Small-government advocate dies

FORT MYERS — Jack Tanner, the political activist who pushed to dissolve a wasteful government agency in Fort Myers, died Jan. 8.

Tanner was 79, according to an obituary published in the Fort Myers News-Press, but he had a youthful zeal for fighting government waste. The retired auto-parts business owner was a libertarian who was outspoken about ways to make government more efficient.

For example, Tanner led a six-year effort to dissolve a government agency called the Lee Soil and Water Conservation District and returned the agency's $100,000 to taxpayers, mailing many of the checks himself for no pay.

You can read more about how he accomplished that in the Business Observer here.