Governor’s Office seeks info on Cape council member’s qualifications for office
Complaint alleges Cummings does not meet residency requirement for seat; she denies allegation
An allegation that a recently elected Cape Coral City Council member did not meet the requirements to run for her seat has been forwarded to the Governor’s Office for investigation.
Matt Caldwell, state committeeman for the Republican Party of Florida, forwarded the complaint that alleges Councilmember Patty Cummings did not live in District 4 when she qualified to seek the seat and that she does not live there now.
While Council members are elected at large, with the exception of the mayor, they are required to live in the district they represent.
Caldwell, a state representative from 2010-2018 and the Lee County property appraiser, said he forwarded the letter based on the seriousness of the allegation and the supporting documentation received.
He said he was obligated to pass it on.
“This is a fundamental question regarding the electoral process and anytime anyone brings up a situation like this it needs to be investigated,” Caldwell said when reached by phone. “One way or another, it needs to be resolved.”
He said he received the complaint, written anonymously by a Cape resident, about two weeks ago.
“I took the information to the Governors’ Office when I was in Tallahassee a couple of weeks ago working on some tax proposals,” Caldwell said.
He did not contact Cummings.
“It’s the kind of thing that when you receive that type of allegation, you are not the one to investigate it,” Caldwell said. “Obviously we are a society where everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but I do have a duty to forward that type of information when it’s provided to me.
“I took it and passed it along to the Governor’s Office. I suspect at this time they are investigating it,” he added.
He did not keep a copy of the letter but provided a general overview of the allegation which is that Cummings was not a resident of the district at the time of election and that she is still not a resident of District 4.
The complaining parties had conducted their own investigation and provided “several pieces of information” to back up their complaint, Caldwell said.
“They had investigated and done their own research as collaboration for their conclusion and it was credible information,” he said.
Cummings said there has been no abridgment of city residency requirements pertaining to her qualification to run or serve.
“Everything I’m doing is legal,” she said when reached by phone. “I have a part-time residence in District 4 and I’ll be full time in less than six weeks. And we had a hurricane that wiped out the other house.”
Her voters registration card and drivers license both bear the address of the part-time residence in District 4 and that is her residence of record, Cummings said.
The damaged home at which she spent a portion of her time is outside District 4 as is its temporary replacement, she said.
“This is stupid,” Cummings said, adding that from the rumblings she has heard she believes the complaint brought to Caldwell is part of the Cape’s current political climate and that allegations against other members of Council may be coming.
She said she has not heard anything from the Governor’s Office or any other state-level agency but the city received a letter from the Governor’s Office today.
“It is asking when I will be living in District 4 full time, basically if I am planning on being in District 4 full time,” Cummings said.
She said she plans to respond to the letter and intends to be residing in District 4 full time within eight weeks at the outside.
“The (city) Charter says you can run if you are a part-time resident with the intent of living in the district full time,” Cummings said. “That is the law. We were going to be there full time in October and that’s when the hurricane came.”
To reach VALARIE HARRING, please email vharring@breezenewspapers.com