Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter returns to council after no-show and primary election loss

Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter returned to preside over the city council meeting on Wednesday, marking his first appearance since missing last week’s meeting and coming eight days after his primary election loss. Residents had noted the light-hearted atmosphere of last week’s meeting and were interested to see how this week’s meeting would proceed with Gunter back in his role. When asked if Gunter would attend the meeting, Gulf Coast News was told to reach out to the mayor directly. Despite repeated attempts to contact him over the past week with no response, Gunter was present and leading the meeting. Before public comments began, the council discussed whether clapping should be allowed when attendees agreed with a speaker. Councilman Steinke, who allowed clapping at last week’s meeting, addressed the need to follow rules. Councilmember Kaduk added that public comments, sometimes followed by clapping, occur before the official start of the council’s business meeting. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment, and original programming on your TV.