- September 17, 2024
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Age: 72
Current occupation: Retired (former biology and environmental science teacher and instructor); volunteer and public education advocate
How long have you been a resident of Sarasota County? Eight years
In the last number of years, our county has been plagued with ill-conceived overdevelopment, an ever-worsening traffic situation, increasing environmental disasters like recent flooding and skyrocketing insurance costs. We need home rule protections as first envisioned decades ago. Our first Home Rule Charter was adopted in 1971, establishing our County Commission form of governance. County commissioners have had large campaign donations from big developers and businesses related to home and commercial construction. Our home-rule protections have been greatly diminished with Tallahassee passing various preemption laws. The current charter was revised to make it virtually impossible to change. That’s unacceptable and undermines the concept of home rule.
I’ve been a lifelong community volunteer advocate, putting the public interest first. Since living in Sarasota, I’ve spoken at the Sarasota County Commission, Sarasota School Board, Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board and New College Board of Trustees meetings on many issues facing our community.
As a retired teacher, I couldn’t sit back and not do something about the attacks on our public schools, public colleges, professors, teachers, staff, students and families.
I started the Democratic Public Education Caucus of Manasota to provide information about current education issues, feature guest speakers at monthly meetings, track and respond to relevant legislation, support the local one-mill tax to help fund our schools and encourage community participation at School Board meetings.
I am heartened by the primary and school board election results which demonstrated that voters, no matter their party affiliation, rejected extremist attacks on our public schools and Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
I moved as a retiree to Sarasota because of its quality of life — its natural habitat, climate and culture. If elected to the Charter Review Board, I will always stand for home rule and greater community input to protect our extraordinary Suncoast.
During my many years of public advocacy, I’ve analyzed government documents and statutes and drafted resolutions on issues in the public interest. I’ve run many meetings, put agendas together and served on boards of various organizations.
While living in New Jersey, I was appointed to the state PTA’s Legislative Committee. I also helped spearhead an effort that successfully stopped the construction of a Big Box store in an environmentally sensitive area adjacent to a creek and overcrowded with traffic.
My background as a biology and environmental science educator also affords me experience in looking at data, drawing conclusions and making recommendations.
In Sarasota County, our precious water resources, both drinking water and our beautiful bays, Intracoastal Waterway and Gulf face many challenges from overdevelopment, the phosphate mining industry, Big Sugar and climate change. I would like to see our annual water quality reports for residents include specific testing data on tap water contaminants and data about our estuaries and Gulf.
I was a lifelong educator, so working with and helping people is second nature. My focus is on bringing people of all backgrounds together around areas of mutual interest.
Fortunately in the recent Sarasota School Board elections, Democrats, Republicans and No Party Affiliate voters spoke loud and clear in rejecting political agendas and extremism over the public good.
I will work to unite Sarasota residents around shared values and concerns.
There is widespread concern about protecting our Suncoast from reckless overdevelopment like the Neal project that was just approved by our county commissioners in a 4-1 vote.
That vote will result in a huge 2,700-acre development, with 6,500 new housing units, 120,000 square feet of office space and a quarter of a million square feet of commercial space. Its approval was a disgrace and underscores the need for safeguarding Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan from developer domination.
If elected, I will be an independent voice not beholden to the current county commissioners, their developer friends and our local legislators’ efforts and votes to destroy home rule. I pledge not to accept any developer donations.
The current charter appears to be more restrictive to future changes, yet existing amendments and recent state preemption laws have resulted in diminished home rule, weakening Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan and restricting our electorate’s ability to do anything about it.
Rather than making it a more flexible “living” document that can be amended to address the many challenges and shifting needs of our county, it has made changes that stifle community input and prevent further changes with Amendment 7.1A.
That amendment states, “Changes to this Charter may be proposed by (i) a petition, signed by at least 10% of the number of registered voters in Sarasota County; (ii) a special law enacted by the Legislature; (iii) an ordinance, or (iv) a recommendation by the Charter Review Board. Any proposed amendment shall not conflict with the Florida Constitution, general law or the Charter. (Amended 11/8/2022.)”
That amendment should be repealed or revised. It declares that any change must comply with Florida law and the current charter, a contradiction on the face of it. How can you have a change to the charter without “conflicting with” the existing charter? How can you provide true home rule when you can’t do anything that might conflict with the state?
Throughout our nation, there has been the legal understanding that a state can provide more protection than the federal government, not less. The point of home rule is to provide more protections than the state, not fewer.
Recent laws passed at the state level preempt local control, taking away the ability of our county to have more rigorous regulations, such as providing greater protections for child labor and water breaks for workers in extreme heat. Not requiring water breaks in extreme heat is dangerous and cruel. To require 10% of registered voters to sign a petition to get something on the ballot is a high bar for a citizen initiative.
Another problematic part of the Charter includes Amendment 2.2A(1), which allows the County Commission to undermine Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan by increasing “allowable land use or intensity” if a majority plus one (four county commissioners) approve it. (Added 11/6/2007.)
Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan should have protections so that only changes that provide greater land use protections or a reduction in population density especially in environmentally sensitive areas should be permissible. That disastrous amendment 2.2A (1) permitted the recent Neal megadevelopment travesty.
For the sake of transparency, previous versions of the Sarasota County Charter, the original 1971 Charter as well as previous versions of our existing charter before amendments and other revisions were made, should be available online through the Charter Review Board’s website and/or County Clerk’s Office.
Trying to get Amendment 7.1 A repealed and Amendment 2.2A changed or repealed to prohibit the weakening of Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan.
Making ballot initiatives and questions more attainable and comprehensible by:
If a financial impact statement is needed that too should be researched and written by a respected objective institution without a political agenda.
The County needs to abide by 3.10 Preserve County-Owned Parks, Preserves, Beach and Water Access and Waterfront Vistas and not sell off parts of its parkland to finance improvements on the remaining part. Case in point: selling off a substantial portion of the small park and a building on recently acquired Vamo Drive Park to partly pay for rehab work on another structure considered historically significant that is on the remaining property.
Changes to the charter should be made based on voter desires and ideas brought to the board, both by correspondence and in public comment, which should be encouraged and always welcome.
If the Charter Review Board wants to initiate a change, it should have to prove with an independent study by a nonpartisan recognized institution and pass a “litmus test” demonstrating beyond a reasonable doubt that the proposed change would strengthen rather than weaken home rule and our Comprehensive Plan, or it should not be considered.
Changes initiated by the board have weakened home rule and land use protections. Citizen ballot initiatives with current regulations are difficult enough and would be even more difficult had voters not in 2022 rejected a more restrictive attempt to require 10% of registered voters from each district rather than countywide.
Charter Review Board members more in touch with their own district constituency would be helpful. We should have single-member district voting for the Charter Review Board just as we now have it for county commissioners.
Sarasota, in conjunction with other counties, should consider legal challenges to Florida’s recently enacted preemption laws and any similar future legislation that limits home rule.
Yes to home rule
Yes to protect and restore Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan
Yes to restore our County Charter protections
No to Tallahassee preemption laws
No to variances and zoning changes that only benefit developers and not the public
Sarasota is regarded as one of the best places in the nation to live. Sarasota is our home, and home rule maintained that quality of life. It should be sacrosanct, and I am committed to its preservation and protecting Sarasota, our natural and cultural mecca.
