Graphic courtesy Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections.

Former prosecutor Hagen Brody and Tahiti Park neighborhood leader Jennifer Ahearn-Koch won spots on the Sarasota City Commission on Tuesday night, while Chamber of Commerce leader Jill Luke won a seat on the North Port City Commission.

In Sarasota, Brody led a field of three candidates with 6,333 votes according to final unofficial election results, while Ahearn-Koch pulled in 5,057. Third-place finisher Martin Hyde ended with 3,094 votes. The top two vote getters win seats. In North Port, Luke bested former city employee Pete Emrich by 2,441 votes to 2,160 in a special election battle for Seat 4.

Brody believes his mandate from voters shows a desire for a more effective government. “The top priority is reinstalling faith that the City Commission as an institution can effectively address the issues,” he says. “Over time, every time we talk about changing the form of government, or we talk about having an elected mayor, it’s people saying they are not sure the commission in its current form can get things done. I disagree. We can get things done, and I’m going to give it a go.”

Ahearn-Koch, a steering committee member of STOP!, ran on a neighborhood-focused platform, and said the array of issues discussed in the past few months of the campaign need to be addressed collectively. “With Administrative approval, it’s very important to start restoring the citizen’s voice in the development process,” she says, and also stresses support for Housing First and affordable housing initiatives. “It’s time we get to work and focus on the issues citizens care about.”

As returns came in, it became clear the race was decided before Election Day. Based just on early and absentee votes, Brody and Ahearn-Koch had more votes than Hyde would get even after ballots cast at polls on Tuesday were taken into account.

Brody, Ahearn-Koch and Hyde were the top vote-getters in a March election where five other candidates, including incumbent Susan Chapman, were eliminated. Luke and Emrich in March were the top candidates in a three-way race.

Graphic courtesy Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections.