Kathy Kelley Ohlrich is in, Erik Arroyo is out. And that may tip the commission’s balance.
By Florence Fahringer
Original Air Date: November 6, 2024
Host: The balance of the Sarasota City commission may have changed yesterday. Florence Fahringer tells you why.
Florence Fahringer: Three of the five seats on the Sarasota City Commission were up for grabs yesterday, and each of the three seats had incumbents running against challengers. The slate of the incumbents were proud of the work they’d done during their terms on the commission; their challengers disagreed, generally painting the incumbents as picking developers over residents.
Yesterday night, the results came in. Two of the incumbents — Kyle Battie and current Mayor Liz Alpert — successfully defended their seats on the commission, defeating their challengers — Sequoia Felton and Ron Kashden — with comfortable leads. Battie beat Felton with six hundred more votes, leading her by nine points, while Alpert beat Kashden with seven hundred and fifty more votes, leading him by six and a half points.
Kashden gave this statement to WSLR News over email: “I’m incredibly proud of the ethical campaign that we’ve run. I spoke with each neighborhood and together we raised many important issues. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to beat the developer-back[ed] machine. I hope the new commission takes this opportunity to actually listen to the residents and finally address their concerns.”
The other three candidates did not reply to requests for comment before deadline.
Kathy Kelley Ohlrich
Tuesday night wasn’t a total loss for the slate of challengers though. Incumbent and former Sarasota mayor Erik Arroyo lost his seat to Kathy Kelley Ohlrich. Though it was with the narrowest margin of the three races, it was still a comfortable enough lead: Kelley Ohlrich won with three hundred more votes than Arroyo, leading him by five points. Kelley Ohlrich says she’s eager to get to work.
Kathy Kelley Ohlrich: Friday, I get sworn in, and I’m ready to get to work. And I will be there to address the issues that are important to everyone in our city. I think with the recent weather issues we’ve had, doing a deep analysis of our infrastructure and our stormwater and wastewater systems is definitely higher on the priority list than it was two months ago. So, I’m ready to get to work.
FF: She also comments on Felton and Kashden’s losses.
KKO: I know they worked so very hard — as did I, on my campaign. I know Ron and Sequoia would have made excellent city commissioners. But that’s not going to be, and so I look forward to working with the commissioners who are currently in place and taking the seat of commissioner Arroyo.
FF: So what’s the biggest change Sarasotans can expect?
KKO: I’d say that you’ll see more balance in decision-making. People will feel like they are being listened to. Of course, we need development, and redevelopment, to keep our city prosperous. But I look forward to good discussions, good conversations, and decision-making that is for the good of all of us.
FF: Erik Arroyo also did not reply to a request for comment before deadline.
Kelley Ohlrich’s tenure will certainly affect the balance of the five-member commission; while Arroyo and Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch often clashed over issues facing the city commission, Kelley Ohlrich previously ran the vice mayor’s campaign for her seat on the city commission. Ahearn-Koch will likely find a closer ally in Kelley Ohlrich than she had in Arroyo.
This is Florence Fahringer, reporting for WSLR News.
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