McLean enters race for Town Council seat, attorney rules King has conflict
Town of Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency member John McLean has entered the running to fill the seat on the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council that was vacated by the resignation of Councilmember Jim Atterholt Dec.31.
McLean joins Protect FMB leader Tom Brady as the two candidates to have formally filed applications for Atterholt’s seat.
The deadline to file an application with the Town of Fort Myers Beach Clerk’s office is Feb. 2, after which the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council is expected to make an appointment.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Attorney Nancy Stuparich said Fort Myers Beach Councilmember John King will have a conflict of interest if he votes for Brady. Stuparich announced her decision following a question from Mayor Dan Allers about whether King could vote on Brady’s appointment.
Stuparich cited a statement at the last council meeting from former Councilmember Bill Veach that he would drop his appeal of a Lee County Circuit Court judge ruling that invalidated recall petitions for King. King lost a recall vote in November which would have made Brady the new councilmember, though due to the ruling by Judge Kyle Cohen the election results could be thrown out unless an appeal by Veach is successful.
“He (King) would have a voting conflict if he voted in favor because there could be a monetary benefit to him,” Stuparich said. Stuparich said that if Veach wins the appeal, King could have to pay the attorney fees for Veach (though technically the Town of Fort Myers Beach has been reimbursing King for all attorney fees related to the recall).
King said on Tuesday that there would also be another monetary benefit at stake related to his salary as a councilmember, if he were to be able to retain his seat if the appeal is dropped.
“It is my opinion that he does have a voting conflict, if he votes for Mr. Brady,” Stuparich said.
Stuparich said King could also seek out a separate opinion from the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Allers asked if King’s conflict is limited to voting on Brady’s appointment, or if the conflict would apply to other seat. Stuparich said the conflict would only apply to Brady’s appointment, as there is no apparent monetary benefit if he votes on other seats.
Councilmember Rebecca Link, who was the leading vote-getter in the recall vote, questioned whether King could vote for other candidates. Link asked whether his conflict on Brady could, as a result, potentially lead to other candidates earning more votes.
“The law is the law,” Allers said. “It’s a situation that nobody has been through.”
Speaking at the beginning of the meeting, Brady sought to distance himself from the comments of Veach. Veach headed the committee to recall King and Brady said he had no knowledge that Veach was going to make his offer of dropping the appeal of the recall at the last council meeting.
“I had no idea that Mr. Veach was going to say that, that day,” Brady said. “The offer was not mine to make or to rescind.” Brady said he believed Veach made the offer in good faith and is not binding. He said he understood from speaking to Veach after the meeting that Veach was seeking to provide clarity to the town.
“I don’t think that eliminates me from being a candidate for office,” Brady said. Brady has worked in government, and has held jobs as an engineering manager and in corporate information technology. As the head of Protect FMB, he has supported a writ of certiorari that was filed by a group of town residents challenging the Seagate Development Group condo project approved by the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council in 2024.
McLean is a retired senior director with Cloud Solutions.
In his application, McLean described himself as “an advocate for balanced, sustainable growth that protects environmental resources while supporting responsible development.”
McLean said he brings a “resident-focused perspective, free from commercial development interests aside from owning a single vacation rental home.”