Here what we know about the 13 Cape Coral candidates vying for District 4 seat
Thirteen Cape Coral residents are tossing their hats in at the chance to become the District 4 Councilmember as the deadline passed Tuesday evening.
Cape Coral seeks to fill the role of the now-suspended District 4 Councilmember Patty Cummings.
Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Cummings by issuing an executive order on Nov. 16 after she was charged with three felonies related to the 2022 election.
The council voted to appoint a person to fill the seat and will interview applicants in December.
The appointee would serve until late 2024, when the seat will be up for election, and then again in 2026 as Cummings' four-year term expires.
The council members will interview candidates through Friday.
Council members would vote on the final candidate on Dec. 13 as the last item on the meeting agenda, with the new council person seated at the first meeting in January.
Council members were paid a base annual salary of $37,288.94 in 2022.
Janine Louise Mohl, 65, applied on Nov. 20 but has officially withdrawn as of Thursday, Nov. 30. She said the process became too cumbersome for her schedule in December.
Here's what we know about the applicants:
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Richard Carr
Age: 58
Education: Bachelor of Public Administration, Barry University, Miami Shores; Associates in Criminal Justice, Florida Southwestern (Edison College), Fort Myers; Certificate in Leadership, FBI National Academy Session #248, Quantico, Virginia; Chief Executive Seminar- 44, Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute, Tallahassee.
Work: Realtor with Palm Paradise Real Estate
Years in the city: 30.
Carr moved from New England to Fort Myers in 1990 to become a police officer. From there, he bought a home in Cape Coral in 1993.
Most of his work experience was outside the city, but he worked as the manager for the city's code enforcement division for six and a half years.
While working for different local agencies, he tossed around the idea of running for a council seat and saw this as a perfect opportunity.
"I've always worked alongside the elected officials throughout every job I had, so I'm very familiar with the process," Carr said. "This kind of came up in an unusual way with the removal of the current council person, and I thought based on my background and experience, I mean if I'm going to do it, this is I think a great time to try to get the appointment."
He said he wants to give the best representation he can to the city while helping manage the city's inevitable growth.
"There's a lot of resistance to that, and I'm not I don't really agree with the resistance, I think that we need to move forward," Carr said. "Some of those decisions are difficult ones to make, but you need to make it for the betterment of the majority and not just a small group that may not want to go in a certain direction."
He remembers the days when residents had to go to Fort Myers to do anything, so he wants to avoid that and provide everything residents need inside Cape Coral.
If appointed, he plans to pursue the seat in 2024.
Robert (Bob) O'Connor
Age: 63
Education: High school diploma, North Fort Myers High School.
Work: Commercial Real Estate Sales & Leasing; Honorable discharge with the United States Army.
Years in the city: 49.
O'Connor has been in Cape Coral since he was a teenager and has seen the city evolve beyond what anyone thought it would become.
"Having lived in Cape Coral for almost 50 years, I have obviously seen tremendous growth and change," he said. "I would be honored to serve in a place I call home."
He believes his history and five-year experience on the Cape Coral Planning and Zoning Commission, and one year on the the Cape Coral Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, have given him an insight into how the city is run.
"I do it to volunteer and as a civic duty, responsibility," O'Connor said.
The candidate believes the city is in a great position for success and that he will work with the rest of the council and the mayor toward what's best for the city.
He is unsure if he will pursue the seat in 2024 if appointed.
Anthony Rainone
Age: 38.
Education: Pursuing Doctor of Education, Capella University- Minneapolis, Minnesota; Master of Arts, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California; Bachelor of Arts, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island.
Work: Stay-at-home father, and a former teacher.
Years in the city: 2.
Rainone said he wants to be an open ear for the people.
As a teacher, he taught government and economics and wanted to finally practice what he preached as this would be his first government position.
He said he lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and fled to Florida after encountering problems with homeless encampments, fires, and water shortages with seemingly no one doing anything about them.
"I called every department in between and everybody I talked to everybody ignored me, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who felt totally ignored," Rainone said.
He sees managing growth in the city as a top priority.
"I live off Skyline Boulevard, and I can see the housing developments coming in, and making sure that we have the appropriate infrastructure as the city continues to grow is extremely important," he said.
If appointed, he plans to pursue the seat in 2024.
Jesus Concepcion-Andres Rodriguez
Age: 24
Education: Pursuing Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Florida SouthWestern State College, Fort Myers; High school diploma, Ida S. Baker High School, Cape Coral.
Work: Tax & Audit Processing with Clifton LarsonAllen.
Years in the city: 20
Rodriguez describes himself as a community-oriented individual who looks for meaningful ways to give back and thinks serving on the council is the perfect opportunity to do so.
