Who is Jill Hiatt? Deeper Inside the Patty Cummings Residency Scandal!

Jill "Jaded" Jacobs

Did you know Jill Hiatt, now Jill Jacobs, served on Cape Coral’s audit review committee? One would think someone involved in helping a candidate lie to get elected would be removed from such a role, or at least barred from participating in city matters beyond being a citizen. Yet she continued to serve. If accountability had been applied consistently, others, like Gunter and Sheppard, might have faced consequences as well. Perhaps that’s why citizens often have so little faith in our local government.

Hiatt (Jacobs) served on the Audit committee from 2014 to 2018 and returned for the past two years. Should she have been allowed to serve after the Patty Cummings scandal?

Cummings’ political career collapsed after an investigation revealed she did not live in the district she claimed to represent. What started as a routine residency check became a criminal case involving neighbors, investigators, and the State Attorney’s Office. Hiatt’s property was at the center of the controversy, making her a key figure in the events that shook Cape Coral politics.

A Campaign Built on a Questionable Address

When Cummings filed to run for the District 4 council seat, she listed a home on Palm Tree Boulevard as her primary residence. That address belonged not to her, but to Jill and Robert Hiatt, a couple who lived there full-time. Questions surfaced almost immediately about whether Cummings actually lived at the property or had simply used the address to meet the residency requirement for office.

An independent investigator later concluded that Cummings “did not reside” at the home during the period required. Instead, the arrangement appeared to be temporary and loosely defined.

Jill Hiatt’s Key Testimony

According to investigators, Jill Hiatt confirmed that she had allowed Cummings to use a bedroom and bathroom in the house, describing it as a temporary accommodation. She referenced a handwritten agreement outlining “terms and conditions” for Cummings to use the space until she found her own place. But Hiatt emphasized that Cummings was not a tenant, nor did she consider her a full-time resident.

Hiatt also said that she and her husband were away frequently over the summer, and Cummings could come and go without notifying them. Despite this, the Hiatts maintained that they were the actual residents of the home and had never rented it out to anyone.

This testimony became crucial: it showed that Cummings’ connection to the property was limited and informal, and it helped establish that her residency claim lacked the permanence required under Florida law.

Criminal Charges and Guilty Plea

In November 2023, Cummings was arrested and charged with:

• Fraudulent application for a driver’s license

• Two counts of false swearing related to voting and elections

She turned herself in, was suspended from her council seat by the governor (because the mayor and council wouldn't do a thing even after the investigation), and continued to deny wrongdoing for months. But in August 2024, Cummings pleaded guilty to all three felony counts and was sentenced to 24 months of probation.

Aftermath and Impact

The scandal shook Cape Coral politics, raising questions about candidate vetting, election integrity, and residency rules. For Jill Hiatt, the ordeal placed her unexpectedly in the public eye, despite her limited role beyond providing information about the living arrangement.

The case stands as a reminder that even informal agreements, a spare room offered as a favor, can become central pieces of evidence when public office and legal requirements are involved.

It was documented that the council had been aware for over a year that Patty Cummings was violating the law and still failed to act. The elected official most familiar with her, Dan Sheppard, fought against launching the private investigation, refused to participate in interviews, and then stood on the dais claiming that the report’s findings about them were untrue and that he believed the rest of the report was false as well. The State Attorney’s Office later confirmed the accuracy of that investigation, an accuracy that ultimately led to Cummings’s arrest and conviction. Yet even with that confirmation, the council did nothing about Sheppard’s false statements made in her defense. The mayor and the rest of the council at the time also bear responsibility for their inaction, especially considering it had become the “worst-kept secret in town.”

And let’s not forget, Gunter and Sheppard practically performed dramatic theatre, insisting every concern about Cummings was a “lie,” even as the investigations exposed their denials as laughable. The mental gymnastics were Olympic-level. And Gunter? Predictably didn’t lift a finger to demand restitution for the taxpayers. Honestly, expecting him to do that at this point feels like comedy.

In Cape Coral politics, inaction and a failure to do the right thing appear to be recurring issues, and the citizens deserve better!

All information has been thoroughly investigated and reported by the Take Out the Trash Committee of Cape Coral and/or its authorized volunteers!