Cape Coral Mayor Loses Primary, Apparently Activates His Out-of-Office Reply

Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter lost Tuesday’s primary election—and judging by what happened next, he may have also lost the directions to City Hall.

According to Gulf Coast News Now, Gunter has been absent from public appearances and City Council meetings since voters decided they would like to try a different mayor.

That includes Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, where the mayor’s chair sat empty just one day after the election.

Now, to be fair, losing an election has to sting. Nobody expects the man to wake up the next morning, whistle “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” and skip merrily into City Hall carrying doughnuts for everyone.

But there is usually a short, awkward period between losing an election and actually leaving office. It’s commonly known as “finishing the job.”

Gunter finished third in the six-candidate primary, receiving 5,665 votes. Rick Erickson led the race with 12,160 votes, followed by Lisa Cohen-Adkinson with 9,280. Erickson and Cohen-Adkinson will now face each other in the November general election.

Cape Coral voters may have handed Gunter his political eviction notice, but they did not say he needed to vacate the premises before breakfast.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Mayor

An empty chair at a government meeting is not normally shocking. In fact, depending on the meeting, it may be the most productive participant in the room.

But when the empty chair belongs to the mayor—and appears immediately after he loses an election—it does raise a few questions.

Is he taking some personal time?

Is he updating his résumé?

Is he driving slowly past City Hall while playing sad music?

Or did he simply decide that if Cape Coral doesn’t want him as its next mayor, Cape Coral can practice not having him as its current mayor?

We don’t know.

What we do know is that an election loss does not come with an automatic “skip the rest of your shift” coupon. Most people who learn they’re being replaced are still expected to show up until their final day.

Try telling your boss, “I didn’t get the promotion, so I’ll no longer be attending meetings,” and see how quickly security begins packing your desk.

Cape Coral’s Fastest Transition of Power

Traditionally, outgoing elected officials congratulate the winners, thank their supporters and promise an orderly transition.

Cape Coral may be pioneering a more efficient approach:

1. Lose election.
2. Disappear.
3. Let everyone else figure it out.

It eliminates unnecessary paperwork, farewell speeches and the uncomfortable experience of sitting through a council meeting while everyone in the room knows your political career has an expiration date.

Government efficiency has finally arrived in Cape Coral. It just took the form of an empty chair.

Maybe Gunter had a legitimate reason for missing the meeting and recent public appearances. If so, the public deserves to hear it. Until then, the timing is difficult to ignore.

Cape Coral residents did vote for a new direction—but the next mayor has not taken office yet. The current one still has a city to help run.

Losing gracefully is optional.

Showing up for work generally isn’t.

Source: Gulf Coast News Now — Cape Coral mayor absent after primary loss

Cape Crazy commentary is satire based on publicly reported information. Any speculation above is clearly intended as humor—not a claim that anyone is literally driving around City Hall listening to sad music.

Is This Crazy or Not?

• Crazy: You’re still the mayor. Go to the meeting.
• Not Crazy: Give the guy a day to lick his political wounds.
• You Decide: Maybe someone should check whether his out-of-office message has a return date.