Jul 22, 2020 3 min read

Lee County voters will have a chance to watch a series of candidate forums via video, thanks to the League of Women Voters of Lee County, in partnership with the Alliance for the Arts.

The forums include all of the major races save one of four Cape Coral City Council races and three State House races impacting Lee County.

“Virtual Candidate Forums canceled due to lack of candidate participation include Cape Coral District 5 and Florida House Seats 76, 77, 79,” a release from the League states.

Cape Coral’s two District 5 candidates, Louis Navarra and Robert Welsh, explained their lack of participation in their forum that had been set for Friday, July 10, which required neither to leave their homes, as the forum was virtual, with questions provided by those attending.

Welsh said many of the local candidates are using his company to print their mail-in campaign cards, making him too busy to be able to take part. He also lost track of time.

“With the way things have been going and everyone wanting their postcards campaigns done,” Welsh said. “I was under the assumption the 10th was a Saturday and I was getting caught up.”

Welsh said when he sat down for the forum (on the 11th) to go over the e-mails and to have the link set, he realized he missed the forum.

Navarra, who is 75, said he comes from the old school and isn’t a tech wiz, though he tried to get help from his son. He blamed technical difficulties.

“My son put the virtual in for me from Jacksonville and I was fiddling with it so I could do a virtual one with the firemen,” Navarra said. “I grew up in the older generation where they used the phone and wrote letters.”

The League has released the first wave of its Virtual Candidate Forums for free public viewing.

These races may be viewed at www.lwvlee.org, www.vote411.org, and ArtInLee.org/VirtualForums.

* Lee County School Board Districts 2 and 3:

* Lee County School Board District 7:

* Lee County Sheriff: https://youtu.be/QQi0ZXv2yeE

* Lee County Commissioner Districts 1 and 5:

* Lee County Commissioner District 3: https://youtu.be/Kni0rDJqZtc

* Fort Myers City Council Ward 6: https://youtu.be/4t6vZQP_mI0

* Fort Myers City Council Ward 4: https://youtu.be/ESAyegGhh1Y

Virtual Candidate Forums to be available soon include:

Fort Myers Mayor

Cape Coral City Council Districts 2, 3 and 7

Florida House Seat 78

Florida Senate District 27

Lee County Property Appraiser

US House Seat 19

Additional Virtual Forums including Fort Myers City Council Ward 2 and the Lee Memorial Health System Board Districts 1, 3, and 5 may be scheduled before the Nov. 3 General Election.

For the Aug. 18 Primary Election, the deadline to Register to Vote or to Change Party Affiliation is July 20 and the deadline to request a Vote-By-Mail Ballot is Aug. 8. All voters should verify their registration status. Florida is a closed primary election state, without a party affiliation you may only vote in non-partisan races.

www.VOTE411.org is a one-stop resource for nonpartisan election information with candidate and Ballot information, polling places, Debates and Forums and a Voters’ Guide for Lee County, Florida, and national candidates including links to videos of virtual Candidate Forums.

Also, Voters may contact Lee County Elections, 239-533-8683, www.lee.vote for voting and registration information.

For more information, visit ArtInLee.org/VirtualForums.