
Quiet Collier, Inc.
Protecting Florida's Fragile Environment

Meet Barbara Bruckenstein Kanter.
Kathy Baez, a childhood friend, calls her a rabble-rouser: Bebe Kanter, a modern-day hero fiercely dedicated to protecting the underdogs of Florida. From preserving the natural habitat and safeguarding the local wildlife to advocating for the rights of incarcerated citizens, workers, small businesses, families, and children, Bebe is a true champion of the people. Her unwavering commitment to making the world a better place inspires us all!
She was born and raised in Minneapolis, and her parents instilled in her a belief that she could make a difference and excel in all her endeavors. During her formative years, Bebe worked at her father's research lab, where she gained the confidence to explore new ideas and find solutions. Her specialty was the assembly of Heathkit Sine Wave generators. In the lab, she learned about airborne pathogens and the use of personal protective equipment. It was a fact then that masks prevented inhaling organic compound fumes and viruses. She emphasizes the integration process of immigrants, having as an expatriate public school in Moscow during the cold water.
During her father's stints at Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories, she sat at dinner tables, overhearing conversations about when nuclear power would replace fossil fuels to generate electricity.
Parenthood
After surviving the cutthroat LaSalle Street finance and real estate world in the 1970s, Bebe Kanter became a parent and went on the "Mommy career track between 1980 and her son, Max, who graduated from high school in 2011. Her husband, Craig, was a clinical primary care doctor for the first 25 years, and the time demands of care for seniors before the invention of hospitalists made it necessary for Bebe to be the on-call parent.
After the birth of their son Thomas in 1980, Bebe went into business for herself. She founded SpeakIQ and Renaissance Properties. She became an advocate for Special Needs education and worked on various PTO projects, including the Science Olympiad.
Cleland Place - Wilmette, IL
She strongly supported Cleland Place, a 16-unit building for renters at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) around the corner from the house where she and Craig raised their children. Although some of her neighbors feared sharing Wilmette with low renters, Bebe supported HODC throughout the building application process. As Bebe predicted, the white picket fence neighborhood is still one. Her oldest son, Thomas, now occupies the house.
Although she is a registered Democrat, she is not bound to any party ideology and is incapable of being a blind follower or a spokesperson for anyone. She began her career at HUD in Chicago and became the first GNMA originator in the United States, working for the renowned financier John Tooke. As John's packager, Bebe learned how to structure complex real estate transactions, introducing her to the biggest names of affordable housing and commercial development as an equal.
FLORIDA Activism focussed on the Future of three sons and 4 Grandchildren.
Bebe Kanter is an effective local advocate, even though most people in SWFL are Republicans. She has established comfortable working relationships with many people on environmental issues. Bebe enjoys meeting people from diverse backgrounds and forming alliances with those who want to restore Florida's environment and create a sustainable future. After moving to moving to Florida, Bebe shifted gears. Including preventing the Racetrac application, which would have been a disruptive project to the neighborhood, ensuring that Epiphytes and no self-storage facility were built, advocating for tax increment housing, implementing a "No Fly at Night" policy at the airport, and bringing to light the fact that flight schools generate heavy metal emissions due to piston engines and 100LL usage.
2022 Self-Financed Campaign for Collier County Commissioner
We challenged the entrenched Alfie Oakes Republican Machine. I focused on issues relevant to voters living along the Gulf of Mexico in unincorporated Collier. We concentrated on converting Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) to Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facilities (AWT) to prevent HABs. We also spoke about how investment in stormwater infrastructure could have stopped the devastation caused by Ian. There is a need to allow Muli-use Zoning in underutilized commercial strips to generate sales tax revenue and alleviate the housing shortage and traffic congestion.
NIMBY HOA OWNER
In 2017, the Kanters purchased a unit in The Sanctuary of Pelican Bay. From the start, she refused membership on the HOA Building and Landscape Committees. Despite being excluded, she conducted audits and discovered cases of product substitution and non-performance of service contracts.
Bebe belies partisan labels. Three years ago, before the DeSantis crackdown on employers, she reported HOA violations to ICE and the Florida Department of Insurance to bring the HOA into compliance. She proved that Adolfo Mayor and his subsidiaries had paid payroll taxes or Workers' Compensation.
Bebe Kanter has submitted sustainability proposals, including responsible irrigation, herbicide, fertilizer, pesticide use, electricity consumption, and remediation of intentional building code violations. She has urged the HOA decision-makers to prioritize electric grid independence by keeping elevators running and safety lighting on, installing motion detector lighting, going solar, and using backup batteries during extreme weather events. She promotes First Amendment Rights, such as allowing owners to have car wraps and Mezuzahs.
Quiet Collier NOW
Focussed on
-
Everglades and Gulf of Mexico Habitat
-
The Florida Electricity Generation Monopoly
-
Creating People-Friendly Urban Environments
-
Supports fact-based analysis to identify the root point sources of excess nutrients and use Federal Funding to build state-of-the-art Wastewater Treatment Plants in SW Florida.
