Vote Cohen-Adkinson & Shadrach
To the editor:
To the citizens of Cape Coral, the best city to raise a family in Florida, Hey voters, Please wake-up! Local elections really do matter the most to you and your family’s future. We have an opportunity to correct the mistakes of our current out-going mayor and council. Let’s vote for a mayor and council that will actually listen to and respect citizen’s input. We need a council that will restore our citizens advisory boards. These have historically been residents who cared enough about their hometown to donate their time and expertise to keep Cape Coral a safe and thriving community as we have continued to grow.
How can you do that? Vote for Lisa Cohen-Adkinson for mayor and Tom Shadrach for city council District 1. Both these candidates have pledged their support to you, the citizens, to restore your voice and respectful interaction with council. Lisa adds another major plus. She has the endorsement of Byron Donalds, the soon-to-be elected governor of Florida. That personal connection is vital to the two most important positive transformational additions to Cape Coral. A full-service veteran’s hospital located where the current VA clinic is currently located on Diplomat Parkway. I retired from there, and I know the “footers” are in place to cost effectively expand that location to a full-service VA hospital. The second transformational addition is to finally deliver on the decades-long promise of a Cape Coral freeway interchange exit from I-75. This would be the only exit that says Cape Coral that would actually put you in Cape Coral. I was on the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) board, I know we currently own the right of way, it has been on their planning maps for decades. We just need the leadership to get these projects done.
Both of those major additions to Cape Coral would add zero dollars to our current city debt. It will require leadership and a unified council voice along with support from our local county, state, and federal politicians.
Lisa Cohen-Adkinson is that high-energy, great personality leader, that can lead the charge for this transformational population in excess of 230,000 people. It is past time that we used that voting clout to get this done! This will also require a visionary council to bring this to the forefront of the agendas and budgets in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. We are the largest voting block between Tampa and Miami. We just need the leaders like Lisa and Tom to make sure our representatives at the state and national level hear the importance of these issues to our residents and help us get this DONE!
These two transformational additions will also tremendously help in the recruitment of relocating businesses that are moving to Florida from New York, New Jersey, California, and Washington state. It is past time our Economic Development Office does its job. Bring these businesses to Cape Coral. We can help custom make their workforce and facilities from the ground up. This would mean SO much more than just the retail and service industry low-paying jobs the EDO has been able to deliver.
So Cape Coral voters, I’m asking again, do we want to keep making the same mistakes as this past council? The opponents of Lisa and Tom will undoubtedly have the endorsement of the Cape Coral Police and Fire unions. While I love and respect our first responders, just like their support of Mayor Gunter, they are once again, shortsightedly looking out for their best interests not yours, we the taxpayers. We need affordability and the potential for cost effective transformational positive changes to Cape Coral.
That promise can be achieved by voting Lisa Cohen-Adkinson for mayor. She is a businesswoman and mother who has lived here over 30 years. Lisa knows our history and respects the importance of water quality, burrowing owls, gopher tortoises, and the support of our citizens to our first responders.
Tom Shadrach for District 1 councilman is a retired Boeing executive who served on the budget review advisory board and understands multi-million dollar projects. He can work with staff to help bring these projects in on time and under budget.
Both these candidates are the BEST choice to put you the taxpaying citizen, back in charge of your City. Cape Coral, the best City to raise your family in Florida!
Kevin McGrail
former councilman D-6
Cape Coral