Election 2026 | Question of the Week 8, District 4
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.
Question of the Week: What would you delete from the city budget? What would you add?
The following candidates are running for Cape Coral City Council set for District 4:
• Jennifer Nelson-Lastra (I)
I would remove positions that have remained vacant for six months or more and establish a policy to review and eliminate those positions unless there is a demonstrated need. We currently budget positions at 100%, even though our own studies indicate we should budget closer to 95%.
I would add recognition of earned interest revenue, similar to Lee County’s approach.
James Vargas
I would review the budget line by line, prioritizing needs over wants. We should identify overspending, evaluate programs for effectiveness and determine where projects can be redesigned, delayed or delivered more efficiently. I would not make cuts that compromise essential services. I would prioritize infrastructure, public safety and permitting efficiency while investing in economic development that expands our commercial tax base. Every tax dollar represents someone’s hard-earned money. Our responsibility is to spend it wisely, eliminate waste and find ways to operate government more efficiently before asking taxpayers for more.