Watches State of the Union Speech with Residents
FORT MYERS, FL (January 27, 2000) – Politics took center stage at Shell Point recently, as residents received a unique opportunity to interact directly with their link to the Federal legislature. United States Representative Porter Goss, whose constituents include the people of Fort Myers, joined about twenty residents to watch President Clinton’s final State of the Union address on television.
Normally, all 435 U.S. Representatives and 100 Senators pack the House chamber for the annual event. However, a debilitating January snowstorm had ravaged the east, including Washington, DC. Goss and his aides decided to stay in the Fort Myers area rather than take the risk of travelling during the storm.
Shell Point residents became lucky beneficiaries of this detour, as several of them were able to sit with Goss and watch the speech together in the Resident Activities Center. Goss discussed politics with the crowd before and after the 89-minute speech, which encompassed some subjects of particular interest to retirees, such as Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drugs.
Afterwards, discussion ensued about the ramifications of some of Clinton’s ideas. Goss offered a unique perspective, having dealt with the President personally.
Since 1971, when he first moved to Sanibel, Goss has been instrumental in the government of southwest Florida. He helped to incorporate Sanibel, assisted in drafting its city charter, and served as its first mayor. In the U.S. House of Representatives, he has represented Florida’s 14th district, including all of Lee and Collier counties and some of Charlotte county, since 1988.
