Who Is the Sunshine Freedom PAC, and Why Is It Involved in the Cape Coral Mayoral Election?

John Gunter’s desperation has officially crossed into fucking clown-show territory. Every time he tries to save face, he somehow makes himself look even more pathetic. At this point, the desperation isn’t subtle; it’s screaming. Trying to hide his past by putting out hit pieces on others.

A political committee called Sunshine Freedom PAC, who is new to the game since July 2026, has inserted itself into the race for Mayor of Cape Coral  (the second PAC to do so) . The PAC isn't based in Cape Coral. It isn't even based in Lee County. Florida campaign-finance records identify it as a Naples-based political committee, with Bryan Pagan serving as chairperson and registered agent and Allison Kelly serving as treasurer. So why does a newly formed political committee from Collier County care so much about who becomes the next Mayor of Cape Coral? That's the question we're asking, and the deeper we look, the more questions we have.

WHO IS BRYAN PAGAN?

Bryan Pagan is the chairman and registered agent of Sunshine Freedom PAC and, through July 31, its only reported contributor, giving $1,000. Pagan is based in the Naples area and lists his occupation as construction on campaign-finance records. A professional profile identifies him as a Project Manager with ARAGON, placing him in Southwest Florida's construction industry. His role raises the central question: Why is a Naples construction professional leading a PAC targeting candidates for Mayor of Cape Coral?

WHO IS ALLISON KELLY?

Allison Kelly serves as treasurer of Sunshine Freedom PAC, the newly formed Naples-based political committee now involved in the Cape Coral mayoral race. Unlike Chairman Bryan Pagan, little publicly available information identifies Kelly's professional background or her connection to the PAC. We located an Allison Kelly in Naples who contributed to a Collier County political campaign in 2023, but we have not confirmed she is the same person. For now, the question remains: Who is Allison Kelly, and what brought her into Sunshine Freedom PAC?

ANOTHER COLLIER COUNTY PAC - ANOTHER CAPE CORAL RACE?

Sunshine Freedom PAC (Established July 2024) isn't the first Collier County political committee we've found inserting itself into Cape Coral's 2026 elections. As we previously reported, Collier First, another PAC based in Collier County, paid for and distributed political mail promoting Dave Newton in the Cape Coral City Council District 1 race.

Now another Naples-area PAC, Sunshine Freedom PAC, has surfaced in the Cape Coral mayoral race, targeting Lisa Cohen-Adkinson and Rick Erickson. We are not claiming the two PACs are connected, but the pattern raises an obvious question: Why are multiple political committees from Collier County taking such an interest in who controls Cape Coral City Hall?

FOLLOW THE MONEY, ALL $1,000 OF IT

According to the Florida campaign-finance records we've reviewed through July 31, Sunshine Freedom PAC reported just one monetary contribution totaling $1,000. The donor was Bryan Pagan, the PAC's own chairman, and the contribution record lists Pagan's occupation as construction. Even more interesting, the reports we've reviewed through July 31 (as of 8/9/2026) show $0 in loans, $0 in in-kind contributions and $0 in expenditures.

That's where this story starts getting interesting. A negative mail piece targeting Cape Coral mayoral candidate Lisa Cohen-Adkinson, showing her in an orange jumpsuit and in handcuffs, was mailed around July 21. That falls within the July 18–24 reporting period. Yet the report we've reviewed for that period shows the $1,000 contribution from Pagan and zero expenditures.

Then the attacks continued. On August 7, a negative political text targeting mayoral candidate Rick Erickson was received, including an image of Rick in an orange jumpsuit and in handcuffs. The following day, August 8, a negative mailer targeting Erickson arrived. The August expenses may appear on subsequent campaign-finance reports, and we'll be watching those reports closely. But the July Lisa Cohen-Adkinson mailing raises a more immediate question: If Sunshine Freedom PAC paid for or incurred an obligation associated with that mailing during the reporting period, where is it reflected in the financial records? There may be a perfectly legitimate reporting explanation. If there is, we'd like to know what it is. We also expect there to be an Anti-Lisa text message blast to go out.

AI DISCLAIMER MISSING?

There is an important distinction between the two AI-generated ads. Lisa Cohen-Adkinson has previously been photographed wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. Rick Erickson has not. If generative AI was used to realistically depict Erickson in a jumpsuit and handcuffs, something that never occurred, and the image was created with the intent to injure his candidacy, Florida Statute §106.145 requires the advertisement to carry the state's AI disclosure. “Created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).” We know John Gunter is a stickler for "The Rules".

TWO ATTACK MAILERS. TWO POSTAL PERMITS.

