Current Lee County Appraiser Matt Caldwell is a longtime Lee County resident and is currently running for re-election.
Caldwell ran against political newcomer and longtime real estate and property appraiser Stephen Cunningham. Cunningham was a partner and qualifying broker of LandQwest Commercial (now known as LQ Commercial) and a partner in LandQwest Asset Recovery and LandQwest Property Management.
Early results on the Lee election site show incumbent Matt Caldwell ahead of political newcomer Stephen Cunningham by tens of thousands of votes. With the counting and reporting of early and mail-in votes, he has won more than 70% of the vote, although precincts have not yet reported.
The two candidates are both registered Republicans. As such, Caldwell won the seat by winning the Aug. 20 primary. And since both candidates are Republican, the primary for this race was open to voters of all parties, an unusual move in the closed-party state of Florida.
Here’s what you need to know about Caldwell:
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Age: 42
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Party: Republican
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Experience: Caldwell, a self-described 7th generation Floridian, served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018, until he was removed from office. He served on and chaired several committees, including Tax Policy, Redistricting, Insurance and Banking, Transportation and Infrastructure, and more. In 2018, Caldwell ran unsuccessfully for Agriculture Commissioner and returned to doing appraisals and consulting in Lee County. In 2020, Caldwell ran for and won the title of Lee County Appraiser when 40-year incumbent Ken Wilkinson stepped down. Caldwell has more than 20 years of experience in real estate and property appraisal.
What You Need to Know About the Lee County Property Appraiser
In Lee County, the position of assessor pays a base rate of $189,252, according to state population size documents. The position is not subject to term limits.
The county appraiser calculates the value of homes and real estate, conducts surveys, maintains a database that provides information on commercial real estate and residential sales, property taxes and more. The office oversees appraisals of approximately 550,000 units of residential, industrial and commercial real estate in Lee County.
The property appraiser serves all taxing authorities, including the county commission, school board, cities, special districts and multi-county authorities. In fiscal year 2023-24, Caldwell’s office operated on a budget of $11.6 million, up about 4% from the previous year, the county report shows, the smallest budget increase Caldwell has seen in office.
In previous years, the office’s budget had increased by 9% and 10%, respectively. Statewide, property appraiser budgets are filed with the Department of Revenue each October. Caldwell took office in 2020.
Caldwell’s report on the cost increases blames inflation. He goes on to call the Lee County Property Appraiser’s office “consistently one of the least expensive appraisal offices per capita and per parcel of Florida’s 67 counties.”
Caldwell scored big wins for Lee County homeowners
As previously reported, the appraiser’s office has been in the office regularly since Hurricane Ian in 2023 when his office took over the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In February 2023, just months after Hurricane Ian struck southwest Florida, FEMA ruled against the assessed values ​​from Caldwell’s office, saying federal officials believed the values ​​were inflated. The agency threatened to kick the county’s homeowners out of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Caldwell’s office fought back, and after more than a month and several meetings, FEMA admitted that Caldwell’s office had correctly assessed the property values.
Kate Cimini is the Florida Investigative Reporter for the USA TODAY Network Florida, based at The News-Press and The Naples Daily News. Contact her at 239-207-9369 or kcimini@news-press.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Elections 2024: Who Won the Race for Lee County Property Appraiser?
