City election qualifying period kicks off
Correction and update: Michael Bogliole, who qualified in District 2, has not withdrawn.
***
There’s a small window of opportunity for incumbents and prospective candidates to qualify for the Cape Coral municipal elections.
The five-day qualification period kicked off at noon Monday, with several candidates wasting no time to get to the city clerk’s office.
As of Tuesday, four candidates have qualified to run, one of whom promptly withdrew later in the day.
Candidates have until noon on Friday to get their materials in.
Kimberly Bruns, interim assistant city clerk, said the quick start isn’t surprising, and that another wave of qualifiers is expected toward the deadline.
“Toward the end of the week we expect people to come in. The people who came Monday came sporadically. One made an appointment,” Bruns said. “Typically people wait. The earlier the better, but it’s usually the last two days when candidates come in, and sometimes they aren’t on the candidates list.”
Indeed, on Tuesday there were no candidate qualifications.
Four-year terms in districts 2, 3, 5, and 7 are up for grabs. With Lenny Nesta indicating he’s not running for a second term in District 3 and Derrick Donnell having termed out in District 7, there will be at least two new people on the dais after Nov. 3.
By now, candidates should have declared their intentions, appointed a campaign treasurer and opened their campaign file with the city clerk’s office.
Among the materials candidates must turn in include:
A $292.71 fee, which includes a $100 filing fee plus the Election Assessment fee of 1 percent of the council member’s annual salary of $19,270.69.
A financial disclosure form must also be completed, as well as showing your voter registration card. They must also declare what bank they’ll use as a depository, a statement of candidacy, the candidate oath and sign that they are familiar with the election handbook.
The city has a packet prospective candidates can get with all the required forms and a checklist to help them be sure everything is in.
Michael Bogliole in District 2 was the first to qualify for the election.
Incumbent Rana Erbrick has qualified in District 5 and remains its lone candidate. Timothy Barrier and Jessica Cosden have qualified for Donnell’s seat in District 7.
A district must have at least three candidates in order to hold a primary in September.