Election 2026 | Question of the Week 8, District 1
Each week through the General Election, The Breeze will ask the candidates for Cape Coral City Council an issue-related question. In the interest of fairness, each candidate is limited to the same amount of space, about 100 words, for their response.
Cape Coral City Council races are non-partisan races. Council members qualify in their respective districts but are elected at-large. This means all registered city voters may cast a ballot in each race regardless of where they live and the party to which they are affiliated, if any. This year’s General Election, on Nov. 3, features four Cape Coral City Council races: Mayor and the seats for District 1, 4 and 6.
The candidates below are running for the District 1 Cape Coral City Council seat:
Question of the Week: What would you delete from the city budget? What would you add?
• David Newton
I would eliminate spending that is not essential to residents’ quality of life, including unnecessary beautification projects and “pet projects” that have cost taxpayers millions. Before adding anything new, we need to see the outcome of Amendment 3 and ensure our budget is properly balanced. My priority would be protecting essential services, maintaining infrastructure, and public safety while eliminating wasteful or unnecessary expenditures
• Tom Shadrach
Our financial policies need to be corrected to recognize the slush funds so there is a true picture of our revenues and expenditures. Cutting outside services would be a good start, such as consultants and small design firms. Bring that work in house. Cut the scope of the Yacht Club to revenue-generating work. Outsource the golf courses, The Courts and Festival Park amphitheater. I would add the administrative costs to bring back the volunteer boards to tap into our citizen resources to improve our performance. This will easily pay back the cost with savings they will recommend.