For anyone who has dreams of being the next mayor of Cape Coral or in becoming a City Council member, your chance throw your hat in the ring officially has arrived.

Qualifying for elections for council seats 1, 4 and 6, as well as the mayoral seat begins Monday morning at 7:30 and will last until 1 p.m., Friday, July 5.

There will be no qualifying on July 4 because of the holiday.

By now, candidates should have declared their intentions, appointed a campaign treasurer and opened their campaign file with the city clerk’s office.

Now, certain documents pertaining to a candidate’s campaign must be finalized and submitted to a candidate’s file during the qualifying period.

During the qualifying period, candidates can pay the required fees and complete all necessary paperwork in the office of the City Clerk.

The fee to run for mayor is $365.23, which includes the filing fee of $150 plus the election assessment fee of 1 percent of the mayor’s annual salary of $21,523.40.

The total fee to run for the office of council member is $282.95, which includes the filing fee of $100 plus the election assessment fee of 1 percent of the councilman’s annual salary of $18,294.89.

A financial disclosure form must be completed and you must show your voter registration card.

But the narrow time frame that has been created because of state statutes means urgency for all the candidates.

“It’s based on hours allowed by statute. We’ve had pre-qualifying for two weeks where they can turn their paperwork in if they’re going to be out of town,” City Clerk Rebecca van Duetekom said. “Legally, we can’t qualify until so many days prior to the election.”

So far, five candidates have announced their intent to run for mayor: incumbent John Sullivan and challengers Vincent Cummings, Daniel Ashby, Marny Sawicki and Gordon Ultsch.

In District 1, only Steven Golub has filed treasury reports for Marty McClain’s seat, who has indicated he will not run for another term.

In District 4, incumbent Chris Chulakes-Leetz and Richard Leon are declared, while incumbent Kevin McGrail and Richard Williams are declared in District 6.

Early voting for the primaries takes place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, with the primary election Sept. 10. Early voting for general elections goes from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2, with Election Day on Nov. 5.

For more information about qualifying, contact the City Clerk’s office at 574-0417.