- December 3, 2024
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Over the next five weeks, we’ll be devoting much of this page to our recommendations for the Nov. 5 general election.
Our focus will be on a few specific races and ballot questions pertinent to voters in Sarasota and Manatee counties; the statewide constitutional amendments; Florida Supreme Court justices and Second District Court of Appeal judges; and the national elections.
This week’s installment is on the offices of Sarasota County tax collector and Sarasota County Public Hospital Board.
Barbara Ford-Coates, Democrat, incumbent; Mike Moran, Republican
Far too often, voters are faced with the dilemma of which of the two candidates is the least worst.
Fortunately for Sarasota County voters, the contest for tax collector is not one of those races. Barbara Ford-Coates and Mike Moran are accomplished individuals and competent candidates.
But let’s cut to the quick. We have a simple litmus test: If the incumbent candidate has been doing a good job, vote for that candidate; keep that person in office.
In this instance, that means re-elect Ford-Coates. No questions asked, no doubts about it.
(As an aside, in all of our recommendations over the past three decades, Ford-Coates is the only Democrat the Observer has recommended — and repeatedly. And that’s for a simple reason: She has done and does a great job.)
Indeed, it’s worth reprinting excerpts from our June 27 tax collector recommendations for the Republican primary:
“For many longtime Sarasotans, in particular those who live in the northern part of the county, the idea of challenging incumbent Barbara Ford-Coates for the county tax collector position is close to ludicrous.
“Ford-Coates has been Sarasota County tax collector for 40 years, elected 10 times. And anyone who has experienced the process of registering a vehicle in another state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or in another Florida county is likely to attest his or her customer experience in Sarasota is Best of Class. Ford-Coates’ staff defies the reputation of surly bureaucrats; they’re pleasant, efficient and helpful. And that starts at the top.
“Ford-Coates’ reputation among her peers is tops. Every year since 2011, the Florida Tax Collector Association has bestowed Ford-Coates and her office with the Excellence in Finance Operations and the Legacy Award. In 2008, the National Association of County Collectors, Treasurers & Finance Officers named her Outstanding Tax Collector in the U.S.
“Timothy Qualls, longtime general counsel for the Florida Tax Collector’s Association, says: ‘Barbara is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.’”
The accolades and “firsts” go on:
In addition to being a leader nationally and statewide among tax collectors, Ford-Coates has held numerous community leadership positions:
All of that is worth noting because it further buttresses the irrefutable case that Ford-Coates deserves reelection.
Is she perfect? No one is. Then, what is the case, if there is one, against Ford-Coates and for Moran?
Two things against:
But that does not matter if the performance hasn’t waned.
Competence matters; age and tenure don’t.
Moran, by contrast, is 20 years younger than Ford-Coates. So there is no denying that because of age, Moran is likely to have more stamina than Ford-Coates over the next four years.
You can also make the case that with Moran’s experience as a payroll and insurance company owner in Michigan and his public service — eight years on the County Commission, including terms as chair; a member of the Southwest Florida Water Management Board of Governors; former vice chair of Sarasota County Planning Commission member — on paper, he has the chops to lead the tax collector’s office.
What’s more, his colleagues on these public boards will tell you Moran works hard. A former Sarasota County commissioner told us Moran was always well versed and prepared on whatever subjects and issues came before the board.
But here is the “but” — two “buts” — and they’re big for us:
We don’t need that in the tax collector’s office.
To Ford-Coates’ credit, she has focused her 40 years in office on doing the job, not becoming a public political poohbah.
On style, Moran hasn’t earned the tax collector’s job. We addressed this in this space in June. (YourObserver.com/News/2024/Jun/26/Opinion-For-Sarasota-Tax-Collector/)
While you can give Moran credit for his pursuit of “making government accountable to the taxpayers” and of “as little governmental intrusion as possible,” he has used his County Commission position as a bully. We recounted three high-profile instances of this in our June editorial.
Moran’s pattern has been not to collaborate or engage constituents. Instead, his style has been emblematic of what has happened throughout every level of government. Once in office, rather than act as public servants and engage and discuss issues with affected parties, so many politicians relish and exert their power like monarchical rulers. Their way or be damned.
