Big changes are coming to Venice government

The city council is going through major turnover these elections.

By Ramon Lopez

Host: The City of Venice Council is going through major turnover these elections. Ramon Lopez tells us how.

Ramon Lopez: Venice voters on November 3 will cast ballots in only two Venice City Council races even though five seats were up for election.

Chris Derbak, Jenny Heussner and Sue Perry all qualified for Seat 2, which is being vacated by Council Member Ron Smith. He elected not to run for a second term. Meanwhile, David Gress will challenge incumbent Rick Howard for Seat 5.

Vice Mayor Jim Boldt is unopposed and will move to Seat 7, which is the mayor’s position. This, because Nick Pachota is leaving the Venice City Council. He’s pursuing a State House seat against a weak opponent.

Boldt will remain on the council, switching from Seat 4. Council members Seat 6 holder Rachel Frank and Seat 1 occupant Lloyd Weed also ended up without opposition. The three of them are deemed elected and will be sworn in along with the Seat 2 and Seat 5 contest winners on November 17. All city voters will be able to vote in the two races on the ballot.

Boldt’s Seat 4 will be vacant as of the election. It will be filled afterward via appointment by the council. Seat 3 Council Member Kevin Engelke still has two years left on his first term and stays put.

This is the first city election since 2024, when Venice voters approved a charter amendment expanding council terms from three years to four. This move eliminated odd-year elections. Now city elections coincide with county, state and federal ones.

At Tuesday’s Venice City Council meeting, Ron Smith and Nick Pachota were recognized for their contributions.

Smith came in with Joan Farrell promising to control development. But Farrell suddenly resigned her position in April 2025 after the council’s decision against a citizen appeal to reject the site plan for a shopping center on Laurel Road. This left Smith to fight overgrowth alone.

Ron Smith | Photo courtesy City of Venice

Ron Smith: Now that we’ve approved a two-story hospital there, a Home Depot, a Walmart, four hotels, all the construction of new homes out there, it’s going to overload that, so I’m disappointed with that. I was frustrated early on. I think I’ve changed my mindset. I can’t make things happen, as one council member. I need to work with the others, make what concessions I can get and be happy with that. I think we did do some of that.

RL: Smith said serving on the Council was certainly one of the highest honors of his life. He favors Florida’s Amendment 3 property tax referendum on the ballot in November despite widespread fear that it will lead to service cuts.

RS: If it passes, I can only hope that the council will view the increase in homestead exemptions as a budget challenge and not a budget crisis.

RL: Venice residents, including Smith, are concerned about increased airport noise.

RS: We have to manage the growth of the airport in a way that respects its neighbors. The environmental studies that we’ve commissioned must guide us going forward, and noise abatement must be a priority instead of an afterthought.

RL: Smith spoke to WSLR News during a short break in the meeting. He said it was time for a change, and he elaborated on Amendment 3.

RS: The governor said this week in a speech that he’s really upset that people have been screaming, “The sky is falling” and that “We won’t have police; we won’t have fire.” Of course we will. And we may have to do without some of the little extras that the city enjoys, but the city will be fine, even if we give a slightly bigger homestead exemption.

RL: Pachota is a retired first responder and family man. His comments were not without emotion.

Nick Pachota (left) and Ron Smith (right) | Photo courtesy City of Venice

Nick Pachota: Strong family values are very important. My lovely wife—who’s now going to cry because I’m crying, so at least we’re doing it together—Kate is the backbone of my immediate family. The girls and our dog-children, our grandkids, Kate—every hour of every day is occupied doing something for someone else, whether it’s pulling shifts in the ER so that we have food on the table or driving up to take care of the kids, she’s an inspiration to all of us. My first responder family in the back of the room, it was so incredibly difficult to leave public safety full time, and you guys have done nothing but make me feel like part of the family the whole time I’ve been here. I’m incredibly grateful for that.

RL: With the speeches out of the way, the city council took care of some business. Homeowners near the airport expressed concern about noise. And the sitting council members finalized an 18-month moratorium on data centers to allow for study of their impacts on communities.

This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.

WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm.