PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS: WHY ARE CAPE CORAL’S OLD, BACK-FROM-THE-DEAD ORGANIZATIONS SUDDENLY PICKING CANDIDATES
The closer Cape Coral gets to the August 18 election, the more interesting the political landscape becomes. Organizations that spent years presenting themselves as neighborhood and civic advocacy groups are suddenly stepping directly into electoral politics, telling residents who they believe should run City Hall. We recently raised questions about the Northwest Neighborhood Association (NWNA) and its involvement in this election. Now another organization has entered the picture: the Southwest Cape Coral Action Committee (SWCCAC). And once again, the question isn't whether these organizations have the right to endorse candidates, they absolutely do. The question is much simpler: WHY NOW?
SWCCAC has been around in one form or another for years. Florida corporate records show that a Southwest Cape Coral Action Committee Inc. was incorporated as a nonprofit all the way back in 2015. That corporation was administratively dissolved in 2016 for failure to file an annual report. Yet the SWCCAC name didn't disappear. The organization continued becoming involved in Southwest Cape issues, development, zoning, beautification and interactions with Cape Coral government. Then, in January 2024, something unusual happened: Southwest Cape Coral Action Committee Inc. was incorporated again, but this time as a Florida FOR-PROFIT corporation. Steve Collins was President, Jim Jeskie Vice President and Alix Godbout Secretary. That corporation didn't last long. On January 12, 2025, Jeskie filed Articles of Dissolution with the State of Florida. This wasn't an administrative dissolution or paperwork oversight. It was voluntary. The filing states that a majority of the incorporators or directors authorized the dissolution, that no shares had been issued, no corporate debt remained unpaid and remaining net assets, if any, had been distributed.
But apparently, the SWCCAC organization itself never really went away. Its website continues to present SWCCAC as an operating organization with leadership, committees, members and donations. It identifies Collins as President, Jeskie as Vice President/Treasurer, Godbout as Secretary and Research Committee leadership, and Don Apking in its beautification activities. SWCCAC's own website describes its Treasurer as responsible for collecting and disbursing SWCCAC donations and maintaining records of receipts and expenditures. It tells residents that the strength of its membership gives the organization a stronger voice when representing Southwest Cape Coral before City, County and State government. SWCCAC — Who We Are
Now, in the middle of one of Cape Coral's most consequential elections, SWCCAC has suddenly announced what it describes as its FIRST-EVER CANDIDATE
ENDORSEMENTS. And who received those endorsements? John Gunter for Mayor. Dave Newton for District 1. Ray Mule for District 6. After years of operating without endorsing candidates, why did this organization suddenly decide that 2026 was the year it needed to enter the political arena? Why, with an incumbent mayor facing challengers and growing public criticism of City Hall, did SWCCAC suddenly decide residents needed its guidance on whom to elect? And why do its choices appear to favor maintaining much of the existing direction of Cape Coral government?
There is another layer to this story. Don Apking and Alix Godbout also have documented involvement with Friends of the Cape Coral Environment. Corporate records show Apking serving as President and Godbout being added as Secretary, along with Patricia White as Vice President and Grady Parker as Treasurer. Friends of the Cape Coral Environment remains an active nonprofit. Apking has also served in multiple civic and governmental roles involving Cape Coral. In 2025, City Council appointed him to the Charter Review Commission, and records of his civic involvement include the Planning & Zoning Commission and MPO Citizens Advisory Committee. None of that is wrongdoing. Civic involvement should be encouraged. But it demonstrates that we're not talking about people disconnected from City Hall suddenly becoming interested in an election. We're talking about individuals and organizations with years of relationships, advocacy and interaction with Cape Coral government.
And that brings us back to what we saw with the NWNA. Once again, a neighborhood-oriented organization is becoming involved in the election and supporting candidates aligned with the direction many existing city leaders want to continue. Once might simply be an endorsement. Twice starts raising a larger question about what is happening behind the scenes as Election Day approaches. Are Cape Coral's longtime political and civic networks becoming increasingly concerned that voters are preparing to change the direction of their government? Are organizations that traditionally concentrated on neighborhood issues now being mobilized because the people who have enjoyed influence at City Hall don't want to lose it? We aren't claiming some secret conspiracy exists. We're asking residents to look at the timing, the relationships and the pattern and decide for themselves.
And there is another question SWCCAC should have no problem answering: Who actually approved these endorsements? Its announcement says the Board made the decision. SWCCAC has spent years talking about its membership, its collective voice and representing Southwest Cape residents. Its Research Committee even states that its positions are based on research and the majority opinion of SWCCAC membership. SWCCAC Committees: So were members asked whether they wanted their organization endorsing John Gunter, Dave Newton and Ray Mule? Was there a membership vote or survey? How many Board members participated? What was the vote? And if hundreds of residents joined SWCCAC believing they were joining a neighborhood advocacy organization rather than an organization that would endorse political candidates, were they consulted before their organization's name and reputation were attached to those candidates?
