Election 2026 | Question of the Week 10, 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: If Amendment 3 passes, how would you address the drop in revenue from property taxes?
The following candidates are running for Cape Coral City Council set for District 4:
• Jennifer Nelson-Lastra (I)
We have to sharpen our pencils. We need to take a hard look at everything currently subsidized through the General Fund, including events and programs such as The Courts, Red, White & Boom, and Bike Night.
In addition, we need to identify efficiencies, eliminate unnecessary spending, prioritize essential services, and find alternative revenue sources that do not disproportionately burden residents. This is exactly why responsible budgeting matters. We cannot simply continue doing business as usual and expect taxpayers to make up the difference.
James Vargas
If Amendment 3 passes, my first response would not be finding another way to tax residents. I would review the budget line by line, identify overspending, evaluate programs for efficiency, review high-paid positions and reconsider projects not already contractually obligated. We must also aggressively expand our commercial tax base by encouraging responsible development along our major corridors and streamlining the process for businesses. Property tax relief should actually mean relief. We should not give homeowners greater protection from property taxes with one hand, then simply replace that lost revenue with new taxes and fees with the other.