For 40 years, Sarasota voters have set aside partisanship and overwhelmingly approved of the job that Ford-Coates has done as Sarasota County tax collector. This is no time to change. Ford-Coates has earned her position for another four years.
We recommend: Barbara Ford-Coates
At-Large, Seat 1: Sharon Wetzler DePeters, Republican, incumbent; Alan Jerome Sprintz, Democrat; Ethan Garrett, Suzanne Hatatah, Jennifer Lee Zambrano, Write-ins
At-Large, Seat 2: Dale Anderson, Democrat; Kevin Cooper, Republican
At-Large, Seat 3: George Davis, Democrat; Pam Beitlich, Republican; Curt Erlandson and Emilio Carlesimo, Write-ins
Central District, Seat 1: Sarah Lodge, Republican, incumbent; Vicki Lynn Nighswander, Democrat; Barbara Miller Vaughn, Write-in
If you conducted man (woman)-on-the-street interviews and asked passersby to name any of the elected Sarasota Public Hospital Board members, likely you would get a blank look 99% of the time.
The job draws attention on rare occasions, far less attention than most elected offices. But it is one of the most important elected offices in the region when you consider the magnitude and scope of what it does.
The hospital board members are the governing body for a $1.6 billion (annual revenues) healthcare enterprise that treats more than 1.5 million people a year; has 900 beds; has more than 570 physicians and more than 10,000 employees (the most of any employer in Sarasota County).
On top of that, this health care system has been on its largest and most successful expansion track in the hospital system’s history over the past five years. In 2021, for instance, amid the chaos from the pandemic, Sarasota Memorial opened its new 110-bed Venice hospital. Demand for that grew so fast, SMH will complete the doubling of its size this year.
Next up: a new hospital in North Port.
SMH’s financial statements detail that $722 million is being invested for the following projects:
And just to add to all that, throughout the past four years, Sarasota Memorial Hospital consistently has been awarded and ranked among the best of its peers nationally and in Florida.
We enumerate all of the above to make the unequivocal case (once again) that the incumbent hospital board members running for reelection pass the litmus test: If they’re performing well, reelect them — Sharon Wetzler DePeters and Sarah Lodge. Keep going.
But there also are two open seats with no incumbents. In those races, the choices are clear — we recommended two of those candidates in the August primary: Kevin Cooper, At-Large, Seat 2; and Pam Beitlich, At-Large, Seat 3.
Cooper is a well-regarded civic and business leader in Sarasota. Currently a vice president at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Cooper previously served as executive director and CEO of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce and the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and has been involved as a board member for numerous not-for-profit organizations in his 20-plus years in Sarasota.
Cooper’s opponent, Democrat Dale P. Anderson is a retired physician. Little known in Sarasota, Anderson has expressed views that hospital board members should be proponents of public health issues, including advocating for expanding Medicare statewide and for improved gun safety.
For At-Large, Seat 3, Beitlich also faces a retired physician, Democrat George Davis, and two unserious write-in candidates, Curt Erlandson and Emilio Carlesimo.
Here is the defining difference between Beitlich and Davis: Beitlich, 66, knows SMH intimately; for Davis, 77, it would be new.
Beitlich recently retired as Sarasota Memorial’s executive director of Women and Children’s Services after a 40-year career there. She oversaw high-risk labor and delivery and mother baby departments — more than 4,500 births at SMH last year. And she oversaw SMH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the only Level III unit between St. Petersburg and Fort Myers, for the most critical babies.
Beitlich has a doctorate in healthcare systems leadership, a master’s in nursing and is an advanced practice registered nurse. As she says: “I understand the clinical side of running a healthcare system, as well as the day-to-day operations.”
With her 40 years at SMH, Beitlich knows well the hospital system’s strengths, weaknesses and needs. Davis, on the other hand, could bring the perspective of a physician who practiced 35 years. But if SMH were your business, whose institutional knowledge and wisdom would you rather have on the board? We’ll take Beitlich’s.
We recommend: Sharon Wetzler DePeters, Kevin Cooper, Pam Beitlich and Sarah Lodge
