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Lori Nelson is a Rotarian, a board member of the Bonita Springs Assistance Office and the wife of Bonita Springs mayor Ben Nelson. She was born in New Jersey and moved to Florida in 1988. Nelson, 38, worked at the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed off Corkscrew Road. It’s a 60,000-acre preserve that feeds water to areas like Corkscrew Swamp and the Imperial River. A CREW hike is actually where she and Ben met.

“I was living in Fort Myers at the time and we met on a wildflower hike. We were having our annual hike and Ben just happened to show up.”

They started dating soon afterwards and have been married for 8 years. Ben had already established a family boat dock business, called Nelson Marine, and Lori helped with the organization end. She’s been helping Ben ever since, except when campaigning.

“It’s actually nice to be back in the office,” she said. “I haven’t had time to do anything but campaign in nearly a year.”

Lori said she and Ben enjoy kayaking local waterways and hiking. They also have a house in the mountains of Georgia in Hiawassee that they visit several times each year. We decided to get to the root of Bonita’s first lady, and the comparisons people have made between her life with Ben and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

TB: How often do you talk to Ben about local issues?

LN: He definitely hears my opinion on most things, but I don’t know if I get any preferential treatment. But his enthusiasm for the city rubs off, so it’s hard not to be excited about things.

TB: Being the first lady of sorts of Bonita, do you feel any pressure to dress or act a certain way?

LN: It’s pretty new, so I haven’t experienced much of that. He’s been on council for years, so it’s not that different for me.

TB: What’s the worst thing about being married to the mayor? Not necessarily Ben, but his position as mayor.

LN: It’s probably the cell phone. His phone never stops ringing. It doesn’t happen in the middle of the night, but we took off after the election to relax in Key West and he was on the phone as much as he wasn’t.

TB: Can you tell us something about Ben that most people don’t know?

LN: He likes to play video games. Ghost Recon is his favorite. He relieves his stress that way.

TB: As a Lori Nelson the resident, not the wife of the mayor, what is your top concern for the city?

LN: To see the downtown area revitilized. I was disappointed (when Imperial Landing developer * decided to drop his plans for a downtown project). I understand why he did it, though. Preserving green space is important to me as well.

TB: Will you ever run for local office?

LN: No. I’m a behind the scenes kind of person. I enjoy it back here.

DN: Have you heard anyone comparing you to Hillary Clinton, and if so, what are your thoughts on that?

LN: I have heard that. Ben and I are really fortunate that we make a great team. It (the comparison) doesn’t bother me. There’s no one I’d rather be paired up with than Ben. We’ve been in business 10 years now and we make things work. People say you shouldn’t work with your spouse and all that, but it works for us.