- September 9, 2024
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With Mike Moran term limited after eight years and Gov. Ron Desantis' appointee Neil Rainford facing competition for his seat, there will be at least one new face on the Sarasota County Commission this fall.
What won’t change is all five county districts will be represented by Republicans. But what's new is that the board will no longer be an all-men's club.
With no registered Democrats running for three seats on the board — incumbent Ron Cutsinger is unopposed in District 5 — the Aug. 20 primary election is effectively closed.
In the District 1 race, voters who live in the east Sarasota area will decide between Teresa Mast and Alexandra Coe, the primary closed to Republican voters after Hope Williams, the daughter of Mast’s campaign manager, filed to run as a write-in candidate.
According to the Sarasota County Elections Supervisor website, the Mast campaign has raised $248,258, Coe $33,821 and Williams zero dollars.
Under Florida statute, if candidates from only one political party file to run for office, then all voters can vote in the universal primary. The addition of Williams to the ballot as an independent makes it a closed primary, locking those not registered as Republicans out of the polls in August.
In District 3, Republicans Rainford and Tom Knight are joined by independent candidate Shari Thornton and write-in candidate Janique Tenney. Tenney has raised no campaign funds while Rainford has banked $293,039, Knight $225,501 and Thornton $22,663.
Rainford was appointed to the commission to fill the unexpired term of Nancy Detert, who died in April 2023.
Top issues of city voters will differ in large part from those countywide with the exception of the portion of Siesta Key that is within the city limits. There, residents continue the yearslong battle against county government to prevent higher-density development, specifically with regard to thus far legally rebuffed efforts to build hotels on the barrier island.
Opposition to the hotels led by Siesta Key resident Lourdes Ramirez had a series of legal wins in 2023, the arguments based on the county’s Comprehensive Plan update that limits density of residential uses.
In fall 2021, the County Commission approved the 170-room Calle Miramar in Siesta Key Village on a 0.96-acre beachfront site and a second 120-room hotel on 1.17 acres on the south end of the island at 1260 Old Stickney Point Road. Along the way, the county recategorized hotels from residential to nonresidential use, then argued in court that the residential density cap of 26 units per acre no longer applied.
Siding with Ramirez, in August 2023 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll sided with Ramirez in ruling the plan inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
It appears another run at building a hotel in Siesta Village will make an appearance before the next commission.
In December, the commission voted 3-1, with Mark Smith opposed, moving forward with staff study of a privately initiated Comprehensive Plan change by Benderson Development that would redefine transient accommodations, such as a hotel, as nonresidential uses, eliminate maximum densities and limit hotels as a use to 15% of the total combined acreage of the commercial zoning districts on the island. Benderson is proposing a 210-room hotel on the site of a retail center on the 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard.
Neither Mast nor Coe referenced development pressures on Siesta Key and other barrier islands in responses to candidate surveys from the Observer.
Also in question for city residents is continued county tax increment financing funding for a potential Sarasota Performing Arts Center, with all five commissioners voting against releasing TIF funding for the contract with the project’s architect, at least three of the five remaining on the board after the election, and both Mast and Coe expressing opposition to public-private funding strategy.
Cutsinger and Smith, the commission’s two representatives on the city-county Bay Park Improvement Board, balked at spending TIF tax revenues — which are collected from an increase. The city and the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation decided to fund the architect contract on their own. Further participation by the county in the SPAC is uncertain, but answers to the Observer survey indicate neither Mast nor Coe have any appetite for funding a replacement for the Van Wezel via the interlocal agreement with the city for The Bay Park, in which a new facility is proposed to be built.
“I am a strong advocate for the arts community and commend the progress made in the Bay Park improvements. However, I do not support imposing additional taxes on residents for this project,” Mast wrote. “Instead, I envision a philanthropic capital campaign, to which I am willing to personally contribute, as a more effective way to fund these enhancements.”
Responded Coe, “While TIF can be a powerful tool for revitalizing blighted areas and stimulating economic growth, its use for funding a new performing arts hall at The Bay Park does not align with these objectives. Sarasota County should focus TIF funds on projects that address genuine community needs, promote equitable development and ensure the efficient use of public resources.”
In the survey, Mast and Coe were also asked to list their three top issues facing the county, and how would they address them.
On growth, Coe wrote that the county must adhere to the 2050 Plan, respect neighborhood agreements and cease variances that allow excessive density and alter the character of communities. Flooding mitigation should include using recovery funds from Hurricane Ian to enhance resilience rather than diverting resources to unrelated projects. Finally, she advocates support for diverse land uses to accommodate affordable housing for various ages, incomes, and families.
Meanwhile, Mast prioritizes countywide infrastructure and investment into traffic reducing projects within the current budget. Next is public safety.
"We must always be on the cutting edge of fully funding and maintaining the highest and best technology and personnel for Sarasota County for all of our first responders,” she wrote.
Finally, she pledges to work to lower taxes and reallocate funds for additional services “that enhance the ability to keep Sarasota affordable.”
For the complete candidate surveys: Teresa Mast and Alexandra Coe
