A polarizing but popular figure in Florida politics has made his opinion known on who he believes should be Cape Coral\u2019s next mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Congressman Byron Donalds, vying for governor on the Republican ticket, was in Cape Coral over the weekend at a local 9\/11 commemoration event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A video shared from Cape Coral mayoral candidate Lisa Cohen-Adkinson\u2019s Facebook page shows the two together at the event, with Donalds saying he ran into a \u201cgood, old friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the video, Donalds says, \u201cI\u2019ve known this lady for more than 10 years. She has been committed to Cape Coral the entire time. She needs to be your new mayor. Make sure you get out and vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI received Congressman Donalds\u2019 endorsement at Monday\u2019s Labor Day Field of Flags memorial event at Bernice Braden Park,\u201d Cohen-Adkinson stated Tuesday via email in response to a Breeze query. \u201cByron has watched my track record as a local activist for years. We have stood side by side in the trenches when it mattered most, whether we were fighting together to stop Common Core in our schools or ensuring Cape Coral\u2019s proposed mask mandate never took off. Byron has risen to national prominence in Congress because of his gifts of discernment, courage, and vision.\u00a0I believe he recognizes those same traits in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cohen-Adkinson said she met Donalds before he ran for the District 19 Congressional seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first met Byron in June 2014 at a local political roast hosted by a regional podcast,\u201d she said. \u201cThe event featured local comedians like Sheena Reagan and poked lighthearted fun at candidates who were actively running for office at the time. Byron attended because he was considering running for the District 19 seat, though he ultimately decided to wait a little longer. We were both young adults who felt deeply passionate about bringing real reform to government during the grassroots conservative movement.\u00a0Years later, in October 2019, I reached out to him and suggested he launch his campaign for Congress. I knew back then he would be an incredible congressman, and I cannot wait to watch what the future holds for him as our next governor.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said they share similar positions on key issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefending parental rights has been a driving passion of mine for the last 15 years, even before I had children of my own,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cI understood early on the critical importance of protecting those rights and recognized the \u201cslow boil\u201d of government overreach before the real damage could be done.\u00a0As a homeowner and local business owner, Byron knows I am a fierce fighter for our residents\u2019 personal liberties and financial freedom.\u00a0This endorsement isn\u2019t about partisan politics; it is about a respected leader looking at Cape Coral and recognizing that I have the proven experience to lead our city forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an email to The Breeze on Tuesday, Rick Erickson, the lead vote-getter in the Cape Coral non-partisan mayoral primary, said Donalds\u2019 did nothing to vet the mayoral race before he weighed in to benefit a friend.<\/p>\n
Erickson said when he first launched his campaign for mayor, he reached out to Donalds\u2019 office via email and phone to introduce himself, and he said he was told to \u201cfill out a request\u201d for a meeting with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was speaking with candidates across the Florida governor\u2019s race, and I wanted to build a working relationship with our congressional representative in case I was elected,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cHis office had me complete a request form but I never heard back from anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erickson said he did meet Donalds at a Lee County GOP dinner and a few other events, and that each time he told Donalds he was running for Cape Coral mayor and \u201cwanted to talk about how we could work together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erickson said, \u201cEach time, his response was \u2018Good luck,\u2019 and he walked away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of Donalds\u2019 endorsement of Cohen-Adkinson, Erickson said, \u201cI respect personal friendships, but I believe endorsements for public office should be based on qualifications, experience, and integrity, not personal loyalty. I spoke with nearly every candidate running for governor, except Congressman Donalds, even after requesting several times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a thirty-two-year military veteran with a Purple Heart and multiple combat distinguished valor awards, I would have expected at least the courtesy of a real conversation about what I can offer Cape Coral, my leadership skills, my experience, and my record of service. Voters deserve to know why two elected officials who represent this community would not even talk to the candidate who finished first in the primary election for Cape Coral Mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erickson said he also reached out to State Rep. Mike Giallombardo, who represents Cape Coral in District 79.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took a brief phone call and said he would get back to me, but every time I saw him in person afterward, he avoided me, while looking for an escape route, refusing to talk with me,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cI never received a substantive conversation about the work from either man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erickson said his main concern is having a direct line of communication with the eventual governor of Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne that\u2019s unbiased, focused on the mission, and built on facts that represent the people,\u201d he said. \u201cFriends can be swayed either way. There\u2019s no room for corruption or fraud, waste, and abuse. And as a friend, that\u2019s a very unethical situation already, because if friendships are voting for friends, then it can be really dangerous. That\u2019s why it\u2019s dangerous to have friends in office: that\u2019s how corruption starts.<\/p>\n
\u201cCape Coral wants to get away from the friendships, the cliques, the good old boys. We want someone who answers to the people, not to friends in offices somewhere else for other agendas.\u00a0The endorsement is just that, it\u2019s just \u00a0one person\u2019s opinion. The decision belongs to the voters.\u00a0I\u2019m the leader this community needs, but it\u2019s up to the people to decide, not one person.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what the endorsement means to his campaign, Erickson answered with one word: \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur campaign is continuing exactly as it started on day one, for the people,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cWe are running a clean campaign, and we\u2019re showing Cape Coral that leadership begins today, not the day you take office.\u00a0When I am mayor, I will be the leader who empowers the council to listen to the people first, focus on what the people of Cape Coral want, and then make decisions based on their votes -unlike before.\u00a0It\u2019s now time for the people to speak up and be heard, and as Cape Coral\u2019s leader, I will ensure that happens, because that is my job as mayor. I am not chasing endorsements from people who won\u2019t even talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cohen-Adkinson said it means a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis endorsement is the fruit of keeping strong, trusted relationships with many community leaders and officials over the years, including Byron and his family,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cBut more importantly, it validates my 36 years of living in Cape Coral and my more than 15 years of fighting for residents at School Board and City Council meetings.\u00a0 I am the only candidate in this race with a documented track record of showing up, speaking out, and delivering results for our residents long before an election cycle ever started.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also said her long tenure and involvement in the city matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal change requires a mayor who actually knows how our city operates from day one.\u00a0Choosing untested leadership means risking a return to the exact same status quo that residents have spent years fighting against.\u00a0If your vision is to fall back in love with the Cape Coral you moved to or grew up in, I have the track record to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donalds\u2019 office did not respond to a Breeze email by press time.<\/p>\n