Candidate qualifying ends today
UPDATE:
All 18 candidates running for City Council or Mayor this fall have now qualified to be placed on the ballot for the Primary Election on Sept. 12, according to the City of Cape Coral website’s candidate listing.
Incumbent District 1 City Council member Jim Burch filed his qualifying documents Friday in the City Clerk’s office to complete the qualifying period that ended at 1 p.m.
Original post:
All but one of the 18 announced candidates running for City Council or Mayor this fall have qualified to be placed on the ballot for the Primary Election on Sept. 12, according to the City of Cape Coral website’s candidate listing.
The qualifying period runs through 1 p.m. today in the City Clerk’s office. The only candidate not to qualify through Thursday is District 1 council incumbent Jim Burch.
Candidates must pay the required fees for the office they are running for, file a financial disclosure form and present a valid voter registration card.
Four City Council seats – Districts 1, 4, 5 and 6 – are up for grabs in addition to the Mayor’s seat. The District 5 seat was placed on the ballot due to incumbent Rana Erbrick’s resignation, effective Sept. 7, in order for her to run for Mayor.
All seven candidates declared to run for Mayor have now qualified. They are Joe Coviello, Derrick Donnell, Erbrick, Michael Hollow, Kevin Koch, April Freeman and Daniel Sheppard.
Qualified for the District 1 council seat are James Foraker, John Gunter and Graham Morris.
District 4 qualified candidates are Jeffrey Jones, incumbent Richard Leon and Jennifer Nelson.
Qualified to run in District 5 are James Schneider and Dave Stokes.
Finally, qualifiers for the District 6 seat are John Karcher and incumbent Rick Williams.
The total fee to run for a council seat is $426, which includes a filing fee of $100 plus the Election Assessment fee of 1 percent of the annual salary of $32,600 ($326). The total fee to run for mayor is $516, including a $150 filing fee plus the 1 percent assessment fee of the mayor’s salary of $36,600 ($366).
Three candidates who previously announced a run for office have withdrawn, leaving 18 candidates overall.
The primary election is Sept. 12. The general election is Nov. 7. Early voting dates for the primary are Sept. 5-9 and from Oct. 30-Nov. 4 for the general.
Cape Coral municipal elections are non-partisan, citywide elections, meaning all registered voters may cast a ballot in all races regardless of party affiliation and the district in which the voter resides.
All candidates must be continuous, full-time residents of the city for the entire calendar year preceding their qualification for office and must also reside in their respective districts. Full terms are for four years.
As of Thursday, the announced candidates for Cape Coral City Council include:
* Mayor
Announced:
Joe Coviello (qualified)
Derrick L. Donnell (qualified)
Rana M. Erbrick (qualified)
April J. Freeman (qualified)
Michael Hollow (qualified)
Kevin Koch (qualified)
Daniel J. Sheppard III (qualified)
Mayor Marni Sawicki has said she will not run for a second term.
* District 1
Announced:
Jim Burch (incumbent)
James Foraker (qualified)
John Gunter (qualified)
Graham Madison Morris (qualified)
* District 4
Announced:
Jeffrey Jones (qualified)
Richard Leon (incumbent, qualified)
Jennifer Nelson (qualified)
* District 5
Announced:
James D. Schneider (qualified)
David A. Stokes (qualified)
* District 6
Announced:
John Karcher (qualified)
Rick Williams (incumbent, qualified)