Cape Coral city council rejects proposal to change to 'strong mayor' structure

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral City Council decided Wednesday not to move forward with a proposal that would have fundamentally changed how the city operates, blocking voters from deciding whether they wanted a mayor-led government instead of the current city manager system.

Fox 4's Bella Line spoke with the mayor about the decision:

In December, the council began exploring what's called a "strong-mayor" form of government, which would shift daily operational control from the city manager to the mayor.

"There's a huge difference in responsibility. A strong mayor basically runs a day to day operations like the city manager," Mayor John Gunter said.

Some council members expressed concerns that the change could inject too much politics into the city's day-to-day operations. The council ultimately voted down putting the question on the ballot for voters to decide.

"I do believe that at some point we may want to entertain a strong-mayor form of government, but I don't think today is that day," Gunter said.

However, some council members, including Keith Long, argued the community should have the opportunity to decide whether now is the right time for such a change.

He also pointed to other cities in Florida that have been operating under the strong-mayor form of government for decades. Fox 4 asked Long if he would like to comment on the decision, and he declined.

Even though the new structure wouldn't have taken effect until 2030, Gunter said it could have influenced people who decide to run for mayor in the future.

"That could either deter somebody from running or because they're, they are running the day to day operations they may want to run where they wouldn't before. So, I think it could go either way," Gunter said.

Gunter said if the change were to be put on the ballot in the future, it would take a lot of community education. Gunter also indicated the council will not continue discussing this governmental change for now.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.