All About Me
Meet Barbara Bruckenstein Kanter.
Kathy Baez, a childhood friend, calls her a rabble-rouser: Bebe Kanter, a modern-day hero fiercely dedicated to protecting the underdogs of Florida. From preserving the natural habitat and safeguarding the local wildlife to advocating for the rights of incarcerated citizens, workers, small businesses, families, and children, Bebe is a true champion of the people. Her unwavering commitment to making the world a better place inspires us all!
She was born and raised in Minneapolis, and her parents instilled in her a belief that she could make a difference and excel in all her endeavors. During her formative years, Bebe worked at her father's research lab, where she gained the confidence to explore new ideas and find solutions. Her specialty was the assembly of Heathkit Sine Wave generators. In the lab, she learned about airborne pathogens and the use of personal protective equipment. It was a fact then that masks prevented inhaling organic compound fumes and viruses. She emphasizes the integration process of immigrants, having as an expatriate public school in Moscow during the cold water.
During her father's stints at Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories, she sat at dinner tables, overhearing conversations about when nuclear power would replace fossil fuels to generate electricity.
Parenthood
After surviving the cutthroat LaSalle Street finance and real estate world in the 1970s, Bebe Kanter became a parent and went on the "Mommy career track between 1980 and her son, Max, who graduated from high school in 2011. Her husband, Craig, was a clinical primary care doctor for the first 25 years, and the time demands of care for seniors before the invention of hospitalists made it necessary for Bebe to be the on-call parent.
After the birth of their son Thomas in 1980, Bebe went into business for herself. She founded SpeakIQ and Renaissance Properties. She became an advocate for Special Needs education and worked on various PTO projects, including the Science Olympiad.
Cleland Place - Wilmette, IL
She strongly supported Cleland Place, a 16-unit building for renters at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) around the corner from the house where she and Craig raised their children. Although some of her neighbors feared sharing Wilmette with low renters, Bebe supported HODC throughout the building application process. As Bebe predicted, the white picket fence neighborhood is still one. Her oldest son, Thomas, now occupies the house.
Although she is a registered Democrat, she is not bound to any party ideology and is incapable of being a blind follower or a spokesperson for anyone. She began her career at HUD in Chicago and became the first GNMA originator in the United States, working for the renowned financier John Tooke. As John's packager, Bebe learned how to structure complex real estate transactions, introducing her to the biggest names of affordable housing and commercial development as an equal.
FLORIDA Activism focussed on the Future of three sons and 4 Grandchildren.
Bebe Kanter is an effective local advocate, even though most people in SWFL are Republicans. She has established comfortable working relationships with many people on environmental issues. Bebe enjoys meeting people from diverse backgrounds and forming alliances with those who want to restore Florida's environment and create a sustainable future. After moving to moving to Florida, Bebe shifted gears. Including preventing the Racetrac application, which would have been a disruptive project to the neighborhood, ensuring that Epiphytes and no self-storage facility were built, advocating for tax increment housing, implementing a "No Fly at Night" policy at the airport, and bringing to light the fact that flight schools generate heavy metal emissions due to piston engines and 100LL usage.
2022 Self-Financed Campaign for Collier County Commissioner
We challenged the entrenched Alfie Oakes Republican Machine. I focused on issues relevant to voters living along the Gulf of Mexico in unincorporated Collier. We concentrated on converting Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) to Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facilities (AWT) to prevent HABs. We also spoke about how investment in stormwater infrastructure could have stopped the devastation caused by Ian. There is a need to allow Muli-use Zoning in underutilized commercial strips to generate sales tax revenue and alleviate the housing shortage and traffic congestion.
NIMBY HOA OWNER
In 2017, the Kanters purchased a unit in The Sanctuary of Pelican Bay. From the start, she refused membership on the HOA Building and Landscape Committees. Despite being excluded, she conducted audits and discovered cases of product substitution and non-performance of service contracts.
Bebe belies partisan labels. Three years ago, before the DeSantis crackdown on employers, she reported HOA violations to ICE and the Florida Department of Insurance to bring the HOA into compliance. She proved that Adolfo Mayor and his subsidiaries had paid payroll taxes or Workers' Compensation.
Bebe Kanter has submitted sustainability proposals, including responsible irrigation, herbicide, fertilizer, pesticide use, electricity consumption, and remediation of intentional building code violations. She has urged the HOA decision-makers to prioritize electric grid independence by keeping elevators running and safety lighting on, installing motion detector lighting, going solar, and using backup batteries during extreme weather events. She promotes First Amendment Rights, such as allowing owners to have car wraps and Mezuzahs.
Quiet Collier NOW
Focussed on
-
Everglades and Gulf of Mexico Habitat
-
The Florida Electricity Generation Monopoly
-
Creating People-Friendly Urban Environments
-
Supports fact-based analysis to identify the root point sources of excess nutrients and use Federal Funding to build state-of-the-art Wastewater Treatment Plants in SW Florida.
