Nov. 3 General Election to decide winners
Five candidates fulfilled the necessary election requirements and qualified by the noon deadline on Friday, June 12, for the 2026 Sarasota City Commission election for two at-large seats, city staff announced.
Incumbent Jen Ahearn-Koch, who first was elected in May 2017, will be joined in the race by Flo Entler, John Harshman, Yevgeny Khodorkovsky and Rob Rominiecki, city records show.
In accord with the City Charter, a city news release explains, since at least four candidates qualified for the at-large seats, a first election will be held on Primary Day, Tuesday, Aug. 18. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes in that election will have their names placed on the ballot for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the release adds.
The two candidates receiving a majority of votes on Nov. 3 will be sworn into office on Friday, Nov. 6, to serve four-year terms, the release points out.
The City Commission races are nonpartisan.
A Sarasota News Leader spot check of the funds each of the candidates had received through May found Ahearn-Koch in the lead with a total of $57,001.47 and expenditures of $9,759.88.
Harshman is in second place, with $42,400 brought in through May. His expenses have totaled $889.99, his form says.
Rominiecki is in third place, with $40,480.03. Through May, his expenditures added up to $6,548.40, his latest report shows.
Entler had received $35,223.50 through May, while she had spent a total of $4,035.74, her most recent report says.
Khodorkovsky did not file to participate in the at-large election until June 11, as shown in a document posted on the webpages of the Office of the City Auditor and Clerk. Thus, he had no campaign finances to report by the state’s June 10 deadline for the filing of the updates for the second quarter of the 2026 election year.
In contrast, Ahearn-Koch filed for re-election on Oct. 7, 2025, her pre-qualifying Statement of Candidate shows.
Rominiecki was eight days behind Ahearn-Koch, submitting his Statement of Candidate to the Clerk’s Office on Oct. 15, 2025, his form says.
Entler filed for the race on Dec. 16, 2025, her pre-qualifying Statement notes.
Harshman launched his campaign on Jan. 16.
In reviewing the candidates’ forms on which they designated their treasurers, the News Leader also found that Rominiecki is using PAC Financial Management in Tallahassee, which long has been associated with the campaigns of Republican candidates across the state. Harshman named Kim LeeBove of West Palm Beach his treasurer. LeeBove is also the treasurer of the Florida Institute for Political Leadership political committee, as noted by the Florida Division of Elections on its website.
The other three City Commission candidates have appointed Sarasota residents or a local bank to handle their campaign finances, the forms make clear: Laurel Park resident Ronald Kashden, a CPA, is Entler’s treasurer; Khodorkovsky listed Service First Bank on Links Avenue in downtown Sarasota on his form; and Ahearn-Koch noted Julie Hagen of Sarasota as her treasurer.
The candidates, in brief
The News Leader is providing the following information about each of the candidates, based on details they provided to the Office of the City Auditor and Clerk and their websites:
On her campaign website, Ahearn-Koch points out, “Before she was your commissioner, Jen was your neighbor. She became President of the Tahiti Park Neighborhood Association, then represented her neighborhood on the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations. She spent six years on the City’s Planning Board — learning exactly how development decisions get made and where residents get cut out. That’s not background. That’s why she ran.”
The website adds, “Before entering public life, she was Art Director at the Asolo Theatre, then founded JAK Consults in 2002 — a marketing firm she still runs today. She understands how institutions make decisions — and where residents get left out.”
Since her early days in local government, Ahearn-Koch has been known as an advocate for neighborhoods.
The website of the Office of the City Auditor and Clerk further notes Ahearn-Koch’s educational background.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in international affairs and a minor in international business administration and marketing in 1986 from the American University in Paris. Then Ahearn-Koch attended the Graduate School of International & Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York, earning a master’s degree in international affairs. Finally, the webpage says, she earned what is called a “Benjamin Franklin Diploma” from the International Political Economy & Marketing from the Institute d’Etudes Politique in Paris, where she studied business, legal and technical aspects of the European community.
On her campaign website, Entler points out that she “grew up on Long Island, and moved to Sarasota 37 years ago” after completing her Bachelor of Arts in speech and audiology at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Cortland.
