Tax collector announces retirement, endorses deputy

FORT MYERS — Lee County Tax Collector Larry Hart, a lifelong public servant and the first African-American police chief of the Fort Myers Police Department, has announced his retirement, saying he will not seek reelection this year. 

A Republican, Hart was appointed by then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott in 2012 to the Lee County Tax Collector post. He was subsequently elected for two terms. Prior to the appointment from Scott, Hart, a Lee County native, was assistant tax collector for the county for a decade under Cathy Curtis, according to a statement.