There’s been a lot of discussion of how well Democrats performed in the August primary in Sarasota County, something that likely contributed to Republican Eric Robinson’s ouster from the School Board and the fact only Democrats emerged from a District 2 primary for the City Commission. But how and where did they do well?

At SRQ, it’s a been a tradition for more than a decade to dig deep into ”Where The Votes Are.” Ahead of a workshop to be held Thursday morning for the first time remotely (RSVP here), I’ve already started picking apart numbers to see exactly where Democrats overperformed this cycle, something that could hold significance in November. What I found is that Democrats not only had a turnout more than 8 percentage points greater than Republicans, but they performed better in areas dominated by the GOP for a long time.

A close look at data shows that only 16 precincts in the entire county have more Democrats registered than Republicans, compared to 83 that are the other way around.

That said, Democrats who voted on Aug. 18 outnumbered Republicans in 20 precincts where there are more Republicans registered to vote. In another Republican-majority precinct, there was a tie as far as Republican and Democrat turnout. Meanwhile, there were no majority-Democrat precincts where Republicans outperformed.

Winning or tying in 37 of 99 precincts is nothing to dismiss, though it still shows Democrats are clustered in parts of the county making certain districts unwinnable. But this may also signal a significant advantage in enthusiasm gap among Democrats — at least in the August races.

Where were the precincts that flipped upside down?

Unsurprisingly, many of them lay in the greater Sarasota area, where Democrats have seen growing success over the past decade. Precincts 105, 117, 121, 131, 203, 213, 219, 223, 422 and 425 all have Sarasota addresses and serve as home precinct to more Republicans than Democrats, yet saw more Democrats come to polls than Republicans. It has seemed in recent years Democrats may be winning Republicans in this area over even if they don’t change their voter registration. But the results from the August election show it’s as likely Republicans just can’t get excited in this area about local politics at all.

There were a few more surprising areas to see Democrats overperform, including in precinct 201 on Longboat Key, in the Holiday Park precinct 341 in North Port and in precinct 403 on Siesta Key. Most startling to me, though, was a cluster of Venice precincts— 405, 413, 421, 423, 433, 513, 515, 517 and 519. Two years ago, Republican Rick Scott outperformed Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in five of those nine seats on his way to unseating the Democrat. Considering Venice just elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in a number of years, the August results may indicate the region to be more swingy that it appears.

Some caveats. Recall, 42.7% of registered Democrats participated in the Aug. 18 primary countywide, compared to 34.4% of Republicans and 15.6% on those registered without any party affiliation. That’s obviously a sign Democrats were better organized for this election. But also remember more Republicans voted (48,199 out of 140,166) than Democrats (44,652 out of 104,526). Even on a good day for Democrats, they still get outnumbered at the polls by registered Republicans. That’s partly why Democrats could pick off Robinson while Karen Rose won a simultaneous election for an open School Board seat now held by a Democrat. Put another way, Democratic candidates still need to win over independent and Republican voters to be successful, at least in countywide races like School Board.

The presence of the Presidential election on the Nov. 3 ballot will surely rouse partisan voters on both sides of the aisle, but Democrats head into the fall confident they came out ahead in a lot of places where the odds were stacked against them.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ Media. To RSVP for Thursday’s virtual Where The Votes Are workshop, please email wtva@srqme.com. 

I am honored to serve as the new Superintendent of Sarasota County Schools. To the School Board and  Community Advisory Committee, I thank you for the confidence you have placed in selecting me, and I fully comprehend the mission that you have entrusted to my care. To the district employees, I appreciate the support you have already displayed, and I look forward to laboring alongside you to serve our students. And to my family, I thank you for being the foundation of my career— my wife is my rock, who I admire as an educator herself, my children are my inspiration, who keep me relevant, and my grandson is my joy and hope for tomorrow.

Sarasota County is an extraordinary place, and its school district is consistently one of the highest-ranked in Florida. I am excited to work with the Board Members, school district employees, students, parents and the community to not only continue, but also elevate our commitment to providing a high-quality public education for all students. Though we have each been profoundly impacted by the pandemic, I have faith that we can come together as a community to support our schools.

