Election 2026 | Question of the Week 12, Mayor’s Race | On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the city manager’s performance and why?
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 mayor’s seat on the Cape Coral City Council:
Question of the Week: 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 mayor’s seat on the Cape Coral City Council:
Question of the Week: On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the city manager’s performance and why?
• Lisa Cohen-Adkinson
I rate the City Manager a 3 out of 5. He is a dedicated public servant who rose through our ranks and is doing his best with the tools provided by current leadership. However, residents are understandably frustrated by top-down council directions. While this reflects a failure of mayoral and council guidance, we must listen to the public. With collaborative leadership in November, we will empower him to prioritize community-first transparency. If operational dissatisfaction continues, changes must be made. Our administration will hold everyone accountable to ensure we execute policies with residents, not around them.
• Richard Erickson
I’d rate City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn a 3 out of 5. He has positives, a long city career since 2002, launching the Bureau of Transformative Change, and advancing economic plans. But he seems to act on his own instead of following council direction.
Staffing scored lowest, and a state audit was pushed over the building fund. His salary tops $336,000, has two assistant city managers, plus support staff, and needs review. He needs closer monitoring, more direction with council and the mayor, and clearer direction to save money and serve Cape Coral.