24 vie for mayor’s vacated seat
By GRAY ROHRER, grohrer@breezenewspapers.com
Cape Coral political junkies suffering withdrawal from the general election can get their fill Monday, as the Cape Coral city council is expected to choose a new mayor.
Three current council members will join 21 other applicants seeking the post being vacated by Mayor Eric Feichthaler, who resigned to run for the District 1 seat on the Lee County Board of Commissioners. Feichthaler narrowly lost to incumbent Bob Janes in the Republican primary.
Councilmembers Dolores Bertolini, Jim Burch, and Bill Deile are vying for the mayor’s seat. If any of them attain the position, the council will then need to appoint someone to replace them on the dais.
A special meeting will be held at 1 p.m. where applicants will have three minutes each to give a presentation to council members, who will then ask questions of the applicants. At 4:30 p.m., a regular meeting will be held where councilmembers will narrow the field down to five applicants before making a final decision.
Councilmember Pete Brandt is concerned there is no time for public input on the agendas for the meetings.
“We need to have citizen input time,” Brandt said.
Brandt said he is looking for a candidate with prudence, good judgement, and someone who can be the face of the city.
“It takes somebody who can think through issues and use logic and good sense to reach good decisions. He’s really the spokesperson for the city. That’s something Mayor Feichthaler did really well,” Brandt said.
Here is a rundown of the mayoral applicants:
* Dolores Bertolini, City councilmember, 23-year Cape resident
* Jim Burch, City council member, 15-year Cape resident
* Bill Deile, City councilmember, eight-year Cape resident
* Raymond Baran, senior service technician for Bruce Miller Airconditioning, four-year Cape resident
* Vance Bowers, school bus driver, two-year Cape resident
* Lyndia Bradley, bookkeeper (retired), 15-year Cape resident
* Sean Dever, fullfillment technician for Comcast, 20-year Cape resident
* David Drake, owner of Golf Ball Recovery Company, 23-year Cape resident
* Walter Fluegel, Planning & Zoning Commission boardmember, five-year Cape resident
* Gerard David, Jr., retired, nine-year Cape resident
* Richard Greer, independent sales agent, five-year Cape resident
* Steve Golub, teacher for Lee County schools, three-year Cape resident
* David Jonathan, teacher and staffing specialist for Lee County Schools, four-year Cape resident
* David Keller, President of Compu-Doctor, six-year Cape resident
* Arnold Kempe, lawyer (retired), former mayor of Cape Coral
* Chesslie Neal, store manager for Mattress Giant, one-year Cape resident
* Peter Nicholsen, public service aide (retired), 12-year Cape resident
* Frank Placido, owner of Placido Oil, four-year Cape resident
* Karie Rahbun, MIS manager, 18-year Cape resident
* Robert Renshaw, retired, four-year Cape resident
* Thomas Samean, owner of Citadel International, 18-year Cape resident
* Jon Shudlick, courier, two-year Cape resident
* Michael Stewart, vice president of A&E Support Services, 25-year Cape resident
* John Sullivan, retired, three and 1/2-year Cape resident
Applicant information, and candidate list, is from forms released by the city Friday.