History in the making
To the editor:
Monday, I had the pleasure of witnessing history. History for Cape Coral, as City Council, representing each of us went through the process of choosing a new Captain to steer the ship. A huge and diverse group of candidates had three minutes each to introduce themselves to council and the audience. Experience ranged from medical professionals to engineers, from business owners to educators, from community activists to ex-mayors. Some candidates had little formal education and others had a great deal of formal education. Some had business experience while others had no real business experience. I applaud each of them for availing themselves to the selection process.
The goal was to create a final list of five candidates to be considered by City Council that evening. A difficult task considering there were 24 candidates, especially since three of the candidates were sitting members of the current City Council. This created some concern by some candidates who were being considered for the position of mayor. The candidates’ concerns were about the fairness of the process. How can those who are voting be part of the process? Some candidates suggested that an election was appropriate, but a council member stated the expense of the election in this economy was difficult to justify.
One candidate made some strong comments addressing the existing council and past councils and their mis-management of the city. Some candidates spoke about building consensus and working together to create a better city. Some candidates spoke about their leadership qualities and experience in the limited three minutes provided by the process. Most candidates were professional and respectful; however some were clearly adversarial and were not sufficient candidates for consideration by the City Council.
Imagine what a task this is to interview 24 candidates for three minutes each with three of the City Council members vying for the position while determining the next Mayor. That created a perception that 43 percent of those voting for the next mayor would not provide an opportunity for those not on the dais. This could clearly be construed and muddy the water and further create cause for criticism of the process.
Next, the question of the run-off where Councilman Deile received 3 votes, Councilman Burch received 2 votes, and Councilwoman Bertolini received 2 votes. Mayor Pro-tem Derrick Donnell then had a run-off between Councilwoman Bertolini and Councilman Burch, which Councilman Burch won. Finally, a run-off between the two top vote getters Councilman Deile and Councilman Burch, where Councilman Burch won a majority of the vote by 4-3. Some questioned why Councilman Deile was not pronounced mayor when he had a majority of the votes. In my humble opinion, the Mayor Pro-Tem did the right thing because a majority of the City Council, with a vote of 4-3 chose the new mayor. Congratulations Mayor Burch!
I would also like to mention the positive and professional way that Councilman Derrick Donnell (Mayor Pro-tem) conducted the meeting. While I cannot offer another or better process than to have a special election, I am sure that this process with be bantered about for years as people evaluate the effectiveness and fairness of the process. Eventually the process may be judged mostly by the outcome of the process. Whatever the case it is time to put this all behind us and work toward moving the city forward.
Lastly, I think it appropriate that we thank Mayor Feichthaler for his service over the past 3.5 years as well as his family, for the time that his duties removed him from his family obligations. Eric, we all wish you well on your next journey.
Mike Quaintance
President Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral