Last week, it became known that FL State Rep. Vanessa Oliver had filed a bill to transfer the utilities from Punta Gorda to Charlotte County, a bill that has been met with strong opposition labeling it as a hostile take-over and questioning what exactly is Rep. Oliver’s motivation behind it. Who is she really serving?
Rep. Oliver blind-sided everyone, as she failed to communicate and collaborate with the City of Punta Gorda in advance. Is her lack of experience in the political arena the cause for her failure to be transparent – as she had campaigned on in 2024 when she was elected, or as some believe was selected in the questionable 2024 Election – and communicate her intentions? The critique of the 2024 Election is still alive.
At the Charlotte County Special Meeting on December 16, 2025, many spoke in opposition to the bill that Rep. Vanessa Oliver has presented. The full video of the meeting is, as of yet, not published on the County’s website, but it is available on the County’s Facebook page. We the People Club strongly encourage everyone in Charlotte County to watch it. It’s your money that is being toyed with.
The opposition and criticism of this stunt is nothing but huge and cannot be overlooked nor downplayed. Some are already calling for State Rep. Vanessa Oliver to be recalled.
Alternatively, and perhaps an even better solution may be for Rep. Oliver to resign immediately after her catastrophic move.
The meeting started, as customary, with the Pledge of Allegiance. One may ask the question if Rep. Oliver fully understands the significance of the Pledge of Allegiance?
Charlotte County Commissioner Joe Tiseo opened the meeting stating the agenda and rules of the meeting. The Special Meeting was for “Agenda Items only.” No discussion was allowed. It’s known in the 2024 Election, that Commissioner Tiseo was instrumental securing from the Republican Executive Committee $6,000 for then Candidate for State Representatives Vanessa Oliver and Danny Nix, which should not have happened. No money has ever been repaid to the REC.
Interestingly, Commissioner Tiseo stated yesterday at the Special Meeting that, “comments are about the policy or the issue and not the person,” warning of protection of Rep. Oliver.
The preemptive protection of Rep. Oliver should raise questions about the position of some of the commissioners of the state representative(s). All politicians talk about being transparent, open communication, listening to constituents, and their ability to handle criticism constructively. If that’s so, why the need to refuse discussion with Rep. Oliver directly as if she is not a factor in the bill proposal that she sponsored?
Tom Spencer, Utility Director of Punta Gorda, provided a historical insight into the City of Punta Gorda’s ability to handle utilities for its residents.
Steve Leonard, Regulatory Compliance Manager for the City of Punta Gorda, spoke as a resident of Punta Gorda criticizing the Bill as “this doesn’t make any sense. All you’re going to do is increase both your customers, me for one, and the City of Punta Gorda customers the rates.”
Reflection: In a time when citizens are already experiencing unacceptable inflation and unsustainable increases in utility bills, who does this benefit, and was this issue considered by the people behind the Bill, or was it ignored as these increases will not impact the elected officials, considering their average income is higher than that of the low to middle income wage earners who also reside in Punta Gorda, and for that matter in Charlotte County?
Mr. Leonard called on the commissioners to consider if the bill makes any sense? “Where does this bill come from?” and “Why is a state regulator trying to remove assets from the city?”
Tim Richie, a regular resident speaking at Commissioner Meetings, criticized the Bill as a “hostile take-over of our assets.” Richie warned Rep. Oliver that she will never be reelected after this and warned Rep. Danny Nix to take a “hard look at this today” – essentially at who he supports.
Richie called Rep. Oliver’s Bill “abuse”. Richie reminded all politicians that the people pay their salaries and that “this is a real insult to us” and that the hostile-take-over-Bill could result in a lawsuit, and rightfully so.
Mayor of Punta Gorda Dr. Debbie Lux expressed deep concern about the process of this Bill and noted that the only commissioner who has publicly said he was contacted before the bill was filed by Rep. Oliver was Commissioner Deutsch, while the rest of the commissioners have not stated so. Mayor Dr. Lux stated to the public that the rest of the commissioners of Charlotte County “claim” to have no prior knowledge of the bill before it was filed.
Referencing We the People’s previous blog recalling the reaction of Commissioner Tiseo at the most recent REC meeting last Thursday, while Comm. Tiseo verbally stated at that meeting that he had no prior knowledge of the bill and therefore would not speak about it, his body language spoke differently.
“More troubling than that lack of contact is the lack of response,” Debbie Lux continued, “Despite the seriousness of this legislation, only Commissioner Deutsch has publicly opposed it. The rest of you have remained silent. Silence matters. It signals acceptance, indifference, or something else. And the public deserves to know which.”
