Councilmember Rana Erbrick

Cape Coral City Councilmember Rana Erbrick has submitted a letter resigning her district seat, a step required to formally qualify as a candidate for mayor.

“I hereby submit my resignation from the position of City of Cape Coral Council Member, District 5 in accordance with the State of Florida resign-to-run law as I intend to seek the position of Mayor for the City of Cape Coral. Cape Coral City Charter requires that the position be vacated at least 60 days prior to the General Election of November 7, 2017 to ensure that the position I vacate is filled by our election process,” she wrote in the letter submitted to the Cape Coral City Clerk’s Office Wednesday.

The effective date will be Sept. 7, at 12:01 a.m.

Erbrick, who was unopposed in her second term for Council, said her six years on the elected board have been “the most fulfilling years” of her life and that she will continue to “put this city first.”

“I look back on my time on Council with fondness. It wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always pretty. But I cannot thank you enough for allowing me the opportunity to serve you, the public,” she said in a prepared statement. “I started on this council when our city was just rising out of one it’s darkest times. Over the last 6 years we have started to grow up as city through our infrastructure, our commercial expansion, our great Charter School system and with our outside image. We have so many exciting things on the horizon. The potential of the Seven Islands, the Downtown revitalization and Bimini Basin, the continued interest in Pine Island Commercial 2 Corridor, we as a City are on the upswing. We may not have always agreed on everything, but I have always been up front with you and put this City first.”

She thanks her fellow board members, family, residents and city staff, adding this may be a goodbye from Council but will not be a goodbye to the city.

“I need to thank my fellow Council Members past and present, who understand that sometimes the best decisions are not always the most popular decisions. Thank you to city staff for the hard work and support you continually give us and this City. Thank you to my friends and family for telling me the good and the bad when I needed it most. Most of all thank you to the residents. You put your trust into me twice and I will always be humbled by that. I want you to know I went in each and every day, no matter what stood in front of me, and I served you, the residents of this city, first.”

Other announced candidates for the office of mayor include April Freeman, former city council member Derrick Donnell, Michael Hollow, and Kevin Koch. Mayor Marni Sawicki has said she will not run for a second term.

As of Thursday, the other announced Council candidates, for districts 1, 4 and 6, are:

* District 1

Announced:

Jim Burch (incumbent)

James Foraker

John Gunter

Graham Madison Morris

* District 4

Announced:

Richard Leon (incumbent)

Jennifer Nelson

Jeffrey Jones

* District 6

Announced:

John Karcher

Rick Williams (incumbent)

Candidate lists are not final until candidate qualifying concludes. Qualifying for Cape Council candidates will run from Monday, July 3, at 7:30 a.m. to Friday, July 7 at 1 p.m., excluding July 4. Candidates must pay the required fees and complete all paperwork in the Office of the City Clerk during the qualifying period. A financial disclosure form must also be completed and a voter registration card must be presented.

The primary election is Sept. 12. The general election is Nov. 7. Early voting dates for the primary are Sept. 5 to 9 and from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4.

Cape Coral municipal elections are non-partisan, citywide elections, meaning all registered voters may cast a ballot in all races regardless of party affiliation and the district in which the voter resides.

All candidates must be continuous, full-time residents of the city for the entire calendar year preceding their qualification for office and must also reside in their respective districts. Terms are for four years.

The total fee to run for city council is $426, which includes the filing fee of $100 plus the Election Assessment fee of 1 percent of the annual salary of $32,600 ($326). The total fee to run for mayor is $516, which includes the filing fee of $150 plus the Election Assessment fee of 1 percent of the annual salary of $36,600 ($366).