The Sarasota City Commission will soon have a very different look, following upsets in last evening’s city election. Two new candidates unseated commissioners appointed in January, delivering a blow against neighborhood groups who have traditionally been among the most powerful organizations in local politics.

Liz Alpert defeated incumbent Eileen Normile in the race for Sarasota City Commission District 2, while Shelli Freeland Eddie unseated incumbent Stan Zimmerman in the Sarasota City Commission District 3 contest. “The voters wanted to see a different vision on the City Commission,” said Alpert. “They wanted to start seeing things get done.” Alpert referenced issues such as the mishandling of homelessness and a growing divide between city and county commissioners as contributing factors to her win. Eddie said she prided her campaign on remaining focused on issues. “We ran a strong, clean campaign and we respected voters,” she said.

With all precincts reporting, Alpert had 2,124 votes in the District 2 contest to Normile's 1,822. Eddie had 894 in the District 3 contest to Zimmerman's 774. Both were helped in the run-up to Election Day by a concerted effort by the Sarasota Democratic Party and Democratic officials from outside the region, as well as spending from outside political committees. Normile and Zimmerman are both registered Republicans. Expect supporters to say a message was sent repudiating neighborhood policies, while critics credit outside spending by party leaders with Tuesday's night's results. Alpert dismissed the concern. “I had broad-based support,” she said. Successful efforts by Democrats to get a new set of voters to the fold should be celebrated, not scorned, she said.

Alpert and Normile both significantly increased their support on Tuesday as compared to a first election in March. In the earlier District 2 contest, which also featured eliminated candidate David Morgan, Alpert led with 1,656 votes to Normile's 1,449. Bringing another nearly 500 votes cinched her the win. Eddie's victory likely surprised more people, as she trailed Zimmerman in March with 584 votes to Zimmerman's 750; eliminated candidate Matt Wooddall ensured no one got a majority and forced the May runoff. But on Tuesday, Zimmerman barely saw any increase in his voter totals, and ended up losing by 120 votes. 

Two charter amendments also passed with overwhelming majorities. One requires a candidate live in a district for a year before they can be appointed (that is already a requirement to be a candidate for election). The other more firmly sets a timetable for gathering petitions to put a measure on the ballot. Interestingly, the former was prompted largely by Eddie, who hadn’t been in the district a year when appointments were made in November but applied arguing she would meet the requirement by the time of the election.

SRQ Media Group on May 26 will host a "Where The Votes Are" election analysis looking at the Tuesday election results. Doors at SRQ's corporate headquarters on Pinepple will open at 7:45am, followed by a presentation at 8am.