Islamorada Village Council Seat 4 · Nov 3, 2026
Don
Horton
Don Horton, the incumbent, is running for Islamorada Village Council Seat 4 in the Nov 3, 2026 election, against Tom Raffanello.
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The race · Village Council Seat 4
- 01Don HortonYou’re reading
- 02Tom Raffanello
Background
- About
- Former Monroe County building services director and former Islamorada building official. He won Seat 4 in the 2024 election and is the current mayor.
On the record: Don Horton
9 sourced01Staff pay2 sourced positions
Voted no on a motion to reduce budgeted personnel costs to $15,611,085.32 (failed 2-3, September 2026).
Council voteIslamorada · Sep 10, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Said at the final budget hearing that merit increases should follow set guidelines for scoring employee performance.
I think that a merit increase is based on a set of guidelines and a way to actually score how an employee is doing,”
Own statementKeys WeeklyLink
02Budget1 sourced position
Voted yes on the tentative budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 (passed 3-2, September 2026).
Council voteIslamorada · Sep 10, 2026LinkHow the council voted
03Property tax rate2 sourced positions
Voted yes on a tentative property tax rate of 2.7231 mills for 2026-2027 (passed 5-0, September 2026).
Council voteIslamorada · Sep 10, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Said at a budget workshop that a 2.8000 mill rate would raise taxes on an average home by less than $15 a month.
Own statementIslamorada · Aug 4, 2026Link
04Charter amendments2 sourced positions
Voted yes on a motion not to put a council compensation charter amendment on the ballot (passed 3-2, July 2026).
Council voteIslamorada · Jul 7, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on approving ballot language for a charter amendment requiring supermajority votes on certain village property decisions (passed 4-1, July 2026).
Council voteIslamorada · Jul 7, 2026LinkHow the council voted
05Freebee fare1 sourced position
Voted yes on directing Freebee to start charging riders a $2.00 fare on July 20, 2026 (passed 4-1, July 2026).
Council voteIslamorada · Jul 9, 2026LinkHow the council voted
06Public participation1 sourced position
Written answer to the Upper Keys Weekly candidate question, printed as submitted
Said low attendance at most council meetings shows residents are pleased with council decisions; supports public comment at every public meeting.
I support workshops as long as there is a clear outcome.”
Forum answerKeys Weekly · Oct 15, 2026Link
Every claim links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works
Don Horton: their words and their votes on the same issue
Property tax rate
In their words
Said at a budget workshop that a 2.8000 mill rate would raise taxes on an average home by less than $15 a month.
Aug 4, 2026 ·Islamorada · Aug 4, 2026
On the record
Voted yes on a tentative property tax rate of 2.7231 mills for 2026-2027 (passed 5-0, September 2026).
Sep 10, 2026 ·Islamorada · Sep 10, 2026
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