Palmetto resident is one of the few Democrats on November's ballot

With 70,978 registered Democrats in Manatee County, almost half the amount of registered Republicans, Sari Lindroos-Valimaki acknowledges she’s an underdog in the race for the District 7 Manatee County Commission seat against incumbent George Kruse. 

“If I filed as an NPA, I would’ve had a better shot, but I’m very proud to be a Democrat,” Lindroos-Valimaki said. “I live in District 1, and I have never been able to vote for a Democrat for county commission. I wanted to give that option to somebody else.”

Lindroos-Valimaki moved to Palmetto from Palm Beach in 2018 after her husband, Jarmo Valimaki, got a job in St. Petersburg. He’s a mechanical engineer. 

She moved to Palm Beach from Finland in 1983 when she was 15 years old. Her parents would have been considered Republicans, but she said Finnish Republicans are more moderate than in the United States. 

When she first moved to Palm Beach, Bob Graham was the governor, and Florida was a blue state. 

“I’m a Democrat to the core," she said. "I very much believe in doing the right thing for everyone. Of course, I believe in the capitalist system, but my grandfather showed us the example that you can be a very successful entrepreneur and have compassion for others.” 

Her grandfather Helg Lindroos owned grocery stores, and he never let anyone go hungry. He’d give his customers credits at the store when needed. Because of that, her grandfather built a loyal customer base that he said kept his stores in business after the big box stores moved in. 

Lindroos-Valimaki is a certified information systems security professional, who spent almost 30 years in IT and cybersecurity. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from Nichols College. 

She still moonlights as a bounty hunter for fun. In the world of cybersecurity, companies will offer monetary rewards to discover vulnerabilities in their security systems. Lindroos-Valimaki said it’s like working on a puzzle. 

Her background in politics is a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida Atlantic University. This is her first run at an elected office, which was inspired by a major loss. Her sister, Sapu Lindroos, died unexpectedly from a heart condition in October 2023. 

“She always encouraged me and said I’d be a good representative because I’m always doing the right thing even when it’s not necessarily benefiting me,” she said. “I took (her death) very hard. I had to get out of grief, so finally, I decided to do something different, and this is very different.” 

Win or lose, Lindroos-Valimaki is enjoying every minute on the campaign trail. As for her 15 minutes of fame, she said she’s using it to “make some noise” about the environment and things that could be done better.

She wants to see the county collect stormwater fees, and leverage technology better to ease traffic congestion by synchronizing signals. She also fears Manatee County will turn into Palm Beach. 

“When I go to Anna Maria Island, it reminds me of Palm Beach in the 1980s,” Lindroos-Valimaki said. “Manatee County is beautiful. It's a more eco-friendly area, and that’s what’s being destroyed.” 

She lived a mile from the shore in Palm Beach, but spends more time on the water kayaking now that she lives in Palmetto, partly because of her health. 

Lindroos-Valimaki has rheumatoid arthritis, which worsened in 2017. The pain was so bad she couldn’t drive a car or use a computer. At one point, it seemed as if she had early onset dementia, but it was a bad reaction to medication. 

In 2022, Lindroos-Valimaki received a KinematX implant in her wrist, which changed everything. 

“Sometimes miracles happen, and I’m one of those,” she said. “My whole life was about pain for a long time, so I’m very happy to be alive. I have already won. I’m energetic, pain-free and enjoying life. If this doesn’t work out, I’ll return to my career.”