Who’s Going to Run For Town Council?

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The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has two seats up for election this coming November. The seats now occupied by Mayor Ray Murphy and Vice Mayor Rexann Hosafros. Here’s the speculation…

While nobody has officially announced they plan to run for council, the speculation on the beach is that Mayor Ray Murphy plans to run again and would be the odds on favorite to hold his seat. The Mayor has been involved in the local government on-and-off since the early days of incorporation in many different capacities. He’s well respected on the beach and there are very few people who live there that he does not know.
Most election prognosticators on the beach also believe that Vice Mayor Rexann Hosafros will not run again.

Several names that you hear being bandied about include Karen Woodson, who sits on several beach committees and the Friends of Lovers Key, local resident and school teacher Patrick Romcoe, Marine Resources Task Force committee chairman Steve Johnson and Public Safety committee chair Dawn Thomas. You must be a resident of the beach for at least one year to run for office.

On Monday the town council will consider changing the qualifying period for the election this November and all future elections. As of now, the qualifying period for town council candidates is September 19, 2022, to Friday, September 23, 2022. However, that doesn’t match up with Lee County’s qualifying period and it limits the town and the Lee County Supervisor of Elections’ ability to prepare and timely mail official ballots in accordance with state law.

The deadline to mail overseas ballots in the November 8, 2022 General Election is Saturday, September 24. The Lee County Supervisor of Elections has requested that the Town move its candidate-qualifying period to Monday, June 13, 2022, through Friday, June 17. The town council would need to approve the change by resolution after holding two public hearings. The first one will be Monday.

 

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