City elections in Sarasota may be moved to November of even-numbered years, and perhaps turned to winner-takes-all affairs, but not before a divided Sarasota City Commission can navigate the process for change, and not before voters weigh in on the decision themselves.

Sarasota City Attorney Robert Fournier over the next few months will draft ordinances that would amend the city charter and reschedule city elections from the spring in odd-numbered years to the fall in even-numbered years. Commissioners still need to finalize matters like the phasing of commission terms and whether there will still be a runoff, but voted 3-2 to move ahead with drafting a referendum to put on the ballot. “Now is the time,” said Vice Mayor Suzanne Atwell. “I have never heard so many people who want to change the election as I have heard in the last year.”

The chief argument revolved around turnout. In the May city election, turnout citywide was just 18.63 percent, with a 27.72 percent turnout in high-turnout District 2. Comparatively, the November elections in Sarasota County had a turnout of 58.93 percent. Kevin Cooper, vice president for the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, noted that a city charter amendment on derivatives prohibition incited 19,622 to vote on a November 2012 ballot, while just 11,044 votes were cast in a highly contested City Commission race the following March (of note, just 6,153 votes were cast in the March election, with voters allowed to vote for two candidates). 

Commissioner Susan Chapman, though, criticized the push, and said moving the election is a change of such magnitude it ought to originate from a citizen petition or a formal charter review process. She noted that an August-November election cycle would not necessarily cure turnout problems, pointing out primaries have low turnout as well. The August primary, for example, had a 21.32 percent turnout countywide, and that turnout saw a higher concentration of Republican voters, who had more to vote on than either Democrats or independent voters. Chapman did suggest a possible remedy for that, though, asking if the city could move to winner-takes-all elections and hold a contest in November with no runoff.

Fournier said such a move would require another change in the charter, one reversing a previous citizen-approved referendum that requires a majority vote to elect commissioners. He will move forward with drafting two ordinances, one that would have a single November election without a runoff, and another that would call for August-November election cycles. He did say commissioners would need to choose one approach or the other to put in front of voters. He plans to bring back the ordinances in the fall, at which point commissioners would also need to set up a plan for staggering terms to run through new election dates. 

In a report on homelessness that served as much a proving ground for a new homeless services director as a true update on progress in handling the issue, Sarasota City Commissioners on Monday ultimately plowed forward with a Housing First plan and committed to an approach focused on end results for treating individuals impacted by addiction and poverty.

“I’m looking at this problem through a newcomer’s lens,” said Doug Logan, Sarasota director special initiatives. “There seems to be a groundswell to find resolution to this issue, regardless of what plans are embraced or not embraced.” 

Logan, a New York University adjunct professor and the former commissioner for Major League Soccer, was hired last month amid criticism he lacked social services experience. City Manager Tom Barwin defended the hire, saying Logan’s experience as a combat veteran who made good with his life and became a successful manager would produce results for the city as it tackled a complicated problem.

In an update on the homeless issue, Logan noted that while there is a perception little progress has occurred with Housing First, some 15 separate remote housing projects have moved ahead in the area, financed by more than a dozen funding sources.  The approach to homelessness embraced by the city focuses on moving transients directly into permanent housing instead of shelters, and stands in contrast to a county-embraced plan to establish a come-as-you-are shelter where transients will go before being directed to various social services.

City Commissioner Susan Chapman, a vocal supporter of Housing First, said the city should have hired an expert in implementing such a plan. She placed an item on Monday night’s commission agenda to defund or vote no confidence on Logan’s hire, but the move was not supported by other commissioners. “Before this decision was announced, I almost immediately started to receive strong negative input,” she said. A backlash, she feared, could hurt efforts to get citizens to fund further solutions.

But Mayor Willie Shaw said he was impressed by Logan, particularly by the fact Logan’s backstory involves first-hand experience recovering from substance abuse and taking care of a child with mental illness. “I have heard from so many people who know what to do but have never been down the road,” Shaw said. 

Sarasota Memorial appointed Dr. Matthew Klima, orthopedic trauma surgeon, to the health system’s First Physicians Group. Klima serves as the orthopedic surgeon and traumatologist for Sarasota Memorial’s new Level II Trauma Center. In addition to his work with the hospital's trauma team, he also works with orthopedic surgeons in the area and accepts patient referrals for complex orthopedic conditions and procedures. He specializes in treating patients who have suffered traumatic orthopedic injuries, including fractures of the pelvis and acetabulum, long bones and ribs, peri-articular fractures, post-traumatic limb salvage, non-union of fractures, malunion of fractures, deformity correction, soft tissue defects of the lower extremity and post-traumatic infections. His practice is located in the Waldemere Medical Center.  

First Physicians Group

Darwin’s on 4^th, the Peruvian gastropub in downtown Sarasota, closed on Monday. Owners announced on the restaurant's Facebook page that The Darwin Brewing Company and the Darwin’s Food Truck will remain in business and keep the spirit of Darwin’s on 4^th alive. 

Darwin Brewing Co.

The SKY Family YMCA appointed several new officers to its governing metropolitan board of directors. Dave Wampler was elected chief volunteer officer and chairman. Wampler owns and operates the Wampler Insurance and Financial Group, affiliated with Key Agency, in Englewood. He has been a member of the metropolitan board in various leadership roles for 18 years. Additional officers elected were Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight as vice chair, Jim Kuhlman as treasurer and Keith Farlow as secretary. Terms begin immediately for a length of two years. Nancy Blackstone and David Dignam were also elected to the board.  

The SKY Family YMCA

A new set of regulations governing Uber drivers and other similar services was passed unanimously by Sarasota City Commissioners tonight, but officials said they still want to conduct further research before regualtions reach final approval and go into effect. Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of new regulations on first reading, and asked for further information from Uber and on insurance rules before the issue comes back for final reading. 

Read more at SRQMagazine.com