There is also a financial question that deserves transparency. SWCCAC's own website discusses donations, fundraising, receipts and expenditures. An endorsement alone does not automatically make an organization a Florida political committee, and we are not claiming otherwise. But once an organization begins expressly advocating for candidates, residents are entitled to know whether organizational money is being used to promote those candidates. We have already seen Dave Newton campaign material prominently advertising his SWCCAC endorsement. Importantly, that particular advertisement says it was paid for by David Newton's campaign, not SWCCAC. But if SWCCAC itself spends money producing, purchasing, boosting, mailing or distributing candidate advocacy, Florida's campaign-finance rules become something worth examining.
Cape Coral voters should pay attention to what is happening around them. As Election Day approaches, we're watching longtime organizations suddenly become political players. We're seeing endorsements appear from groups that previously stayed out of candidate endorsements. We're seeing familiar names, overlapping organizations and individuals who have spent years working closely with city government appearing throughout the picture. Again, none of that proves wrongdoing. But watchdog journalism isn't about waiting until somebody proves wrongdoing before asking questions. It's about following the records, identifying patterns and asking questions that those seeking to influence public opinion should be willing to answer.
SWCCAC says these are its first-ever candidate endorsements. That statement may ultimately be the most important part of this entire story. After more than a decade associated with Cape Coral civic issues, after one corporation was dissolved and another was created and voluntarily dissolved, why did SWCCAC decide that right now was the moment to jump into candidate politics? Why John Gunter? Why Dave Newton? Why Ray Mule? Why now, when Cape Coral voters are deciding whether to continue down the same road or fundamentally change direction?
Maybe the answer is simple. Maybe these organizations independently decided these are the candidates they believe are best for Cape Coral. They have every right to make that case.
But Cape Coral voters have an equally important right to ask:
WHY ARE SO MANY OF THE CITY'S FAMILIAR POLITICAL AND CIVIC PLAYERS PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS NOW?
Because ultimately, this election isn't about which organization has the biggest mailing list, which insider has the closest relationship with City Hall or which board can produce the most endorsements.
It's about who controls Cape Coral next, and on August 18, that decision belongs to the voters.
Some Timeline Info -
1. Original SWCCAC corporation — 2015
Southwest Cape Coral Action Committee Inc.Florida Not For Profit Corporation — N15000002456Filed March 9, 2015; administratively dissolved September 23, 2016.
Ed Schultz — President
Thomas W. Hill — DST / Director-type designation
Thomas W. Hill — Registered Agent
I don't see Collins, Jeskie, Godbout or Apking listed on the 2015 Sunbiz record you provided.
2. Second SWCCAC corporation — 2024
Southwest Cape Coral Action Committee Inc.Florida FOR-PROFIT Corporation — P24000007280Filed January 25, 2024; voluntarily dissolved January 12, 2025.
Steve Collins — President
Jim Jeskie — Vice President
Alix Godbout — Secretary
Kathleen Flynn — Registered Agent
Importantly, the Articles of Dissolution you found were actually signed by James Jeskie as VP, and state that a majority of the incorporators/directors authorized the dissolution.
3. SWCCAC operating today / 2026
The organization's current website identifies:
Steve Collins — President
Alix Godbout — Secretary/Research Committee
Don Apking — Beautification Committee Director
Media & Communications Director — Open
Membership Committee Director — Open
SWCCAC also says Jeskie is responsible for collecting and disbursing SWCCAC donations and maintaining its receipts and expenditure records.
So there's direct continuity between the dissolved 2024 corporation and the organization operating today:
COLLINS → President in 2024 → President todayJESKIE → VP in 2024 → VP/Treasurer todayGODBOUT → Secretary in 2024 → Secretary today
And then Don Apking appears in today's SWCCAC leadership structure.
There's another wrinkle: Collins' own SWCCAC biography says that in late 2018 he organized his neighborhood over a proposed high-density apartment project, and that group subsequently merged with the Four Corners neighborhood group to form “what is now” SWCCAC.
So the history isn't simply 2015 organization → 2024 organization → current organization. There appears to have been a 2015 corporate entity, a later neighborhood movement/merger around 2018, continued SWCCAC operations, a new corporation in 2024, its voluntary dissolution in 2025, and continued SWCCAC operations through today.
That 2016–2024 gap is probably the next thing worth investigating, because that's where we can figure out exactly how the original SWCCA
All information has been thoroughly investigated and reported by the Take Out the Trash Committee of Cape Coral and/or its authorized volunteers!
