- December 21, 2024
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Election time is here.
Early voting will remain open through 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Town Hall. Beyond then, registered Longboat Key voters have an opportunity all day Tuesday, March 20, at Town Hall (Sarasota County residents) and Longboat Chapel (Manatee County residents) to choose who should run the town, how it should operate and whether to improve emergency services.
The ballot will include two referendum questions — whether the town should adopt a new foundational document, known as the town charter, and whether the Key’s firehouses should be updated — and three contested commission seats.
Six candidates have campaigned for three seats on the Town Commission — District 3, District 5 and At-Large:
Randy Clair, District 1 commissioner, ran an uncontested campaign and will not appear on the ballot.
John Weber, 59, and Randy Langley, 51, have not held office in Longboat Key.
Jack Wilson, 80, serves on the Code Enforcement Board, and Ken Schneier, 65, is vice chair of the Planning and Zoning Board.
Irwin Pastor, 75, is campaigning for his third and final term; Ed Zunz, 81, has served one term, or two years, on the commission.
Town Commission elections are held every year and anyone on the island, regardless of where they live, can vote for any commission candidate. These elected officials make legislative, land use and budget decisions.
The proposed town charter includes dozens of changes, including permitting the Town Commission to issue revenue bonds of less than $5 million without a referendum, allowing digital preservation of all town records and authorizing all public meeting advertisements on digital platforms instead of print publication.
It also establishes a position for an assistant town manager, though doesn’t require it, revokes the town commission’s investigative authority over town staff and defers ethics and elections supervision to the state and county, respectively.
The town is required once a decade to review its charter, overseen this past year by the Charter Review Committee. Town commissioners discussed the committee’s suggestions and forwarded the new proposed document as a wholesale revision rather than individual changes to the existing charter.
A yes vote puts in place the revised charter, with all its changes.
A yes on the firehouse referendum authorizes the town to spend up to $5.895 million to rebuild the southern fire station and refurbish the northern Longboat Key Fire Rescue headquarters.
The south station, built more than 30 years ago, does not meet codes for firehouse storage, mechanical systems or energy efficiency. It also does not have separate locker rooms for men and women or an up-to-date fire-alarm system.
The northern headquarters, built in 1994, would get about $1 million in upgrades, including an enhanced locker rooms, sleeping quarters and kitchen area.
