Election Day 2026 is 7 weeks away. Fort Myers Beach voters will now have only 4 candidates to choose from to fill 3 open seats on the Town Council. John McLean, who was appointed to the council to fill Jim Atterholt’s seat, has decided to pull out of the race.
McLean is currently on the Town Council. He was appointed to the seat to replace Jim Atterholt who resigned at the end of last year. At the time of his appointment, McLean was a member of the LPA.
He issued this statement about withdrawing from the race. “After careful reflection, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy for the Fort Myers Beach Town Council. I know this decision will disappoint many of my supporters, whose encouragement I deeply appreciate, and may please some who disagree with my views on how to move our island forward. This deeply personal decision reflects recent events in my life and whether I can fully commit the energy and effort the role requires over the next four years. I have been honored to be appointed to the LPA and Town Council and have deeply appreciated the role, its responsibilities and the dedication needed to properly serve our residents. I know what is required to be effective, and our town and residents deserve no less than 100% commitment to the task.
“Like many others, I have spent the last 4 years of my life rebuilding my home and doing what I can to help our island recover. My goal is to get back to what the plan was pre-Ian; that is to enjoy retirement with my family and friends and to travel extensively
“Although our island is divided over how best to move forward, I want to be clear that my decision was not influenced by any action or words from my fellow candidates or their supporters. My fellow candidates have treated me personally with respect and professionalism and I respect them for that.
“Regardless of the path we choose or the projects under consideration, I believe that we need to come together as a community. I continue to believe that sustaining a school, pool, community center, and cultural center will require more commercial investment. We will need that investment to help reduce the tax burden on Fort Myers Beach residents and homeowners and to ensure that our property values remain strong and resilient.
“I remain steadfast in seeing FMB thrive and I look forward to serving the town in some other capacity.”
Because its fairly late in the game, McLean’s name will remain on the ballot, according to the Lee County Elections office. They start mailing out military/overseas vote-by-mail ballots this Friday and domestic vote-by-mail ballots on Tuesday, September 29th.
Anita Cececeda, Rebecca Link, Ed Schoonover and Tom Brady are the 4 remaining candidates.
Tom Brady is an Army veteran who moved to Fort Myers Beach in 2018 with his
wife Sally.
Anita Cereceda is the former Mayor, she had several stints as Mayor and has been involved in Fort Myers Beach politics for decades. She is also the current chair of the LPA, which she would have to resign from if she wins in November.
Rebecca Link won her seat in the recall election last year. She narroely beat out Brady (by less than 10 votes). Link took Karen Woodson’s seat. Woodson and John King were both recalled. King kept his seat when a judge ruled the petition to recall him was flawed.
Ed Schoonover is a south end resident and current member of the LPA. In addition to running for Town Council Schoonover has also reapplied to the LPA. His seat expires at the end of this month.
Link’s seat, John King’s seat and John McLean’s seat are the seats that will be on the ballot in November. Fort Myers Beach is a non-partisan election and there is no primary. Voters will be asked to vote for up to 3 candidates. The three with the most votes take the seats.
Local journalism is hard work. If you appreciate the most in-depth reporting on Fort Myers Beach, please support what we do HERE by Venmo, Zell or PayPal. Thank you.
I’m sorry to see this, but understand that John needs to do what’s best him and his family. The more options we have to choose from the better. We keep getting reminded that three of our candidates see things the same way which is great if they agree with you on an issue, but what if you believe differently on the next issue. Well, praying for the best for our town as always with our current counsel and the next.
And then there were four.
Soon to be three.
Cereceda, Link and Brady it will be returning the town to sanity.
You remind me of that line from the movie Field Of Dreams – “You’re from the sixties…Back to the sixties! There’s no place for you here in the future”. Actually, you’re more like the Ronnie Milsap song, Lost In The Fifties Tonight. Maybe you should concentrate on how messed up the home you left us for is, High Springs: Potential Dissolution of Police & Fire Departments; Deep Budget Deficits & Emergency Fund Depletion; Costly Wastewater Infrastructure Overhead; State Injunctions & Financial Mismanagement; Your own Development Issues. Have you got a new Town Manager yet? “PIECE”
You
can’t shake the pettiness can you John King. What a pitiful man.
Oh, OUCH! Because I don’t buy into your pontification. You’re yesterdays news.
You are, and nobody cares about you or what you say. You and Karen should take Jim’s lead.
I totally agree with John’s honesty!! He right by stating that we do not need a community pool cultural center or school. There aren’t enough residents living on this island with small children and just about everyone who owns a home has a pool. Tax payers will be burdened with the maintenance of these unnecessary structures.
I totally agree with you Maria ……
Every “Ground Level Pool” on FMB will eventually be filled up with Ocean water, sand, and debris AGAIN in the future ! Just look at Margaritaville, but we (FMB) don’t have the budget to keep repairing it after every seasonal water storm type surge each year, AND the other contributing factor, the islands storm surge drains are still plugged with past hurricane sludge / debris. Don’t waste our tax payer money fixing it every time it happens or the cost of maintaining a swimming pool pleasure that we can’t afford !!!
While John and I had differing opinions about what kind of development best serves the community, I felt we always treated each other with respect. I hope everything that led up to this difficult decision sorts itself out.
John McLean is a good and decent man. John has made tremendous contributions to our Town since Ian. As John Lennon sang, Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. Thank you for your contributions, John (and Elena)! Enjoy! You have earned it!