Both incumbents lose in Cape Coral City Council election

Reporter: Elizabeth Biro Writer: Tim Belizaire
Published: Updated:

The Cape Coral City Council election was decided on Tuesday evening. Five seats were up for grabs, and both incumbents lost their seats.

Laurie Lehmann won District 2, Derrick Donnell won District 3, Jennifer Nelson won District 4, Joseph Kilraine won District 5, and Rachel Kaduk won District 7.

District 2

  • Laurie Lehmann
  • Dan Sheppard (Incumbent)

Sheppard was the incumbent council member for District 2. He was running for his second and final term. Sheppard owns Sheppard Landscape and Palm Source Pine Island, LLC. He has lived in Cape Coral since 1999.

Lehmann is a retired registered nurse who has lived in District 2 since 2004. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting and has been involved in the Save Jaycee Park movement.

District 2 covers Southwest Cape Coral.

District 3

  • Derrick Donnell
  • Deborah Lee McCormick

Donnell was a Lee County School District educator and a retired U.S. Marine commissioned officer. He’s also a former Cape Coral City Council member, serving District 7 from 2007 to 2015.

Donnell will now serve District 3, which covers the eastern and middle portion of Cape Coral.

McCormick said that she is a career civil servant who has served for 35 years. During that time, she worked with the Florida Department of Children and Families.

District 4

  • Richard Carr (Incumbent)
  • Jennifer I. Nelson

Nelson is a former Cape Coral City Council member who served in District 4 from 2017-2022. She is currently the Executive Director of Dress for Success Southwest Florida. She has also worked with Goodwill Industries and was the Executive Director for the Uncommon Friends Foundation and the Captiva Erosion Prevention District.

Carr had served in District 4 since December 2023. He was appointed to the vacant seat left by former councilmember Patty Cummings. Carr is a former law enforcement officer who served for 25 years. He was the Director of Professional Standards for the School District of Lee County and the Code Compliance Manager for the City of Cape Coral.

District 5

  • Joseph Kilraine
  • Charlie Pease

Kilraine has been a resident of Cape Coral for 20 years. He has almost 50 years of business experience.

Pease is the current Director of Cape Coral Technical College and the co-founder of the “Keep Our Parks and Rec” community group. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from the University of Florida and a Master of Arts in Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Michigan. Pease also helped fight to save Hunters Run Golf Course.

District 5 covers the western portion of mid-Cape Coral.

District 7

  • Michael Harper
  • Rachel Kaduk

Kaduk is a Loan Officer at the Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, where she has worked since March 2020. She graduated from Mariner High School and has lived in District 7 her entire life.

Harper owns Edison Mortgage Services and was a partner with the Edison Mortgage group from 2015 to 2020. He has lived in Cape Coral for 30 years and is a volunteer youth sports coach.

District 7 covers northeast Cape Coral.

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