All students have a right to a stellar public education in an environment where they can shine, make memories and grow into their fullest potential. We must not lose sight of the importance of academic, emotional and civic growth for our children, even during this time of adversity. The start of this school year will certainly be unique and it will surely present learning curves for us all. I ask for your compassion, understanding and collaborative spirit – not just for our school communities, but towards your neighbors, children and anyone you may encounter. Our children are looking to us to lead by example. I know we can achieve great things if we all unite positively to forge ahead into this new school year; we must maximize the present, however challenging, while we look toward a bright future.

I am humbled and sincerely grateful to now serve as your Superintendent. I look forward to getting to know our community better and cannot wait to lead Sarasota County Schools into its new school year, and beyond.

Dr. Brennan Asplen is new Superintendent of Sarasota County Schools. The school year begins on Monday in the county. 

Photo: Sarasota High School

Shocking but true – an estimated 1 in 5 local adults in Sarasota and Manatee Counties struggle with basic literacy and/or English communication skills (Source: National Assessment of Adult Literacy – NAAL). It could be your neighbor, the person in line in front of you at the store, the one you sit next to at church, the parent picking up their children from school, or the plumber who fixed your sink yesterday. But you can’t see it. It’s invisible to the eye, but it’s there. To raise awareness of this hidden issue, three local adult literacy nonprofits have come together as S.A.L.A., the Suncoast Adult Literacy Alliance. Comprised of the Manatee Literacy Council, Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County, and the Literacy Council of Sarasota, S.A.L.A. is combining resources to highlight next month, September, as National Literacy Month. Note that Tuesday, September 8th was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1966 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies.

For more info: Manatee Literacy Council (MLC), Michelle Desveaux McLean, Executive Director, (941) 284-3556, director@manatee-literacy.org; Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County (LVSSC), Joe Pokorney, Board Member, (941) 544-7272, joe@lancastermcginty.com; and, The Literacy Council of Sarasota (LCS), Tom Melville, Executive Director, (941) 955-0421, tmelville@sarasotaliteracy.org. 

The County Administrator, Clerk of the Court, and County Financial Management Director will join a host of independent professional financial advisors to provide a clear, thorough and transparent explanation of the County Government's finances, reserves and cash balances on Monday. The report will be part of the County Commission's budget reconciliation — a final review of unresolved items — before two September public hearings to adopt the 2020-21 budget. The meeting will be held at 9 am in the Longboat Key Room at the Bradenton Area Convention Center at One Haben Boulevard, Palmetto. "We are taking this opportunity to clearly define the position of the County as it relates to revenues, expenses, reserves, debt and cash on hand," said County Administrator Cheri Coryea. "Most citizens may not be aware of the extent to which laws and policy govern the way in which County Governments are required to provide services to the community. Since for the most part these are taxpayers dollars I want to be sure that we’ve taken the time to provide this information and have asked several independent financial advisors to help break down the various areas of financial data.

"Seeing a hurricane like Laura roll through and change everything in a few short hours, as well as dealing with a global pandemic pushed me to want to reassure our County that we are prepared and ready for whatever comes," Coryea said. "When misinformation about government financing starts to spread throughout the community, it is my job to correct and support the position the County Commission has taken in order to serve, protect and deliver to the public.”

"This will be by far the most comprehensive, transparent presentation of government fund accounting and reporting I have witnessed of a local government," said Angel Colonneso, Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. "I would encourage any citizen interested in the 'how and why' of government financial reporting and budgeting to watch this presentation. I know that the County put a lot of work and preparation into this presentation as did the staff at our office and we are honored to be a part of this collaborative effort to bring this information to our citizens."

The Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller is auditor, custodian and chief financial officer of all county funds. The Clerk's office serves a check and balances function on behalf of taxpayers. The Clerk & Comptroller also invests and earns revenues on county funds to offset the tax burden on Manatee County's taxpayers.  This meeting can be viewed live on Manatee Government Access (MGA) Spectrum channel 644, Verizon channel 30, and Comcast channel 20. It will be streamed live on mymanatee.org/mga and on the County's Facebook page . 

For the full budget.

The City of Sarasota has extended its declaration of a local citywide public health emergency through Sept. 4 following a weekly review, as required by the City Charter, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The order extends the City’s temporary street closure program through September in order to allow additional space for outdoor dining and help restaurants and retailers severely impacted by the pandemic. A partial closure of Lemon Avenue, from Main Street to State Street, is scheduled for 3:30pm to 12am Friday and Saturday. Face coverings are now required in all indoor and outdoor public spaces in the City limits, whenever proper social distancing cannot be maintained in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The temporary face covering is in effect through October 28.