One down, one to go
With the Primary Election now behind us, candidates are gearing up for the General Election in November.
Voters should be, too.
For Cape Coral residents, it’s an important election.
Four Cape Coral City Council seats are on the Nov. 8 ballot which will feature runoffs in Districts 1 and 4 and first-time faceoffs in the races for mayor and District 6.
There also is an “Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption” referendum on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot which would grant a limited property tax exemption for up to 10 years to qualifying businesses. The maximum amount of property tax revenue the city could forgive in any fiscal year would be $2 million.
On the candidate side, Bill Steinke and Carol Culliton advanced in District 1. Jennifer Nelson, the incumbent, and Patty Cummings advanced in District 4. John Gunter, the incumbent, will face Tom Shadrach in the mayor’s race. Keith Long, the incumbent, will face Wayne Hecht for the District 6 seat.
All registered Cape Coral voters may cast a ballot in each race as all council members are elected citywide.
We thank all of the candidates who stepped up this election cycle. Your time and effort is appreciated.
As we stated prior to the primary, The Breeze is committed to providing abundant election coverage, particularly for the Cape Coral City Council races and remaining referendum.
To that end, we will continue our issue-related “Questions of the Week” next Friday. We will continue to present these graph style by City Council seat so that voters may easily familiarize themselves with each candidate’s position on key issues.
Candidate bios, and all of the Questions of the Week, are also published online at capecoralbreeze.com where we have added an Election 2022 category so that voters may easily find all of The Breeze election coverage in one area.
We strive to be comprehensive, and we invite voters to read for it is you, collectively, who will decide who will lead the city’s direction for the next four years by setting policy, by deciding where your tax dollars are spent.
This is why we prioritize local elections, the most important in terms of day-to-day quality of life, affect on your home and family, and impact on your pocketbook.
Information, factually presented, is important but so is meeting the person behind the photo, behind the text. Hearing them answer questions spontaneously often gives a whole new perspective.
Again, trust us on this.
It is unfortunate that City Manager Rob Hernandez has decided that the city should no longer provide the venue for a Cape Coral City Council Candidate’s forum, a long-standing tradition that included live broadcast on the city’s channel, CapeTV.
It also is unfortunate that no not-up-for-re-election Cape Coral City Council member stepped up to strongly question this unilateral staff decision as did former mayor Joe Coviello two years ago.
As one of the media outlets that usually took part in preparing the candidate questions, we will miss the additional opportunity to provide good, off-the-cuff information to Cape voters directly from the candidates.
Perhaps another organization will continue the tradition — or revive an old one or start one anew — with a similar informational forum for the benefit of voters.
Early voting for the Nov. 8 General Election is set for Monday, Oct. 24, through Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at a dozen locations throughout Lee County, including two in Cape Coral: the Cape Coral-Lee County Library at 921 SW. 39th Terrace and the Lee County Elections Office, Cape Coral Branch, at 1039 S.E. 9th Ave.
Vote-by-mail ballots may be requested from the Supervisor of Election’s Office. Visit lee.vote to submit your request. Vote-by-mail ballot requests must be received 10 days prior to the election. In the case of the upcoming General Election, the deadline is Saturday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m.
Vote-by-Mail ballots are initially mailed approximately 35 days before an election with the Supervisor of Elections Office requesting they be mailed back no later than Oct. 29 as well. Mail ballots will not be forwarded to a different address so please take note if you plan to request one.
So four Cape Coral City Council seats are up for grabs.
Whether to give businesses that create at least 10 higher-paying jobs and make a significant capital investment a limited tax break on property taxes for up to 10 years.
Federal, state and key county races, including the District 5 County Commission race, school board seats and more.
It’s a plump ballot.
And more than reason enough to prepare to make your voice heard.
— Breeze editorial