Hospitality Industry Council Candidate Deb Jordan Visits Beverage Underground Radio

Deb Jordan visited Beverage Underground Radio on Saturday February 13 in her first interview since announcing her intention to be a Lee County Commisioner. Deb Jordan has dedicated her life to family and community and now she seeks signatures on a petition to represent the entire community from a ‘service’ point of view. The time has come for the Hospitality Industry to be better represented in local government and next year Lee County voters will have the chance to select someone who knows how important our Industry is to the local economy.

Debbie Jordan,who has served as the president of the Lee/Charlotte chapter of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and currently serves on the state board of the FLRA has announced that she’ll force a Democratic primary for Lee County Commission District 2 -the seat now held by Brian Bigelow. She’ll face Cole Peacock as the Democrat’s challenger for the seat that Bigelow current holds. Bigelow will have to win from fellow Republican hopefuls Sonny Haas and Dick Ripp in the Republican primary.

Jordan, 51, who is a currently the managing partner of Hogbody’s in Cape Coral has been in the area for almost as many years as her opponents age. She is a single Mom who has dedicated her life to her family is also the chairperson of, and has been a driving force of the River & Blues Fest which will be celebrating its 17th year while Debbie Jordan campaigns. The completely volunteer driven River & Blues Fest has survived through growth challenges, cancellations and limitations due to weather and other adversities while raising over $155,000 for local scholarships and to feed the hungry.

Jordan will use donations and fund raisers to finance her campaign and will forgo paying the $3000 filing fee for the more economical way of qualifying. She’ll be looking for the 3,000 petition signatures that is required to qualify without the upfront money.

Other hospitality industry professionals urged Debbie to run and know her as a relentless worker, that is dedicated to her vocation and every cause that she can lend hand to. “I want this county to be the best it can be, and I know I have a lot to offer,” Jordan said. Although she’s been very active in charitable and professional hospitality organizations, she said, her name may be less-known to voters “because I’m in the background. I’m the volunteer for everything.”

The Beverage Underground will be following Debbie Jordan’s campaign and will be on-hand to help her get signatures in the coming weeks and months. “People don’t realize that it’s Food & Beverage that will always propel commerce in this area”, said Larry Genta who is the publisher of BeverageUnderground.com, a print and online information source for the industry. ” Hospitality employees are second only to health care professionals in Florida. Hospitality plants the seeds of growth, and welcomes visitors that will eventually move back to SW Florida”, added Genta.

The consensus is that it’s about time, and that it will be beneficial for our industry, and our community to have someone like Debbie Jordan to be a voice of the working people on the Lee County Commission.