A new awareness of the importance of County government is growing.

In recent years millions of gallons of wastewater have “spilled” into Sarasota waters, harming the environment. Just this week, nearly 700,000 gallons of reclaimed water and 4,500 gallons of raw sewage spilled into two local stormwater retention ponds. While wastewater infrastructure was languishing, Sarasota County Commissioners backed by wealthy development interests kept approving projects for their benefactors. The resulting harm is real.

If you have any doubt, ask business owners and workers who suffered during the 2018 red time summer. Consider too how all this sprawl development has impacted traffic, and it’s clear we need a County government that takes good care of the interests of constituents, not special interests.
By now, many Sarasota County voters are aware that we have had a Republican County Commission for 50 years. I attribute this phenomenon to voters choosing to vote along party lines in County Commission races, because when I ask Sarasota residents if they can name their five County Commissioners, most cannot name one, let alone five. When people walk into a voting booth not knowing the candidates, they look to other means to make their decision. Party affiliation is an obvious distinguishing feature when name recognition isn’t in play. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats, and independents tend to split down the middle. Advantage: GOP.

But that’s not the whole story. A look at Sarasota County Commission elections shows just how lopsided our choices have been.

There have been 20 Sarasota County Commission races since 2004. Those races have included 46 candidates: 33 Republicans, 8 Democrats, and 5 NPAs. Republicans have run unopposed in the general election in 11 of the 20 races. And of those 20 County Commission elections, Democrats ran in only seven of them You’ve got to be in it to win it.

For developers backing County Commission candidates, it’s not really about electing Republicans. It’s about electing their anointed candidates. Witness what happens to grassroots Republican candidates. In 2014, former local GOP chair Bob Waechter was caught on video purchasing a debit card in the name of a Republican candidate considered unfriendly to the developer power structure. Waechter then took that card and made contributions to Democrats in her name. That’s felony identity theft, committed to create attack fodder against an internal Republican rival.

Another grassroots 2016 Republican County Commission candidate was the subject of an attack website funded by a PAC that received $15,000 from developer Pat Neal..

Of course, grassroots Democrat County Commission candidates who are considered a threat get attacked too. Who can forget the 2008 TV commercial run against Jono Miller, showing a man dressed in a ballerina tutu dancing around? You can’t make this stuff up.

Dirty politics lead to dirty water. In 2020, single member districts for County Commission races will reduce the cost of running, and increase the efficacy of grassroots campaigns. Are you interested in making a difference? Do you care about clean water? We need you on the County Commission.

Cathy Antunes is host of The Detail.