Vote Leon
To the editor:
Cape Coral is once again facing another critical election with the Aug. 18 primary. What kind of city do we want to be, moving forward? As a 37-year resident and former councilman (2009-2013), I have seen many highs and lows in Cape Coral. What we need is the leadership to respect our past and the vision to recognize, we are a solid community oriented working class city. We need to elect a mayor and council that listens and supports our citizens, encourages our youth to better themselves, and keeps Cape Coral affordable for families to achieve their piece of the “Florida dream.”
Richard Leon is that choice for mayor Tuesday Aug. 18. He was raised in Cape Coral, was elected to city council (2013-2017), and currently serves working with the Kiwanis Club. He has become frustrated with the actions of our current mayor and council. They have diminished citizens input, torn up the old yacht club and Jaycee park, and left the city with empty fields and debt. This has made Cape Coral even more expensive to live in and raise our families. The current mayor was the architect of the hated “stipend” that removed all the volunteer board members and gave that 2023 council the excuse to double their salaries without voter approval. 40K for council and 60K for the mayor. Five council members lost their seats in the 2024 election. The new council shut down those raises but the current mayor voted not only once again to continue the raise but made it retroactive to October 1, 2023 giving himself a nice Christmas bonus. He wasn’t on the ballot in the 2024 election but, it is past time to say good-bye to John Gunter!
Richard Leon is the energetic young man to listen to resident’s concerns, hold the city manager accountable to implement council policy, and help make our city affordable again by prioritizing Cape Coral’s needs over the wants of our spendthrift mayor. This will become doubly important if the property tax decrease amendment passes in Florida. Our current mayor is already looking tax shift this potential tax decrease into new assessment fees. We need the leadership to decrease spending not play “shell games” with our tax dollars.
Tuesday, August 18, this is the day you decide Cape Coral’s future. Will it be more car washes, storage lockers, and kid’s rowing club broken promises? Will Cape Coral become like most large cities, having the best government money can buy? I vote NO! Elect Richard Leon to take Cape Coral into its’ Clean-Safe-Affordable future!
Kevin McGrail
former Councilman D-6