Office of the County Attorney and county administrator to check on population data that could be utilized legally and timeline board would have to pursue
Commissioner Nancy Detert. File photo
Before the Sarasota County Commission potentially launches an initiative to redraw its district boundaries, board members this week asked the Office of the County Attorney and County Administrator Jonathan Lewis to provide the answers to a number of questions.
Among the issues raised by Commissioner Nancy Detert’s proposal for redistricting, commissioners want to know what data legally could be used for such a process. Commissioner Christian Ziegler noted, for example, that he believed theAmerican Community Survey undertaken by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015 provides an estimate of the county’s population.
Additionally, Ziegler said during the board’s April 9 meeting, the commissioners will need to know the timeline they would have to follow with redistricting to enable Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner and his staff to comply with state regulations in preparing for the 2020 elections.
The commissioners, by consensus, made the staff research a formal assignment. Lewis said he expected to have the information ready in May.
The impetus for the discussion, as Detert noted in late February, is the November 2018 passage of a Sarasota County Charter amendment implementing a Single-Member District process. That calls for a voter to cast a ballot in the primary and general election just for a commission candidate in the district within which the voter and the candidate live. Previously, every registered county voter has been able to cast a ballot for a candidate in each commission contest in a general election.
Detert said she had reviewed figures for the five districts drawn and approved by the County Commission in 2012, after the 2010 Census. She told her colleagues on April 9 that she found the districts “are totally out of balance.” Detert added, “It didn’t make any difference before, ’cause you just had to live in your district …”
“We have the right to change our own boundaries,” Detert pointed out. “It’s our right and responsibility. We don’t have to wait for the next Census.”
She fears, she said, that if the board does not undertake redistricting prior to the November 2020 General Election, losers in County Commission races could bring suit, contending that the districts had population imbalances.
These are the results of the Nov. 6, 2018 vote on the Single-Member Districts Charter amendment. Image courtesy Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office
She had spoken with Supervisor of Elections Turner, Detert added. “He’s totally willing to be as cooperative as he possibly can.” In fact, she noted, he had offered to make one of his staff available to assist the board in redrawing district lines.
He also told her, Detert said, that the redistricting would not cause a problem for his staff in terms of precincts, because the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Office adjusts precincts “all the time.”
Detert further proposed that the commissioners “make this the most open, transparent and, frankly, televised exercise that the county’s ever been through.”
Software is available to help the board members undertake the modification of the district boundaries themselves, she noted.
Further, by ensuring public involvement in the process, and openness of the meetings, she continued, the effort could prove to be an educational one for county residents. “I think that people’s civics have gotten a little fuzzy over the past years. … People don’t understand that government has some rules … and timelines.”
Additionally, Detert said, “I think we all need to work on restoring the average person’s faith in their own government.
Detert asked County Attorney Frederick “Rick” Elbrecht to read the appropriate section of the Florida Constitution that covers local government redistricting.
Elbrecht referencedFlorida Statute 124.01, which says, “The board of county commissioners shall from time to time, fix the boundaries of the [board’s] districts so as to keep them as nearly equal in proportion to population as possible …”
This is Section 124.01 of the Florida Statutes. Image courtesy Florida Legislatue
Additionally, Elbrecht said, the Sarasota County Charter calls for the redistricting process to include a public hearing, after proper notice and copies of the proposed district maps have been made available for people to review. The commission has “a deal of discretion” in the process, he added, “as long as it’s done reasonably and in a non-discriminatory manner.”
Commissioners’ concerns aired
Ziegler was the first commissioner to respond with questions, though he said, “I like the idea of being fully transparent and engaging the public …”
When Ziegler asked Detert what data she had relied on to determine the districts are out of balance, she replied that she had asked the Supervisor of Elections Office for the voter registration figures for the districts. However, she said she believed those numbers also reflect the population of each district.
In response to a request fromThe Sarasota News Leader following the April 9 discussion, Rachel Denton, communications and voter outreach manager for the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office, provided the following current figures for each County Commission district. The numbers include voters whose addresses are withheld for confidential reasons, she said, as well as those whose addresses are a matter of public record:
County Commission District 1: 56,198.
County Commission District 2: 60,695.
County Commission District 3: 64,574.
County Commission District 4: 63,295.
County Commission District 5: 73,007.