There's another trail we're following: the mail itself. The negative mailer targeting Lisa Cohen-Adkinson bears Permit No. 41, while the negative mailer targeting Rick Erickson bears Permit No. 77. So, who owns or controls Permit No. 41? Who owns or controls Permit No. 77? Are they associated with printers, political consultants, or direct-mail companies? Are the two permits connected in any way? And have either of them appeared on political mail for other candidates or political committees?

A permit number alone isn't enough to identify its holder because the issuing postal facility is also important. That's why we're examining the complete postal indicia and other identifying information on these pieces. But figuring out who handled these mailings could become an important part of figuring out who's behind this operation, and that will take time!

Political mail doesn't magically appear in thousands of mailboxes. Somebody designed it, obtained the voter data, printed it, and prepared it for mailing. Somebody paid the postage, and somewhere along the way, somebody got a bill. Who paid it? That's particularly important when the committee's reports through July 31 show only $1,000 coming in and nothing going out.

We are waiting on public records requests from the USPS, which will take months for the permit number data.

WHY CAPE CORAL?

But there's an even bigger question: Why Cape Coral? Why would a newly formed political committee headquartered in the Naples area suddenly become interested in a municipal mayoral election roughly 40 miles away? Sunshine Freedom PAC isn't sending Cape Coral residents information about Naples City Council or Collier County politics. It has inserted itself into the race for Mayor of Cape Coral.

And look at who is being targeted: Lisa Cohen-Adkinson and Rick Erickson. What do those two candidates have in common? They're both running against incumbent Mayor John Gunter. We want to be very clear about something. We have not found evidence establishing that John Gunter controls Sunshine Freedom PAC, financed it, coordinated with it, or directed these attacks. We're not going to claim something the evidence doesn't establish.

But we're certainly allowed to ask who politically benefits from what the PAC is doing. When an outside political committee attacks two candidates trying to defeat an incumbent while apparently leaving the incumbent alone, those attacks can benefit the incumbent. In this case, the incumbent is John Gunter. So the question remains: Why?

THEN THERE'S THE CONSTRUCTION CONNECTION

There's another detail that caught our attention. Bryan Pagan, Sunshine Freedom PAC's chairman and its only reported contributor through July 31, listed his occupation as construction. Mayor John Gunter also has longstanding ties to the construction industry and is president of Gulf Coast Premier Homes.

Does that prove Pagan and Gunter are connected? Absolutely not. Construction is a massive industry in Southwest Florida, and two people working in the same industry isn't evidence of a political relationship.

But when a Naples-area political committee chaired by someone identifying his occupation as construction suddenly begins attacking opponents of a Cape Coral mayor who also comes from the construction and development industry, we think it's reasonable to ask whether there are additional business, political, donor, or professional connections that haven't yet surfaced. Maybe there aren't. Maybe there are. Either answer is worth finding.

WHO IS ACTUALLY PAYING FOR THIS?

This may ultimately be the question that matters most. Campaign-finance disclosure exists for a reason. Voters are supposed to be able to determine who is putting money into political activity and where that money is going.

Through July 31, the reports we've reviewed show Sunshine Freedom PAC reporting $1,000 in monetary contributions, $0 in-kind contributions, $0 in loans, and $0 in expenditures. Yet the anti-Lisa mailer was already being distributed in July, followed in August by a negative text and another mailer targeting Rick Erickson.

So we want to know who designed these advertisements, who printed them, who supplied the voter data, who paid the postage, who arranged the text-message campaign, who owns or used Permit No. 41, who owns or used Permit No. 77, what vendors were hired, when they were hired, how much they were paid, and, ultimately, where the money came from. That's going to take time!

There may be completely legitimate answers to every one of those questions. Future campaign-finance reports may answer many of them. We hope they do. But until then, Cape Coral voters should be asking questions.

A newly formed political committee from Collier County has inserted itself into the Cape Coral mayoral election. Its attacks have targeted two opponents of the incumbent mayor. Its chairman works in the same broad industry as the incumbent. And through July 31, the PAC reported only $1,000 in contributions and no expenditures.

Maybe Sunshine Freedom PAC will explain why it suddenly has such a strong interest in Cape Coral. Maybe the next financial reports will tell us who's paying the bills. Maybe identifying Permit No. 41 and Permit No. 77 will tell us who is producing and distributing the mail.

And maybe those records will eventually answer the biggest question of all:

Why does a Collier County PAC care so much about stopping Lisa Cohen-Adkinson and Rick Erickson, and who ultimately benefits if those attacks work?

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