The Sarasota City Commission has two at-large seats up for grabs in the Aug. 18 primary, and five candidates are in the running for four-year terms.
Voters can pick two candidates on Aug. 18, and the top three vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
While one at-large city commissioner, Mayor Debbie Trice, isn’t seeking reelection to the five-member board, longtime City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch is on the primary ballot.
Ahearn-Koch, who is seeking a third term, has established herself as a passionate advocate for ensuring neighborhoods and residents have a strong voice in shaping the city's policies on development and other issues.
“We always make much better decisions when we involve the community in our decision-making,”
Ahearn-Koch told the Herald-Tribune Editorial Board.
Ahearn-Koch said two of her major priorities will be addressing the city’s ongoing budget challenges and improving its stormwater infrastructure, which has been heavily tested after a string of hurricanes between 2022 and 2024.
Flo Entler is a neighborhood advocate who has become a reliable fixture at various commission, committee and board meetings.
Entler, a longtime small business owner, told the Editorial Board that the city is still shutting out citizen input on development growth.
“I don’t think our voice is being heard,” Entler said.
Entler said she would focus heavily on Sarasota's quality of life issues.
“It’s about making sure we have good sidewalks, better crosswalks and proper speed mitigation,” Entler said.
“Just about every meeting I go to, there are citizens complaining about these things.”
John Harshman has spent decades in local business as the founder of a Sarasota-based commercial real estate firm.
In an Editorial Board interview, Harshman said the city commission has made numerous missteps in recent years, and he specifically cited its decision to green-light a $7 million-plus purchase on land on First Street for a workforce housing project that remains in limbo.
“The commission has pretty much just abdicated its responsibility as a policy setter and just let city staff come in and assume that role,” Harshman said.
“I want the city commission to get back to focusing on the nuts and bolts," Harshman said, "and doing what government is supposed to do: keeping the city safe and prosperous for all of us.”
Rob Rominiecki was a longtime executive at the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, and he has been a Sarasota resident since 2015.
Rominiecki said that while Sarasota's arts community is one of the city’s key pillars, it has been taken for granted and neglected by many city leaders.
“I feel the arts and cultural organizations have been treated poorly by the city commission in general,” Rominiecki told the Editorial Board.
Rominiecki said arts organizations ranging from Sarasota Orchestra to Florida Studio Theatre faced numerous bureaucratic hurdles while pursuing major projects in recent years.
“They’re being treated like developers when they’re nonprofits that bring huge economic benefits to our city,” he said.
Rominiecki said he would work to protect the vital arts and cultural community and also support the city’s efforts to increase affordable housing options.
Yevgeny Khodorkovsky is a computer software engineer who relocated to Sarasota in 2019.
Khodorkovsky has been a longtime critic of Sarasota's often-controversial parking policies, which he said reflected the city commission’s unwillingness to listen to residents on many issues.
“I think it’s still a real problem,” Khodorkovsky told the Editorial Board.
Khodorkovsky said he would take a “mindful approach” toward development in Sarasota, and especially in the downtown area.
“I think we can improve our approach both for developers and residents,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to benefit just one side or the other.”
Our endorsement
Harshman is an impressive candidate, and he deserves consideration from voters.
But Ahearn-Koch and Entler are the two best candidates, and voters should choose them on the Aug. 18 primary ballot.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Here are the best picks for Sarasota City Commission | Opinion
