Ahearn-Koch leads the way in City Commission vote

An incumbent, an outspoken lawyer and a community leader from the city’s Rosemary District won the race to face off in November for two at-large seats on the Sarasota City Commission.

In preliminary voting that concluded Tuesday, Jen Ahearn-Koch, Dan Lobeck and Debbie Trice gathered enough votes to separate themselves in a six-candidate field. The top two vote getters in November will take their seats on the City Commission.

With 20 of 20 precincts, incumbent Ahearn Koch led the way with 34.72% of the vote.

Trice was second with 19.51%.

Lobeck was third with 19.13%.

Ahearn-Koch was joined on the City Commission by Hagen Brody as at-large representatives in 2018, but Brody stepped away from the dais in pursuit of the Democratic nomination for the Sarasota County District 4 seat left opened by Republican Christian Ziegler’s decision to step away from his seat.

Brody lost to former City Commissioner Fredd Atkins in that race,  Tuesday night.

Lobeck is a lawyer who frequently represents condo associations and homeowners groups in Sarasota and is a frequent critic of policies that allow for rapid development.

“ If elected, I will do my best to put our residents in the driver's seat, not the developers, to shape Sarasota's growth in a way that preserves and polishes our charm and character rather than create another overcrowded city from which people seek to flee,’’ he said in a candidate profile published in the Sarasota Observer earlier this month.

Trice served as the president of the Rosemary District Association and said she would focus on housing.

“Sarasota succeeds only if working families have homes and business owners can fill job openings,’’ she said. “Raising the issue with our city government as an individual had no effect.”

Carl Shoffstall, who most recently ran a city committee to prioritize projects on which to spend the next round of county surtax money, finished more than seven points behind Lobeck in fourth place.