What's the party line on nonpartisan races?

As the nonpartisan March 10 City Commission race draws nearer, local political parties are beginning to enter the discussion.

At the beginning of the month, the Sarasota County Democratic Party sent emails to city voters registered with the party in Districts 2 and 3. The email, timed with the mailing of absentee ballots, directs voters to support registered Democrats: Liz Alpert in District 2, and Shelli Freeland Eddie and Matt Wooddall in District 3. The messages also attack incumbents Eileen Walsh Normile and Stan Zimmerman, both registered Republicans.

Normile believes the Democratic Party’s messages violate the spirit of the nonpartisan office.

“I think there really is no place for party politics when it comes to running a city this size,” Normile said. “Keeping the water on and the lights on and dealing with simple managerial issues and policy questions really crosses party boundaries.”

Despite the criticism, Sarasota Democratic Party Chairwoman Christine Jennings did not hesitate to defend the choice.

“There is no such thing as a race where it’s nonpartisan,” Jennings said. “There’s no such thing.”

The race is, at least officially, nonpartisan: The ballot does not identify the candidates’ party affiliation, as stipulated in the City Charter. However, Jennings pointed out party endorsements are not unprecedented on either side, and many residents want that information.

“To my knowledge, it’s always been that the parties generally support their person and try to help them win,” Jennings said. “The two parties do stand for different things.”

“There is no such thing as a race where it’s nonpartisan. There’s no such thing.”

Normile has called for Alpert to renounce the party’s messaging. Alpert, who has run as a Democratic candidate in statewide races before, said it was natural that people with whom she was familiar would support her — and that it is not impacting her candidacy.

“Potholes and growth management are not partisan issues,” Alpert said.

Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota County, said his party was getting involved in the race, too — but only as a response to the initial Democratic endorsements.

“We were trying to stay out of it for as long as we possibly could, but obviously the Democrats continue to meddle in the nonpartisan races, and it continuously forces us to respond,” Gruters said.

Gruters said the group is endorsing Zimmerman in District 3. The party is waiting for a potential run-off before endorsing a candidate in District 2, where both Normile and David Morgan are registered Republicans.

“It really comes down to who’s going to respond to and represent the voters of the city the best.”

Gruters said he reached out to former Sarasota Democratic Party Chairwoman Rita Ferrandino about staying out of nonpartisan races, and that he would make the same proposal to Jennings. If that overture is unsuccessful, Gruters said the party might be less reluctant to step forward in the future.

“We’re going to play an active role in all of these nonpartisan races,” Gruters said. “We try to hold out, but my policy may soon change.”

Jennings said registered Republican candidates have received endorsements from prominent local Republicans, which also signals to voters where party support is directed. Although she is not advocating for a change, Jennings said the city might benefit if the nonpartisan element were removed altogether.

“This really should not be the issue that people are spending time on,” Jennings said. “It should be the true issues that are affecting the quality of life in Sarasota.”

Gruters disagreed with that assessment. He said he hoped the elections would remain nonpartisan, and admitted the dynamics of city politics makes it so a simple partisan divide often isn’t the best criteria for evaluating individual candidates.

“When it comes specifically to the City Commission races, some of the best City Commissioners have not been Republicans over the last 15, 20 years,” Gruters said. “It really comes down to who’s going to respond to and represent the voters of the city the best.”