We the People of Charlotte County applauds Dr. Lux’s criticism of Charlotte County commissioners, except Comm. Deutsch, for their silence and raising the question of Who Benefits from the Bill?
It is known that several commissioners and their relatives and friends own individually and/or their family members or through layers of corporations, LLCs, and other entities property in the said area, which begs the question how they may benefit from the hostile take-over? Who would benefit financially from Charlotte County taking over Punta Gorda’s water supply? It begs the question of the need for a thorough financial audit and investigation in the layers of government, the vested interests of some government officials in the area and the corruption that so many residents believe is taking place in Charlotte County, as some believe it is run like a mafia.
City of Punta Gorda Council Member Janice Denton criticized the County for already being inefficient in management of the county water and utility, stating essentially that the county does not have their act together in this respect and so now “you want to use our water.” She called the Bill “inappropriate.”
A member of the Republican Executive Committee and resident of Charlotte County Michael Muscari recalled the total opposition and dismay of the members expressed at the most recent REC meeting about the Bill. Mr. Muscari called on the Commission to reject the Bill and for the citizens to recall “this particular legislator” a.k.a. State Rep. Vanessa Oliver “for having mislead all of the citizens about the origin of this legislation.”
We the People Club reminds you that State Rep. Vanessa Oliver, while a member of the REC, conveniently was NOT present at the REC meeting on Thursday, December 11, 2025 – perhaps for good reasons that she wanted to avoid the storm.
Commissioner Joe Tiseo, clearly dismayed by the “nefarious” criticism of the Charlotte County Board, informed that he was at the REC meeting, which Commissioner Deutsch also attended, and stated that he made it a point to leave the room. However, let it be known that Commissioner Tiseo stayed long enough to listen to criticism from the members and stated that he had no comments on the Bill, which some people interpreted as potentially mean his support for Rep. Oliver’s bill. Remember that Tiseo supported both Vanessa Oliver and Danny Nix when they ran for state representatives last year, as mentioned earlier.
City of Punta Gorda Council Member Jeanine Polk and Vice Mayor criticized the Board for “insinuating” earlier in the year “that the City of Punta Gorda no longer has the ability to supplying water to the properties.” Watch the video on the County’s Facebook page in which she says that the Board is contradicting themselves on several matters. “There is $197 million reason why the Act is not in the best interest of our citizens.”
City of Punta Gorda Council Member Greg Julian spoke about how the Bill will cause the City of Punta Gorda to face financial difficulties meeting its obligations after having invested billions of dollars in the expansion the city has made. Again, the question is why on earth would the Board put the City of Punta Gorda in such position? And who, underneath the surface, would financially benefit from it? Greg Julian called on their right to home rule, which would be violated by State Rep. Vanessa Oliver’s legislation.
Interim City Attorney for Punta Gorda Steven Leskovich, who has previously called the legislation “a crap” bill, reminded the Board that filing documents at the 11th hour without proper communication, as is his experience as a lawyer with 26 years of experience, could cause the judge to throw out the documents and dismiss the action. Leskovich brough this to the Board’s attention because it is essentially the same thing that has happened here, which means that the “crap” legislation that Oliver has filed should rightfully be toss out the window and dismissed.
Leskovich said that Rep. Oliver “blind-sided” everyone with this legislation. Leskovich, having researched the matter in the last eight days, since it became public, said it is “astounding” where the money is floating to, should this pass.
Reflection: Should Charlotte County be DOGE’d?
Without the space to address all the comments that were made at the meeting, it goes without saying that Rep. Oliver should resign. It’s in her best interest to resign out of her own volition after this catastrophic act and disinterest in what is best for the City of Punta Gorda. That is not what we elect officials to do. This is what Elitists do when power gets into the wrong hands.
We the People Club, while not a news outlet, invite your comments. We want transparency and honesty from our legislators, and we want you to ask the hard questions of the people elected.
Elected officials, as Tim Richie stated, are paid by us – the taxpayers. They are not kings. They are representatives of the people. They work for us. We do not work for them. If they don’t know their place, they need to go. They need to resign.
Email them to us and let’s get more transparency and information out on this matter. Do you support State Rep. Vanessa Oliver’s sponsorship of the Bill to transfer the responsibility of the utilities from the City of Punta Gorda to Charlotte County? What are your concerns?
Thank you to for everyone who spoke at the Special Meeting on December 16, 2025, including those We the People Club have not had space here to mention in this Club’s Blog today.
We the People Club meets again on Monday, January 5, 2026 at 6 PM at Mission BBQ in Port Charlotte where Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch will speak.