Voter turnout highest for midterm election in at least 16 years
The new Sarasota County commissioner will be Republican Jim DeNiro, a Realtor and retired Sarasota Police Department sergeant while City of Sarasota incumbent Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch won re-election, and long-time neighborhood advocate Flo Entler defeated retired commercial Realtor John Harshman for the second at-large city seat on the ballot.
DeNiro, who lives in Nokomis, will represent District 4, which includes Osprey, Nokomis and the southern portion of Siesta Key.
He captured 56.25% of the 48,303 votes cast in the race, with participation limited to District 4 residents, the unofficial results showed on Nov. 4
Democrat Julie London of Sarasota, an advocate for elders, won 43.75% of the District 4 vote, as noted in the unofficial results.
On his campaign Facebook page, DeNiro said the following in a Nov. 4 post: “This election made clear what matters most to the people of our county: responsible development, infrastructure that keeps up with growth, fiscal responsibility, and protecting our environment. My mission is to put those needs first and protect the quality of life we all deserve.”
He added, “As your commissioner, I will represent all of you, whether you voted for me or not, and whatever your party. What unites us is a shared desire to keep Sarasota County a beautiful place for all of us to live, work, and raise our families.”
On her campaign Facebook page, London wrote the night of Nov. 3, “For the Sarasota County District 4 seat, we were able to fill in a bubble of choice on our ballots in a historically red district and exercise our democratic rights.
“It would have been much worse in the general elections to not have had that opportunity, because there wasn’t a candidate to vote for,” London continued. “So if anyone thinks I’m sad, I’m actually more grateful to those whose hard work made this run for choice possible.”
DeNiro and Commissioner Mark Smith, who won re-election to the District 2 seat following the Aug. 18 Republican Primary, will be sworn into office at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the new County Administration Center standing at 1 Apex Road, off Fruitville Road in Sarasota.
During the commission’s regular meeting on Nov. 4, Smith offered public congratulations to DeNiro and extended a welcome to him to the board.
Clear support for Ahearn-Koch and Entler
In the city, Ahearn-Koch — who has been on the board since 2017 — won 40.73% of the 28,806 votes cast in the City Commission race for the two at-large seats, the unofficial results showed on Nov. 4.
Entler captured 35.08% of the votes, with Harshman winning 24.19% of them.
Entler posted the following on her campaign Facebook page on Nov. 3:
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone for electing me as your city commissioner. Winning this race is a tremendous honor, and I do not take the responsibility lightly. I am deeply honored by your trust, and I’m ready to get to work for our community.” She added, “Let’s build a better future together for our amazing city!”
During the City Commission’s third public hearing on the proposed 1260 N. Palm Residences project, conducted on Nov. 2, Harshman appeared to be making a late bid for support in announcing that he opposed the
327-foot-tall condominium complex that would replace commercial rental space. The commission majority opposed the project fore the third time. (See the related article in this issue.)
Mid-afternoon on Nov. 4, the News Leader did not find any post-election comments on Harshman’s campaign Facebook page.
On Nov. 6, the Sarasota City Commission will conduct its statutory meeting during which Ahearn-Koch and Entler will take their oaths of office. That session will begin at noon in City Hall, which stands at 1565 First St. in downtown Sarasota.
Outgoing Mayor Debbie Trice also will present the traditional State of the City report, and a new mayor will be chosen from among the five board members.
A big turnout
With votes by mail still not completely counted, the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office reported turnout of 67.36% in the Nov. 3 General Election. That was the largest number of voters for a midterm election in the county going back to 2010, as shown in data that the elections office staff released on Nov. 2.
In 2018, when Gov. Ron DeSantis was running for his first term after Gov. Rick Scott had to step down because of term limits, the figure was 66.97% in Sarasota County.
The Sarasota County elections staff pointed out that 78,623 ballots were cast as of Nov. 2, with early voting having ended the previous day. The total turnout as of Nov. 2 was 45.99%, a fact sheet showed.
This year, the number of registered voters eligible to participate in the election was 334,228, the fact sheet said. Of those, 165,723 identified themselves as Republicans; 81,896, as Democrats, and 86,609, as “Other.”
The staff also reported on Nov. 2 that 91,754 vote-by-mail ballots had been put into the mail as of Nov. 2, with 75,081 having been returned by that date. Voters had to make certain the elections office staff had those ballots by 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 for the ballots to count, the staff had stressed.