The deadline for residents living in District 1 to turn in applications to fill the Cape Coral City Council vacancy is Friday at 4:30 p.m.

As of early Friday afternoon, a dozen applications had been turned in to the City Clerk’s Office with more possible by the end of business on Friday.

Mayor John Gunter relinquished that seat after Council appointed him mayor following the death of Joe Coviello.

Applications have been coming in since the day after Gunter was sworn in to fill the remaining 20 months of Coviello’s term on Jan. 21.

On Wednesday, the city council met to hammer out the guidelines for how the appointment process for the District 1 seat will go. The result is pretty much the same format Council has used in the past, with a decision expected to be made during the Feb, 17 regular meeting.

Council members will meet in private with the candidates beforehand to ask questions on a one-on-one basis.

At the meeting, which is open to the public, the candidates will get a three-minute opening statement, followed by further questions by members of the elected board, for which the candidate will have two minutes to respond.

Council will then deliberate and vote for their candidates of choice.

When the board reaches a consensus and votes the person in, that person will be sworn in and become the council member for District 1.

There was discussion on starting the meeting early if there were many candidates, but the city manager said the Feb. 17 agenda is light, with other items that could be delayed, and believed they could get things done with the usual 4:30 p.m. starting time.

The city is pretty much forced to have a vote on Feb. 17, since it bumps near the 30-day appointment deadline of Feb. 19 deadline after which the city would have to hold a special election.

Council rejected the idea of a special election after cost estimates of nearly $500,000 were presented if a primary and general election vote were to be required.

The applicants, as of early Friday afternoon, are:

* Carol Rae Culliton: President and chairperson of the Gunterberg Charitable Foundation and president of the Brotherhood of Heroes Museum.

* David F. Kalish: Served part-time as a police officer for 32 years and 29 years for a utility company in New Jersey.

* Steven J. Larsen: Has taught and has been an athletic director in the Lee County School District since 1992.

* Sean M. Russ: A firefighter and paramedic for the Pine Island Fire Department since 2007. Currently works for Priority Business Solutions.

* Thomas Wayne Shadrach: Worked for Boeing in management for 36 years. Owner of Rachman Industries.

* Gloria J. Tate: Served as council person from 1996-2005, 2009-10. One of the original residents of Cape Coral.

* Alexander Tiahnbok: Insurance agent who previously worked as a college professor and owner of a consulting firm in Wisconsin.

* Charles Gery Treichler: Retired principal who served on the city’s charter review board and the Lee County Board of Elections.

* Barry Elswick: A real estate agent who has worked as a lobbyist, consultant and business recruiter in the oil refining industry in numerous states.

* Iris Landefeld: Life coach and consultant of her own company, she has served as president of the Gulf Coast Symphony Board of Directors since 2011 and chaired Taste of the Cape since 2014.

* Edward Keller: A retired CEO and general manager of a high-end furniture store before retirement, he was involved in the big box furniture and department store industry for more than 45 years.

* Graham Madison Morris: A consultant and musician, Morris has run for the District 1 seat twice and served on local boards such as Planning & Zoning and the Charter Review Commission.

Biographical information is as provided by the applicants.

Original, signed applications for District 1 will be accepted by the Cape Coral City Clerk’s Department through today, Feb. 5, at 4:30 p.m. (end of City Hall business day).

Requirements include:

* Residency – Applicants must reside in District 1. Applicants must be continuous full-time residents of the City for the entire calendar year immediately preceding their qualification for office.

* Registered Elector – Applicants must be a registered elector of the City

* Permanent Resident – Applicants must be a permanent resident of the City

A Statement of Financial interest is required

Applications are available online via https://www.capecoral.net/department/clerk/city_elections.php.

Contact the City Clerk for any questions at (239) 574-0411.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to add the names and tally of additional applicants. We will continue to update until the 4:30 p.m. deadline.