Collier County Commissioner’s Business Deals Spark Questions of Conflict

Gulfshore Business

Editor’s Note: This article was produced in partnership with The Florida Center for Government Accountability, a nonprofit legal and journalism program advocating public access to local government.

When William McDaniel ran for Collier County Commission in 2016, he campaigned on his business experience in real estate and as founder of an excavation company. He won the election, despite a history of business problems, including unpaid tax liens, property foreclosures and personal liability for multimillion-dollar business loans.

After taking office, McDaniel’s fortunes changed. He helped set up the sale of his business property to a developer planning a rural village in north-central Collier. The deal erased his obligation to pay $42.7 million owed on two defaulted loans and gave the development crucial access to Immokalee Road.

Some Collier County residents have questioned McDaniel’s interests in the transaction. The deal allowed Palm Beach County developer Jeff Greene to buy McDaniel’s former excavating company’s land for the Immokalee Road Rural Village plan. New details about the deal and how McDaniel benefitted have renewed those concerns.

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