said.

Atterholt reached out to the office of U.S. Senator Rick Scott.

“I spoke with him directly and he on three different occasions reached called the Postmaster General to urge him to put some temporary facilities on the island so people could get their mail on Fort Myers Beach,” Atterholt said.

Temporary post office trailers were then installed.

“You would literally drive to the post office on Fort Myers Beach to the temporary trailers and write your name on a piece of paper and put a rock on top of it and then a staff person would come out with a piece of mail and call out your name like a military roll call,” Atterholt said.

“I said our first phase on Fort Myers Beach should be a functional paradise where people would have the basics just to survive,” he said.

His experience as the state insurance commissioner of Indiana drove him to push the state to act more forcefully toward insurance companies who were holding up payments or not fully paying out to those whose homes and buildings had been damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

Atterholt said there are still people waiting on insurance payouts and who are tied up in legal disputes with insurance companies.

“The number one obstacle to our recovery was the disappointing response by the insurance industry,” Atterholt said. “I had never seen anything like it in Indiana. And the amount of abuse and denial of rights, basic legal rights in these insurance contracts, was shocking. I tried to convey that to the governor, to the state insurance commissioner, and to the CFO (chief financial officer) who all have some impact on the insurance industry in Florida. At the same time I tried to advise people how best to convey their personal and private situation to the state authorities, the insurance companies and work with the legal communities and the private adjusters to get some redress for their grievances.”

Atterholt said he personally had his own issues working with his own insurance company, being forced to hire legal counsel.

He is worried a repeat of the insurance problems could happen again after a future storm without state action.

“Until we make sure that insurance companies fulfill their legal contract to pay in a time of disaster, the whole exercise is an exercise in futility. We have got to get these insurance companies to pay legitimate claims,” Atterholt said. Atterholt said some residents have lost faith in insurance companies and are going without insurance.

Atterholt said the state has to put pressure on insurance companies to pay legitimate claims.

“We still have people that haven’t been paid at all,” he said. “It’s been tragic.”

Atterholt said the state has the tools to conduct a market exam and investigate insurance companies. Atterholt said the state had issued fines in some cases against insurance companies but didn’t get the companies to pay out on claims. “That doesn’t help anybody on Fort Myers Beach,” he said.

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers, who was elected with Atterholt in 2020 during the covid pandemic, cited Atterholt’s “leadership, integrity, and unwavering commitment to putting residents first” in a prepared statement issued by the town. “His service to this community has been exceptional, and while he will be deeply missed on the Town Council, I am grateful to call him both a colleague and a friend. On behalf of the Town of Fort Myers Beach, I thank Jim for his dedicated service and wish him and his family continued success in the next chapter,” Allers said.

Cereceda said “it will be interesting to see how this plays out” in terms of who his successor is. Cereceda said her interpretation of the charter was that Atterholt’s successor should serve until the next regular election in November.

“I don’t think it makes any sense to think it means (through) that person’s term. I think it means to the next election. That’s what it says. If it meant to say until that person’s term it would say that. It’s a completely different thought. I believe it means until November,” Cereceda said.