Citizens’ initiative created to help put focus on ‘issues of real concern to voters’
Julie Forestier of Sarasota, a candidate for the District 1 Sarasota County Charter Review Board seat, is the latest person running for local office this year to sign the Sarasota County Clean Campaign Pledge, an initiative created by the founders of the grassroots group Citizens for Sarasota County.
Attorney Susan Schoettle, one of those founders, notified The Sarasota News Leader of Forestier’s action via email on July 22.
A Democrat, Forestier will face Republican Jay Riley of Sarasota in the November General Election. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Riley to the seat on Dec. 15, 2023, a Charter Review Board document notes.
Kennedy Legler of Sarasota won that seat in the November 2022 General Election, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office records show.
Forestier’s LinkedIn account says she has worked with the Social Equity through Education Alliance (SEE) since September 2023. That nonprofit says on its website that it “is a student-founded, student-led, intergenerational organization using innovative technology and techniques to organize Floridian communities and the youth vote.”
As its Sarasota County Government webpage explains, “The Charter Review Board is an elected body of 10 members, two members from each of the five county commission districts, who serve staggered terms of four years. The Charter Review Board reviews and proposes changes to the Sarasota County Charter which are submitted to referendum in accordance with the provisions of Article VII of the Charter. An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Charter Review Board members is required to submit amendments to referendum.”
The webpage adds, “Members are elected countywide by the voters of Sarasota County at the General Election and take office on the second Tuesday following the General Election. They serve without compensation.”
A recent news release about the pledge quoted Schoettle: “The Pledge will raise voters’ awareness of negative campaigning and focus discussion on issues of real concern to the voters of Sarasota County.”
As the News Leader has reported, six other candidates had signed the pledge through July 18. Those were as follows:
- Shari Thornton of Venice, who is running without party affiliation for the District 3 County Commission seat.
- Charles Bear of Sarasota, a Republican challenging outgoing County Commissioner Mike Moran in the Aug. 20 Primary for the office of Sarasota County Tax Collector.
- Incumbent Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates, a Democrat.
- Nancy Ceci, the solitary Democratic candidate for the District 5 seat on the Charter Review Board.
- George Davis, the lone Democratic candidate seeking the at-large seat for District 3 on the Hospital Board.
- Vicki Lynn Nighswander, the only Democratic candidate seeking the District 1 seat on the Hospital Board.
This is the pledge:
“To do my part to ensure an honest, fair election that focuses on the issues facing Sarasota County voters, I pledge to:
- “conduct my campaign accurately and honestly, keeping the focus on issues relevant to the voters of Sarasota County, Florida.
- “not engage in character defamation of other candidates or participate in invasions of personal privacy unrelated to campaign issues and to publicly repudiate any campaign material, communications, or advertisements of other groups who engage in such activities.
- “refuse both direct contributions and indirect support, e.g. in the form of advertising, communications, or mailers using my name or photo, from organizations that do not disclose the origins of their funding, such as dark money PACs.”