These are the County Commission districts with population figures current as of April 2011. Image courtesy Sarasota CountyA graphic shows the current County Commission districts. Image courtesy Sarasota County government
During the discussion, Detert referenced population figures Lewis had provided for a recent community meeting, illustrating the growth of the city of North Port. When she asked Lewis about those, he explained that they were provided by the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR). However, he added, the BEBR numbers are not sufficiently detailed to help staff determine district population counts.
Adocument the BEBR released in April 2018 estimated the Sarasota County population at 417,442, with a projection that it could climb as high as 447,600 by 2020 — or even drop to 413,200.
After Ziegler suggested on April 9 that the potential might exist of using the 2015 Census Bureau information, Chair Charles Hines noted that a lot of areas of the county have grown considerably since then. “I think we need a lot more research …”
County Attorney Elbrecht pointed out that the state statute calls for use of population numbers, not voter registration figures.
Ziegler also asked how long the redistricting process would take.
Referencing the state law, Elbrecht explained that the new boundaries would have to be in place before the end of this year. The statute says, “[T]hat changes made in the boundaries of county commissioner districts pursuant to this section shall be made only in odd-numbered years.”
Chair Hines asked how long a person would have to reside in a district before the person legally could seek a County Commission seat.
Chair Charles Hines. File photo
After reviewing the County Charter, Elbrecht said that Section 6.7 requires an individual to have been a resident of the district six months before qualifying to run for the County Commission district seat.
“There’s no guarantee that we have to work around [a commissioner’s] house,” Detert said.
Ziegler emphasized that the board members were not trying to contravene the will of the voters who approved the Single-Member District Charter amendment in November 2018. What the commission is trying to do, he said, is “fill] in those gaps” that were not detailed in the amendment language. “We’re in kind of an awkward limbo, if you will. … This is basically an effort toclearlylay out what the ground rules are and how this is going to work …”
“Well put,” Hines replied.
When Detert proposed a motion calling for redrawing the district maps, Ziegler asked, “Are we ready to make that statement today?”
Hines agreed with Ziegler again. “The assumption is the [population] numbers are out of whack,” Hines said. However, he continued, that determination needs to be made before the commission embarks on redistricting.
“It seems it would be hard to go too much further,” County Administrator Lewis added, without knowing the legal precedents regarding data that could be used for redistricting between the decennial Census counts and the timeline that would have to be followed.
“I think you got enough to get started,” Hines told Lewis.
Sarasota's 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 Board reviews and proposes changes to the Sarasota County Charter which are submitted to referendum in accordance with the provisions of Article VI of the Charter.
The 11 candidates running for the Board in November were invited to answer these questions:
Why do you think you’re particularly well suited for the Charter Review Board?
Do you think the Charter Review Board should be changed from an elected board to an appointed board? Please explain.
What are three issues that have been suggested for the CRB’s consideration that you feel are worthy of further inquiry? For each one, please explain why you think it’s important.
What is your position on single-district elections?
Do you believe citizen petition charter amendment drives should be subject to a time limit on gathering signatures?
Do you believe advisory boards should be subject to a rule that aims to balance them by geography, areas of expertise, and relevant experience in advocacy? (For example, for the Planning Commission, at least one member with experience in advocating for affordable housing.)
We have asked each candidate to provide their written responses by Noon, Thursday, Sept. 29. We'll share their responses verbatim.
***Candidates are invited to provide photos and links to their sites.***
The following was shared by a county resident who believes PAC funding and corporate interests are distorting local electoral politics: The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE) has launched a charter amendment petition that would change how we elect Sarasota County Commissioners and Charter Review Board members.
Currently these positions are broken down by districts, however they run “at large” which means that if you want to represent District 2, you need to get the majority vote of the whole county because everyone in the county votes for all districts. The petition would change that so they are “single” districts and only those within the district can elect that position. Why is this a good thing?
This has potential to get non-politically connected people elected to office. It is very costly for someone unknown to run county-wide. Elections for county positions can cost $50,000 and up. If a newcomer only has to canvas the district they will be representing, it will be less costly. Let’s face it, we are up against PAC money from large corporate interests. It is almost impossible for anyone outside the club to either raise funds needed to run or canvass the entire county. What the opposition says:
The opposing view is that the County Commissioner will be voting and deciding on issues that affect all residents and that is why they believe all residents should have a say and be able to vote for them. That is ridiculous. We vote by district for representation in Congress. Congress decides on things that affect all Floridians. How would you feel if everyone in the state got to vote for your congressional district representative? All County Commissioners take an oath to uphold our charter and the state and US constitutions. It makes little sense to have districts if someone could get elected as a district representative without ONE vote from the district they represent – which can happen under “at large” elections.
