KELLY FARRELL / Staff

U.S. Congressman Connie Mack (R-Ft. Myers) visits with his constituents at Captain Brien's Seafood and Raw Bar Tuesday evening. Mack, Marco Island City Councilor Rob Popoff, Marco Island Taxpayers Association President Fay Biles and Jean Merritt of Collier County's Executive Committee for the Republican Party share their political views in a meet and greet scheduled in light of Mack's campaign for re-election this November.

KELLY FARRELL / Staff

Erica Lolli of Naples and Congressman Connie Mack (R-Ft. Myers) discuss their views on health insurance coverage. Mack held a meet and greet at Captain Brien's Sea Food and Raw Bar on Marco Island Tuesday evening as the congressman campaigns for his third term.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

RELATED STORIES

• Congressman Connie Mack absent from Cape Coral debate

More Local News

• 30 years: Ago in the Eagle...
• History in Motion - Oct. 14, 2008
• Women, Wisdom & Wealth: Past, present and future

Share and Enjoy [?]

U.S. Congressman Connie Mack IV (R-Ft. Myers) was surrounded by friends and supporters at Capt. Brien’s Seafood and Raw Bar at a meet and greet Tuesday evening.

While Mack said he was surrounded by political allies, that didn’t keep the topics of conversation away from top issues like healthcare, the economy, education and energy.

Mack is running for his third term in the United States Congress to represent Florida’s 14th Congressional District, including Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties.

Marco Island, with its high proportion of republicans, could contribute the votes necessary to keep him congress. Marco Island has 12,811 registered voters this year.

“Where I’m from, Pittsburgh, we’re outnumbered two to one, democrats to republicans. It’s nice to come down here to lots of friends,” said Greg Spain, a Marco Island resident who moved down from Pennsylvania six weeks ago.

Visitors to the meet and greet also included the island’s long-timers and the politically active from Naples as well as Marco.

Islander Rachael Klein said she came out to support Mack because the two “share a similar vision.”

Klein and Mack both have personal reasons to spearhead projects for early childhood eye exams.

While Klein has been working on the local level pushing to provide free eye exams for Marco Island children for many years through the Rachael Klein Strabismus-Orthoptic Endowment Fund, Mack is working on the national level to require eye exams before children begin school.

“This is a personal issue for me. When I was in school they thought I had a learning disability,” Mack said.

He added that not until third grade, when he happened to go to the eye doctor during an appointment made for his sister, did he and his family learn the problem was with his inability to read up-close.

“I want to try it,” Mack recalled saying to the doctor about the vision equipment.

Mack’s mislabeled learning disability was corrected after the chance exam resulted in a poor vision diagnosis, but he says children miss out on the fundamentals when vision problems aren’t diagnosed and corrected early. It’s a challenge he wants other children to be able to avoid.

While Mack said early vision tests are important to him, he said his burning issue is energy.

“Right now what I’m hearing (from constituents) is energy, energy, energy. There is a level of frustration on the issue because for so long nothing has been done and now we’re in a crisis ... People want action,” Mack said.

Mack also heard about Marco residents’ concern about the devaluation of the dollar.

Two ways he hopes to combat the U.S. dollar’s loss in value: Pass meaningful social security legislation and cut the national deficit, he said.

Mack wasn’t the only politician in the room Tuesday. Tom Grady, a republican running unopposed for State Representative District 76, former Rep. Garrett Richter’s seat, also came from Naples to attend the meet and greet.

Several City of Marco Island officials attended as well, including councilors Rob Popoff and Jerry Gibson, two longtime Mack supporters.

Mack is running for Congress against State Sen. Burt Saunders, a Naples Republican running as an independent, two Democratic challengers, accountant Robert Neeld of Cape Coral and write-in candidate Larry Byrnes, a Florida Gulf Coast University professor. Another Cape Coral resident, independent Jeff George, is also vying for Mack’s seat.

Mack was born and raised in Southwest Florida and is a graduate of the University of Florida. He is the son of former United States Senator Connie Mack and cancer prevention advocate Priscilla Mack.

Mack is married to U.S. Rep. Mary Bono Mack. Resident Vince Magee said he supported Mack before, but meeting the congressman in-person for the first time, left him convinced about Mack’s strengths.

“I talked to him about schools. (Mack) wants to change the name of school vouchers to freedom passes. That I loved,” Magee said.

He added: “I’ll put a Mack sign up in my yard now.”