"The prospect of serving as a council member is an exciting opportunity for me to use my skills, experiences, and ideas to impact the lives of our town's residents positively," Rodriguez said.
He wants to shape policies that address the unique needs of the diverse community and foster a greater sense of unity for all.
He's interested in enhancing the city's infrastructure by investing in well-maintained roads, constructing new pathways, implementing modern traffic management solutions, and designing public spaces that are safe and welcoming.
Rodriguez also wants to handle pressing issues such as water shortages affecting the city during times of droughts.
"I firmly believe in taking a proactive approach to sustainability," he said. "We must develop long-term strategies to address the current water shortage crisis and ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply for future generations."
If appointed, he said he likely plans to pursue the seat in 2024.
Karen Lee Solgard
Age: 67
Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Work: Loan Officer with New American Funding.
Years in the city: 12.
Solgard lives an active life as she enjoys kayaking near canals close to the lake off Pelican Boulevard and bike rides around her neighborhood.
Through her activities, she's realized that 50% of the homes around where she lives are either vacation rentals or second homes.
She said a good councilmember needs to keep this into account and strike a balance between keeping the city's nature beautiful and smart growth.
"So the people who basically represent the district are representing people who enjoy Southwest Florida but don't have a right to vote, so we basically have to be stewards of our neighborhood," Solgard said.
Solgard said her experience with mortgages made her realize that the backbone of the community, teachers, medical workers, firefighters, and police officers were getting priced out of the market.
"Because I do numbers for a living, I'm fiscally responsible, and, because I have a heart, know that it's actually good for the economy for people to be able to afford living here, we have to figure out how we create ordinances, and policies that keep it sustainable for everybody," Solgard said.
She is unsure if she will pursue the seat in 2024 if appointed.
Robert (Bob) Sutter
Age: 62
Education: Master's Degree in Internet Marketing, Full Sail University; Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Hanover College, Indiana.
Work: Semi-retired military veteran and CEO and president of Future State Partners Inc.
Years in the city: 2.
Sutter believes in investing in the community, and he believes now is his time.
He said he started visiting the city seven years ago and fell in love with how laid back and friendly the people here are.
"I enjoyed going to the places downtown, supporting the community, going to different events," Sutter said. "So I just said heck, I'm gonna move down here and make this next part of my journey in life."
He wants to invest in the community and help make it better for everyone, and wants to support veterans.
As a disabled veteran, his appointment would add needed representation to help the city live up to its "Purple Heart" city name.
"I've noticed there's a huge population of retired military here, and there's over 13,000 military here that aren't being represented on our city council," Sutter said. "It's my time, it's my responsibility to represent veterans, and that's just why I'm doing it."
If appointed, he plans to pursue the seat in 2024.
Jennifer Nelson
Age: 53.
Education: Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas.
Work: Consultant for nonprofits and businesses with Purpose Driven Strategies.
Years in the city: 15.
The former Cape Coral Council member Nelson, who lost in a narrow race, has applied for her old District 4 council seat.
In November 2022, Patty Cummings unseated Jennifer Nelson for District 4 with 28,380 votes, or 50.89%, compared to the 27,382 votes, or 49.11%, for Nelson.
Nelson said as the only lawful candidate in her 2022 race, she wants to work toward restoring the trust in the city's elections and leaders.
"My hope would be to help restore their faith," Nelson said.
She said she applied because of her love for the city.
"I love this city; (it's) a city that has been good to me and my family," Nelson said. "The amount of residents, groups, and colleagues who reached out asking me to submit was touching."
She highlighted that with her experience, she will be able to jump in and get up to speed on current council matters.
Nelson said she would focus on traffic issues such as commutes over the bridge, bringing sidewalks and more streetlights, working toward a community pool and community center, and finishing parks.
If appointed, she does not know if she will run for the two-year term in 2024.
Blair Veloz
Age: 35.
Education: Master's in Communication and Leadership from Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington; bachelor's in Communication from FGCU; associates from Florida Southwestern State College; Supreme Court Certified Family; Civil & County Mediator.
Work: Owner/Operator of House of B.A. LLC, consultant, and Adjunct Professor at Keiser University, FGCU, Hodges.
Years in the city: 24.
Veloz wants to focus on sustainable growth in the city.
As a resident of the city since middle school, she saw it grow and change in ways that couldn't be fathom.
"I've had to awesome two and a half awesome decades here," Veloz said. "Cape Coral was very small when we first got here, even though we have a large landmass. It was very much you know your neighbors, you know the area, you know the people, and there was a lot more trust in our community."
She said she's running because she values transparency and ethical decision-making while serving the community she loves.
"I want a collectivistic culture, where just like after the hurricane, we all had each other's backs," Veloz said. "So I want that same sense of camaraderie, not just after something tragic happens, but I want that from every single day."