“She has been actively involved in city issues for almost a decade,” her website continues. At present, she is president of the Arlington Park Neighborhood Association (APNA), it adds.
Further, the website says, “Flo previously served as Second Vice President of the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations (CCNA), where she had the opportunity to learn about the common concerns (flooding, traffic, construction, affordability, safety, parks) that impact the quality of life for ALL residents of Sarasota.
“Her professional experience,” the website continues, “includes bookkeeping, law office administration, advertising sales, and human resources. She owns and operates a small business as a fitness instructor, coach, and personal trainer.”
On his campaign website, Harshman explains that he “has called Sarasota home for 51 years. Arriving at age 18 with only $20 and a dream, he built a life and a career here, founding Harshman & Co., Inc., a commercial brokerage in 1989.”
His platform, the website notes, is focused on the following:
- Workforce affordability — “John supports innovative projects and public-private partnerships to make Sarasota affordable for our teachers, first responders, and service workers.”
- Honoring Sarasota’s arts and culture — “John recognizes the essential role that arts and culture play in our Sarasota community, both as an economic driver and source of creativity, entertainment, and joy for all Sarasota.”
- Fiscal responsibility — “John will apply his decades of private-sector experience to manage your tax dollars with transparency and care, so residents feel confident in our city’s financial decisions.”
- Prioritizing a clean and safe Sarasota — “John will ensure that our residential neighborhoods and downtown are clean and safe for the benefit and enjoyment of all residents and visitors.”
The candidate webpages maintained by the Office of the City Auditor and Clerk say, “Yevgeny (aka ‘Yev’) has spent over a decade building software and leading teams for major technology companies — including Cisco, Salesforce, and various startups. He also manages global, open-source projects within the Apache Software Foundation, and volunteers in the community by helping seniors live in dignity.”
It adds, “After living in dozens of cities across the country and around the world, Yevgeny chose to call Sarasota home in 2019.”
On his campaign website Khodorkovsky says, “In recent years, the focus of the City Commission has drifted away from serving residents and local businesses, towards overdevelopment and bureaucratic expansion. Most recently, push for a Tampa-style downtown plan, and yet another hike to the parking budget to compensate for mismanagement.”
The website also notes, “We will focus on our City Charter again — vital services and neighborhoods. We’ll prioritize real-world deficiencies we deal with every day:
- “Sensible Traffic & Transit: Timing red lights; reversing parking fee cash-grabs that hurt residents and local businesses; fixing neglected neighborhood infrastructure (there’s more to the city than Downtown and the Key).
- “Accessible Government: Streamlining how businesses and residents interact with the city government and infrastructure, and especially your City Commission.
- “Responsible Development: we’ll favor development that improves residents’ quality of life, services, and safety — not concrete mountains that overload our infrastructure without adding any housing.
- Civic and cultural texture: “Public art, murals, green space, a place to gather larger than a two seat bench — when we assemble we are neighbors.”
The husband of Jennifer Rominiecki, who is president and CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Rominiecki says on his website that he is “committed to keeping Sarasota not just thriving today, but positioned for long-term success. He believes Sarasota should be the best place to live, work, raise a family, and retire — and that requires fresh ideas, a strong work ethic, and a focus on solving real problems that affect everyday residents.”
The website lists his priorities as follows:
- “Expand attainable & affordable housing.
- “Strengthen arts, culture & creative economy.
- “Preserve natural beauty & coastal environment.
- “Reduce traffic congestion.
- “Keep Sarasota welcoming, vibrant & future-ready.”
Further, the website notes that he is a native of Brooklyn who spent 15 years at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan. He served “in roles of increasing responsibility,” it continues, which culminated in his being named director of security and safety “for the entire operation.” That section adds, “His leadership included oversight of the protection and preservation of the priceless art collection” and safety training of more than 500 employees in six locations across New York City.
Following his family’s move to Sarasota, the website notes, Rominiecki “immediately was brought on board” the Gardens staff as the pro bono security/museum operations consultant. His “first project for Selby Gardens was to oversee the renovation of the Payne Mansion’s North Gallery to be Masterwork-ready and enable the Gardens’ shift to the trademarked ‘Living Museum’ operating model,” the website points out. “This included oversight of new systems for climate control; resiliency; storm-preparedness; and security.”