Both candidates must do their best to woo the 20% of voters who voted for Furman
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: September 6, 2024
Host: The top-two vote getters in the primary for the Sarasota City Commission District 1 seat have shifted their focus to their matchup on November 5th. Ramon Lopez has an update on their campaigns and their messages to the voters in the neighborhoods they want to represent.
[boxing match bell sound effect]
Ramon Lopez: It’s Round Two for incumbent Kyle Battie in his battle to hold onto his Sarasota City Commission District 1 seat. He faces political newcomer Sequoia Felton in the November 5th general election, as they received more votes than the third candidate, Melissa Furman, in the primary race. Felton has the backing of Newtown political heavyweights: Willie Charles Shaw, the one-time commissioner for District 1, Fredd Atkins, the first Black mayor of Sarasota, and Jetson Grimes, a longtime Newtown booster.
The vote was close. Battie tallied 43% of the primary vote. Felton followed with 38%. Furman garnered the remaining 19.6%. Going into the general election, the two will be chasing Furman’s supporters. But the day after the primary election, Furman met with Felton, and the Delta flight attendant told WSLR News she is enthusiastically supporting Felton’s campaign for the Sarasota City Commissioner District 1 seat.
District 1 encompasses Newtown, Sarasota’s historically Black neighborhood. But the district also includes the rapidly gentrifying Gillespie Park. Battie grew up in District 1. He lived in Miami and New York before returning to Sarasota, where he was first elected to the commission in 2020, defeating incumbent Willie Shaw in an upset. Battie said he felt good, humble and overwhelmingly grateful to his constituents and the residents of his district. He also said he would “work a lot harder than he did during the primary. I had a lot of personal things to deal with. I was not able to give my full attention to the campaign.” Those personal issues included the May shooting of two of Battie’s younger cousins in Sarasota. Then in July, a third cousin was shot in Newtown. Meanwhile, he has come under fire for accusing a local activist of making a racist media post. The post was found to be a hoax, but a defamation lawsuit against Battie followed.
Affordable housing and over-development are among the issues facing both candidates. Another is protection of historic lodging landmarks in the city. Take for example, the Colson Hotel, the site of Sarasota’s first Black hotel. It accommodated African-American workers and travelers looking for a place to sleep in Jim Crow segregated Sarasota.
Earlier this week, the city commission’s final decision on whether to approve a permit to demolish the historic Colson Hotel was put on hold … for now. Support for the threatened Colson Hotel has been strong, and made an impact on the course of action taken by city leaders… among them Battie.
Kyle Battie: It’s imperative that we do everything within our power to preserve, honor, and protect our history. And it’s not just about
Kyle Battie
money. Like I said, you see the individuals in this audience from all shades, hues, walks of life, socioeconomic backgrounds, and it speaks to how we take preservation of our history in the city seriously. It’s about honoring our past. protecting our present and forging a way to shape our future.
RL: Community-oriented, Felton was born and grew up in Manatee County, and raised by her grandmother. She is the eldest of six. Felton is a political novice, but previously served on the city’s Human Relations Board. Felton says District 1 needs a new leader.
Sequoia Felton: District 1 needs a voice, and I don’t feel like he engages enough with the constituents to understand the issues that they’re trying to present to him. So, I just feel like District 1 needs a leader who’s going to roll up their sleeves and actually do the work.
RL: Felton says overdevelopment and affordable housing are key elements of her platform
SF: Housing is another issue. Housing is the biggest thing. So, trying to find new ways to tackle this issue with affordable housing versus attainable housing, to create more workforce housing for people that actually live in the city.
Sequoia Felton
RL: Felton’s Big Three:
SF: Fresh air, clean water, and safe streets. Because I’m sure you know North Sarasota, AKA Newtown, they’ve been having a lot of shootings lately.
RL: Felton hopes this is the year for women in politics.
SF: It feels like it’s gonna be the year of the woman. So it definitely feels good. And I’m new to this, so for me, to be my first time ever getting into something like this … I’m excited to see where this is going to go.
RL: This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.