As a candidate for the Collier County Commissioner District 5 seat, Doug Rankin has an impressive resume. He has some 30 years of service to his community of Golden Gate Estates and District 5 including being a business owner for 22 years and civic involvement that includes helping to stop expansion of a quarry into populates area and preventing a home for mentally disturbed youth being put in the Estates. He is a former president and director of Golden Gate Estates Civic Association and a member of the Golden Gate Master Plan Committee and of East of 951 committee. He is the current Republican State Committeeman for Collier County and one of 37 board members of the Republican Party of Florida, so he has strong connections to others who can help make things happen. He communicates with them and is a respected member of their ranks. He can call on a lifetime of business and political contacts to help accomplish important goals. Mr. Rankin notes that he is very qualified and backs that statement up with a “comprehensive accounting and financial background.” In fact, as a boy he spent his after school hours at his mother’s accounting firm, learning the business. His mother ran major companies when he was growing up and young Doug actually participated in her accounting practice at a very early age. He said at ten years of age he was doing books, and at 13 he was doing people’s taxes. He came to Bradenton from Philadelphia when he was just nine months old. He graduated from the University of Florida and in 1983 came to Collier County to stay because he didn’t like the “mess” that was made of the Bradenton/Sarasota area and appreciates the Collier coastal area as well as its unique interior. He has lived in Golden Gate Estates for 29 years. As an attorney, Mr. Rankin is experienced in real estate, estate planning, estate administration. He does not deal in development. He and his firm also handle elder law, wills, trusts and estates, probate and trust litigation. His background has given him an understanding of budgeting and the law. Understanding how important business is to any community, he said he had a “small part” in helping get the business incubator grant in Collier, along with Rep. Matt Hudson. He doesn’t just say he believes in honest government. He actually helped remove Jim Greer as the head of the Republican Party of Florida. Greer was arrested on charges of siphoning money from the GOP a few years ago. Mr. Rankin has two grown sons and is a member of the Kiwanis Club, Masons and is Habitat for Humanity President. His said his goal is to get government out of the way, while still offering a helping hand when needed. He said he believes in clean government not self promotion. Mr. Rankin wants voters to know that he is a “financially responsible and business savvy” candidate with no conflicting financial or business interests with District 5.