If you support this change:
Please print out the two petitions at the link below, fill them out and mail them in. Also, please circulate to your friends and neighbors. They need 17,000 signatures. It is not impossible, if we all help out. Please understand that if they get enough signatures, then this issue will be placed on the ballot for the entire county electorate to vote on at a later date.
Bob Waechter, Sarasota County's former GOP chief, gave the board a proposed written charter amendment calling for the board members to be appointed, rather than the current system which elects the members. He said he would discuss the details during the next meeting.
Waechter's proposal calls for a 15-member appointed board chosen by county commissioners and other officials. The move, the proposal states, would not disenfranchise voters.
“It is time, after 24 years, to again ask the voters what they think,” he wrote.
At the Charter Review Board's meeting last night, Waechter handed copies of his proposal to members of the Charter Review Board, but did not say what it contained. The Board then agreed to consider Waechter's proposed amendment at its next meeting, in May.
Bob Waechter handing his proposed charter amendment to
Sarasota County's Charter Review Board
A board whose purpose is to publicly consider amendments to Sarasota County government thus accepted and voted to formally review a proposal whose contents were undisclosed -- until one citizen in attendance stood up, asked for a copy of the proposal, and stated that in fact it does call for an appointed, rather than publicly elected, panel.
Currently amendment proposals submitted to the Board are not published. To find out what they contain, one needs to go to the Clerk of the Court's office and seek them out.
Should proposals for Charter amendments be submitted for review without public awareness? Would it not be more consistent with the Board's purpose for it to adopt a procedure something like this:
1. Require all proposed amendments to be submitted as a digital file - preferably a pdf.
2. Publish all amendments accepted for consideration to the Internet with reasonable promptness - within 24 hours of submission, for example.
3. Make the CRB site known to the public so that the actions and process of the Board become more widely known.
The amount of computational power and storage to handle this chore is minimal. If the Board needs help, it can write to us at sarasotavision@gmail.com. We'll be happy to help.
The spectacle of Mr. Waechter handing his papers to the officials while refusing to even state what his amendment contained smacked of disdain for public awareness -- even as his apparent desire to do away with the public's involvement in choosing Board members suggests a peculiar disregard for democratic process.
Election of officers
The Board concluded its session with an election of officers for the coming year:
Richard Dorfman - Chairman.
Anthony Sawyer - Vice Chair
Jim Gabbert - Chair Pro Tem
Cathy Antunes urges anyone interested in how Sarasota County operates to be at the May meeting of the CRB:
Go to the May CRB meeting! Mr. Waechter is proposing that our Charter Review Board be an appointed rather than an elected body. It will be critical for citizens to show up and speak out against this proposal.Her commentary in full is here.
Fruitville 210 Community Alliance - Meeting Held at Sabal Palm Bank at 5101 Fruitville Road - a MAP is on our F210 website: www.Fruitville210.org 7 of the Sarasota County Commissioner Candidates will be present. This will be a highly attended meeting!
MEET THE Sarasota County Commissioner CANDIDATES
Tues. OCTOBER 14th at 6:30-7:45 pm
Sarasota County District 2: Paul Caragiulo, Alexandra Coe, Steve McAllister, Pete Theisen
Sarasota County District 4: Alan Maio, John C. Minder, Ray Porter
This will not be a Debate ...but a civil & respectful gathering where Candidates can give their answers to Sarasota County issues.... specific questions will be asked of each Candidate (not the same question to every candidate).
We have presented all the candidates with a list of Questions they "may be asked". Our goal is not to play "gotcha" at our F210 Meetings but to have a "civil discussion in the public square"
WHEN you enter the meeting room . . . Please see get an F210 Candidate index card to write your question on.
CONA's October meeting is a great opportunity to meet candidates for Sarasota County Charter Review Board and County Commission.
The role of the Charter Review Board is to review and recommend changes to Sarasota County Charter (our local constitution). Our County Charter's provisions include limits on how much our county government can borrow and protections of our Urban Service Boundary (USB).
County Commissioners' responsibilities include approving the county's $1.1 billion budget and making decisions on land use changes such as rezoning and special exceptions.
The upcoming election on November 4th is extremely important for the future of Sarasota County. We urge you to attend our candidate forum and be informed on the positions of the various candidates.
