CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- The votes coming out of Precinct 96 can take a lot of credit for making Joe Coviello the new Mayor of Cape Coral. Coviello won by a slim 242 votes and his support for The Golf Club on Palm Tree Boulevard is a big reason why.
Resident in the area, Robert Renshaw, says that Coviello's plan to restore the nearly 125 acres of land recreationally and not allow developers to build homes in it, was a major reason for his large involvement in the campaign.
“From attending all the functions, going to all the forums they had, all the straw polls they had to listen to all the candidates, I think this is the most involved we’ve been since we’ve been down here,” said Renshaw.
The former politician now retiree and his neighbors were able to negate the 82 percent of people that did not cast a ballot is this year's election. Renshaw says he was disappointed in the lack of voter turnout. But some that didn't make it to the polls say they feel disinterested in politics since the Presidential election.
“It’s been a rough time. I think that kind of turns you off to politics," explained Cape Coral resident, Ron Rose. "You see some of the mistakes that they make in the Republican Party and you see the mistakes they make in the Democratic Party and it just doesn't gel.”
Nevertheless, Renshaw is looking forward to what the Mayor has to offer going forward, starting with keeping The Golf Club open land.
“I think with the right leadership, and Joe seems to have that kind of background, to put something there other than homes.”
