Former Sarasota City Commissioner Terry Turner elected in 2013 not to seek back-to-back terms. But after six years off the board, he just filed to run in Sarasota City Commission District 2.

“I’m a little uncomfortable with the direction the city is going from a fiscal point of view, from an environmental point of view and from a land-use point of view,” Turner said. “I thought it would be a good idea to have a different voice on the commission.”

He thinks Sarasota could be more efficient with taxpayer dollars, maybe to the point where commissioners could entertain cutting taxes.

He’s also unhappy with narrowing sidewalks approved by the city. An advocate of green space during his time on the commission, he fought unsuccessfully to stop administrative review of development on South Palm Avenue. Overall, he wants to make sure Sarasota keeps its pedestrian-friendly character.

“The denseness of development, it all strikes me as a move away from walkable cities that were for a time the dominant view in the city,” Turner said.

He also anticipates Sarasota in the near future will have to get aggressive about resiliency and addressing climate change. He praised plans for a Bayfront performance venue that will be built 20 feet over the mean tide level. A coastal community such as Sarasota will need to address concerns like sea level rise. At the same time, it needs to get serious about keeping the water clean.

He’s entering the race now, more than a year before the final vote, largely because he doesn’t know what the dynamics of the race will be considering 2020 marks the first election since Sarasota voters decided to schedule elections in November of even-numbered years. Right now, he faces Martin Hyde and Jerry Wells. Incumbent Liz Alpert has not yet filed for reelection.