Oct. 16, 2026, 10:00 a.m. ET
DeMaria “Princess” Artis is running as a No Party Affiliation candidate for Lee County commissioner in District 4.Artis is challenging incumbent Republican Commissioner Brian Hamman, who has held the seat since 2013.Her campaign platform focuses on responsible growth, infrastructure, clean water, and government transparency.Artis is being significantly outspent in the race, with most of her campaign funds coming from her own pocket.
DeMaria “Princess” Artis wants to be your new Lee County commissioner for District 4.
Artis, 31, is running as a No Party Affiliation candidate. No NPA candidate has ever won a Lee commission seat.
“I do know that,” she says. “It doesn’t discourage or intimidate me.”
Lee Commissioners all GOP since 1988
In fact, it has been 38 years since Lee County voters elected a non-Republican to the county commission.
District 4 includes the heart of downtown Fort Myers as well as much of northern Cape Coral. It has a population of 152,123 with 74,744 dwelling units.
Artis says her nickname – which will appear on the ballot – stems from her Jamaican roots.
“In the parish we were from one of my great-grandmothers was a queen,” she said.
That doesn’t mean royalty. A parish queen is a representative of one of 14 Jamaican parishes. The title traces back to “Queen Nanny” who lead the Maroons, formerly enslaved west Africans who at the beginning of the 18th century fought a successful guerrilla war against the British.
Modern ‘queens’ since the early 1960s are selected from each precinct based on beauty and cultural awareness.
“The short answer is that a lot of people can’t pronounce my name,” she jokes.
Artis had originally been a candidate for Supervisor of Elections. She switched races during qualifying week in June to challenge incumbent Commissioner Brian Hamman.
Hamman has been a commissioner since 2013 when he was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott to replace Tammy Hall, who resigned facing charges of using campaign funds for personal reasons.
Artis says she is running to make sure growth is responsible, infrastructure keeps pace, clean water is protected, and residents can see exactly how county decisions are made.
“He’s never really been challenged before,” Artis said of opponent incumbent Commissioner Brian Hamman.
Hamman kept his seat in 2022 with only a write-in opponent. Write-in candidates’ names do not appear on the ballot.
In 2018 Hamman drew no opposition at all, earning an automatic victory. The 2014 field was a crowded one, with Hamman winning a 3-way Republican primary and then winning election in the general election.
That was the only competitive campaign Hamman has ever had.
Artis says that she is a health care professional working toward becoming a nurse practitioner. She said her husband and mother-in-law also work in natural medicine.
Artis said she and her husband currently live in District 3 with their two young daughters. She would have to move into District 4 if elected. She said she has lived in Fort Myers for about 10 years and was married in 2019.
A real outsider, Artis says
“In general people will say ‘Who is she?’” Artis said. “I’m just an everyday person. I was never an insider and never will be. A commissioner shouldn’t be a political person.”
“I am someone with no political background,” she said. “There is a lot to learn. If I were elected commissioner the job description would not impact my personal beliefs. I am a strong believer in the people’s voice and the people’s needs.”
Artis is being vastly outspent. Hamman has raised $105,599 compared to just $11,860 for Artis. She has received only a handful of small checks.
“Most of this has been out of my pocket,” she said. “If people want change, they can’t just keep feeding the political machine.”
Artis stresses transparency and accountability. She said her other priorities such as water quality, infrastructure and smart growth go hand-in-hand.
“At the end of the day we cannot avoid growth,” she said. “It’s not rational to think we won’t grow. But the infrastructure has to grow as well. It has to keep pace.”
Artis says a home is not affordable if a family cannot afford to insure and maintain it.
“The county cannot set insurance rates, but it can stop approving avoidable risk, protect natural flood storage, maintain drainage, and make smarter decisions about where Lee County grows.”
She said her approach is grounded in facts, public input, affordability, and long-term consequences, that she is running to make sure growth is responsible, infrastructure keeps pace, clean water is protected, and residents can see exactly how county decisions are made.
She said she supports the at-large voting system the county currently has, not the single-member districts referendum that appears on the same ballot.
She repeatedly preaches smart growth.
“I’m not anti-growth or pro-growth at any cost,” she said. “I’m pro-responsibility.”
Do you have an opinion about this topic? Write a letter to the editor and send it toletters@naplesnews.com and/or mailbag@news-press.com. Keep it to 250 words or fewer and include your contact info. Have more to say: Send a guest column of no more than 600 words.
Charlie Whitehead covers Lee County and Fort Myers. Reach him at cwhitehead@gannett.com
Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters at news-press.com or naplesnews.com.