When speaking on growth, she wants to focus on getting people more involved with what is going on in the city.
"There's a lot of people that have moved here, and they, one: don't know the roots of Cape Coral, and two: they don't see the potential," Veloz said. "We kind of forget that it has grown, but we're not taking responsibility for the growth; we've just kind of like let it happen to us instead of getting involved."
She wants to see more young people and more permanent residents in the city.
"They always leave because they're like "Oh, it's a Cape Coma," and that's not what we are," Veloz said. "There's so much beauty, people come here to vacation, and we need to really hold on and keep the really good people here."
Whether appointed or not, she plans to run for the seat in 2024.
William Matthews
Age: 44.
Education: Associates in Paralegal studies at the State University of New York, Westchester Community College, Hartsdale, New York; Bachelor's in Finance & Economics at State University of NY, Empire State College, Valhalla, New York; bachelor's in accounting (CPA Route) at State University of NY.
Work: Finance Accounting Director with EMPG-Solutions.
Years in the city: 3.
Matthews is running because the council decided to appoint someone rather than hold an election.
He saw it as an understandable decision considering the cost but thinks District 4 should be allowed to choose who represents them.
Matthews had visited Cape Coral on and off over the past few decades, and he believes he can be the best voice for making improvements in the city.
"I've always been somebody that helps my neighbor and tries to improve the community," Matthews said. "So being appointed by the council to help District Four would allow me the opportunity to do that at the highest level that I could do it from where I stand."
The candidate wants to focus on sustainable growth.
He said he sees growth slowing down as interest rates rise and wants to begin preparing the city's infrastructure, and water for when rates go down again.
"I believe the next three to five years is crucial to get things in place because once these rates go down, people are going to start coming back here because this is a place that you want to move and raise your family," Matthews said.
If appointed, he does not know if he will run for the two-year term in 2024.
David Wayne Orlowski
Age: 50.
Education:
Work: Consultant and business owner with Airport Express.
Years in the city: 25.
Orlowski said he's seen "the good, the bad, and the ugly" in Cape Coral, and he wants to restore integrity to the city while dealing with decades of problems.
"We really need to bring back and show the residents that we can do the job, and it has to start with somebody, or it has to turn around and start with somebody that can compromise with the current leaders in the city," Orlowski said.
As a financial adviser for 17 years with years of experience in the city, he said he's uniquely positioned to help the residents.
"The residents don't want to see Realtors, they don't want to see mortgage brokers, they don't want to see somebody that just moved here," Orlowski said.
He wants to focus on bringing better, more lucrative jobs to the city.
"Popping up Dollar Generals and Dollar Trees and a Walmart Neighborhood Market is not going to pay people's rent," Orlowski said.
He wants to work more with Lee County and talk to companies for those jobs while also tackling the growing infrastructure that will be needed.
Orlowski said he's tired of seeing residents drive out every morning to places such as Marco Island, Sarasota, and Naples for jobs.
"With all this growth, we need to bring something here," he said. "I'm not saying let's bring the next Amazon plant here and put it on Burnt Store Road or anything like that, but we need something."
If appointed, he does not know if he will run for the two-year term in 2024.
Theresa Frosoni
Education: MBA, Fairleigh Dickenson University; Bachelor's Degree in Business, Caldwell College; Associate's Degree in Law Enforcement, Somerset County College, Now Raritan Valley; Graduate Union County Police Academy; Completed Rutger's Municipal Government Course.
Work: Retired.
Frosoni is a retiree who worked as a police officer in Watchung, New Jersey, a detective in Somerset County Prosecutors Office, and a licensed private detective in the State of Florida until last year.
She also has 30 years of experience as a New Jersey licensed Real Estate Agent and IT management.
"I care about Cape Coral and believe my background and experience will be an asset to the council," Fronsoni wrote in her application.
Eduardo Jimenez
Work: Self Employed Builder contractor.
Jimenez is a father of four and a grandfather from Cuba.
He wrote that he likes to help new citizens and spend time with his family in his spare time.
According to his application, his desire for the seat comes from his heart for the community.
He writes that he relates to the needs of all citizens, but especially the growing Hispanic Community in Cape Coral.
"We are lacking a voice for this large growing group of taxpayers in Cape Coral," Jimenez wrote.
Robert Luby
Work: A retired cardiovascular perfusionist and teacher.
Education: Associates in Health Care at Edison College, Fort Myers; and Bachelor's in Cardiovascular Perfusionist at Barry University in Miami.
He worked for Lee Health and Lee County School and now wants to focus on making the city better.
"The city is not being planned too well," Luby wrote in his application.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 13 applicants line up for Cape Coral District 4 council seat
