Fort Myers City Council Election: Ward 2 candidates narrowed to 2

The Ward 2 race in the City of Fort Myers has been narrowed down to two candidates who will move on to compete in the general election in the fall.

Councilman Johnny Streets is finishing out his term for Ward 2, and three people were looking to vie for that spot.

Diana Giraldo, Chanette Campbell-Brunson and Jacquelyn McMiller.

As of 9 p.m. with all six precincts reporting, Diana Giraldo had 48.97% of the votes, with Jacquelyn McMiller following at 27.6%, meaning they will face off in the general election in November.

WINK News Anchor Annette Montgomery was in Fort Myers speaking with the candidates.

Each one feels like they have a chance to win to be the newest addition to the Fort Myers City Council.

They know the issues neighbors in Ward 2 face: concerns with infrastructure, law enforcement and quality of life.

Each one of them thinks they have what it takes to fix those issues.

“People should vote for me because I have first lived in Fort Myers for over 62 years, and I have experience with addressing practical issues in our community,” said Chanetta Campbell-Brunson, the one candidate for Ward 2 who did not make the cut.

Jacquelyn McMiller explained why she believes people should vote for her.

“Well, I ran in 2020 as mayor, and we broke records then,” she said, “and they trusted me at that point. You know, we had town halls and meetings when I was competing against Mayor Anderson, and I let the people know who I was, what I stood for.”

The third candidate, Diana Giraldo, who received the majority of the votes, said, “I’ve been in Fort Myers for 18 years, and I used to work for the City of Fort Myers. I was an employee of the city, so I understand the operations and all that.”

The longest-serving member of the Fort Myers City Council will be vacating his Ward 2 seat.

Streets served Fort Myers as a law enforcer in the city’s police department for 26 years before he retired.

However, he was not through with serving the public. After retirement, he worked in both the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers and Lee County Housing Authority before taking his seat on the council.

Now two women are vying for your vote to be his replacement.

Their priorities if elected?

“I’m big on road safety. I’m a bicycle crash survivor myself, but road safety traffic,” said Giraldo.

“My priorities for Ward 2 is we’ve struggled, you know, desperately with our infrastructure, ensuring that our roads, ensuring that we even have sidewalks,” said McMiller.

Each candidate has lived in Fort Myers for an extensive time and has ties with the community.