The Sarasota News Leader reviews the history of the political factor who drew Sarasota's voting district lines in 2011 and again in 2019:
...based on Waechter’s deposition during the litigation and materials collected during the discovery process, it was clear that Waechter long had been inserting himself into County Commission business.
In a motion filed on April 19, seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the use of the new district maps during the 2020 election, the attorneys for the plaintiffs described Waechter’s background at length. In 2013, he pleaded guilty in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court to a first-degree misdemeanor: Fraudulent Use/Possession of ID of Another Person to Harass.
Waechter admitted to making campaign contributions to Democrats running for office in 2012 in the name of his fellow Siesta Key resident, Lourdes Ramirez.
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In subsequent civil action, Ramirez contended that Waechter smeared her reputation as a Republican, just as she was planning a run for the County Commission. She ultimately lost the 2014 Republican Primary for the District 4 seat to Alan Maio, who was elected to the board in November 2014.
Following Waechter’s admission of guilt, the April 19 permanent injunction motion noted, he was sentenced to three months of community control, followed by two years of probation, and he was fined $5,000.. . .
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| Protest held on 12.13.19 to oppose County Redistricting |
Herald Tribune: ZAC ANDERSON: Redistricting ruling highlights questionable potential motives
Waechter’s deposition in the redistricting lawsuit shows that he went to great lengths to initiate and influence the redistricting process and hide his involvement.
Waechter said he gathered data and records intended to make the case for redistricting and delivered it to the County Commission office, asking a staff member to give it to Commission Chairman Charles Hines. He paid an attorney $500 at one point to submit a redistricting map.
Waechter also appears to have erased some of the records from his redistricting activities. He talked about destroying an old computer last year that may have held redistricting records by drilling holes in the hard drive with a drill press. ...
Waechter’s involvement in the redistricting process is controversial because he’s a partisan operative aligned with powerful business interests and current commissioners, raising concerns that his map was intended to benefit his allies. He also was convicted of a misdemeanor for a political dirty trick, showing he was willing to use underhanded means to achieve his political goals. ...
Weachter’s [sic] involvement in the Sarasota County redistricting effort echoes what happened at the state level, from injecting a partisan element to secretly crafting maps and destroying records. ...
“I lobbied for redistricting,” Waechter said in the deposition. “I did everything I could, talked to everybody that I could that — you look at redistricting.”
Kellogg asked Waechter directly if he was trying to protect Moran.
“Well, I wouldn’t say to protect Commissioner Moran, but yes, it was unconscious,” Waechter said. “I’m very conscious of political considerations and not conscious of racial considerations.”
The deposition also further established Waechter’s ties to Moran.
Waechter described him as a friend and said he has a commercial insurance policy through Moran’s insurance company. ...
... there is plenty in his testimony and Jung’s ruling to fuel criticism that redistricting was nothing more than a partisan power play.
Bob Waechter and the Charter Review Board
Cathy Antunes, City of Sarasota Commissioner Willie Shaw, and Tom Matrullo talk about the redistricting on WSLR 5.14.20
