Candidates for four of five seats are unopposed this year. We have the details on the sole incumbent facing a challenger.
By Nic Steinig
Host: This year, there is only one contested race for the Sarasota Public Hospital Board. Four of the five seats up for grabs this election cycle have become no-contest races with automatic incumbent victories. Nic Steinig profiles Brad Baker, the incumbent in the contested seat.
Nic Steinig: The only remaining race on the Hospital Board ballot is set to be a showdown between current Sarasota Hospital Board member Brad Baker and contender Bill Woeltjen.
WSLR previously reported the details of his challenger campaign. Woeltjen said that his direct experience in non-profit healthcare leadership gave him an edge over his opponent. Woeltjen served as Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Chief Financial Officer for 12 years, retiring from the position in 2022. So far, Woeltjen has raised around $18,000 in campaign contributions, mostly from contractors and retirees. He said he wants to continue contributing to the hospital post-retirement by serving on the hospital board.
This week, WSLR also spoke with incumbent Brad Baker to gain insight into what drives his re-election bid.
According to Baker, the most critical aspect of his background is that he has maintained independence from Sarasota Hospital’s management, which he said has given him greater freedom to push for transparency and to oppose some directives from the hospital’s CEO, David Verinder. On his campaign website, front and center is a banner which reads “I am not a current employee receiving a salary from SMH. I am not a former employee receiving a pension from SMH. I receive no PAC funding. I serve only the citizens of Sarasota County.”
Brad Baker
Brad Baker: Four of the nine members directly worked at the hospital or reported to Dave or get a pension. Of course, if my opponent wins, five of the nine people would have that. I’m challenged by that because I think boards should be independent boards. I’m the only race that’s having someone come against me because I’m an independent thinker. I’m not going to rubber-stamp what the CEO says he ought to do.
NS: Baker said he frequently advocated for board members to apply greater scrutiny to proposals brought before them and would request additional details from hospital management to better inform the board’s decision-making.
Vic Rohe, who was elected to the board in 2022 as part of the “medical freedom” slate, previously described Baker as the only other board member who would push back against the hospital’s CEO, David Verinder, on financial decisions. Rohe is surrendering his seat this year to run for the Florida Senate. On many issues, Rohe and Baker are ideological opponents. Yet, a certain kind of respect seemed to be forged between the two.
Vic Rohe: The other guy who will stand up to him is Brad Baker. If he feels that we’re not getting enough information—maybe on a purchase that the hospital is making, maybe of land or building a building—he will dig for those facts and he won’t allow the board to go uninformed. But Brad is a globalist. He’s not going to go up and say, “Hey, listen, COVID was a bioweapon.” I’m not simpatico with him. And he’s a self-made guy—a self-millionaire kind of guy. But at least he’s an independent guy.
NS: Baker does not consider himself part of the “medical freedom” movement and instead brands himself as a fiscal conservative. He said his philosophical guideline as a board member was to prioritize his duties as a fiduciary charged with stewarding tax dollars, not to advocate for political change.
BB: I did not come in on the coattails of medical freedom. That wasn’t my issue because I see my role as very focused: capital allocation and succession planning. I’m kind-of a watchdog. Our CEO, I’m going to say, makes just under $3 million a year. He got, what, a 17% raise last year and a 12% the year before? It’s a rubber stamp board.
I could give you a half-dozen examples. I’ll give you one. We bought a piece of property on Lorraine Road and University Parkway. We’re going to spend $20 million to build a facility. So I do the math, and it’s $60 a square foot. I’ve never paid $60 a square foot for a piece of commercial property. I’m like, “I have time. I want to see the appraisal.” “Well, you’ve got to vote on it today.” I pull up the property appraiser’s records; Aldi had just bought the property next to us two months earlier for $15 a square foot.
NS: Baker referenced his background in entrepreneurship and a string of high-profile government appointments as the source of his financial literacy and general willingness to track down financial information.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital emergency room. | Photo courtesy SMH
Baker was appointed by President Reagan as a White House Fellow and was the Acting Executive Secretary of the US Treasury in 1989. Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Baker Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation in 1999, and Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer appointed him Deputy Secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce in 2018. He has also founded and sold internet-based and medical technology companies.
BB: I ended up becoming the executive secretary of the Treasury Department. I would be purchasing Deutsche Marks and selling yen, and I got to know pretty much all the Fortune 500 CEOs because they would come into my office. These guys are like, “Please, I need to meet with you because of this tariff issue.” When we went to war with Panama, there were only probably ten people that knew what we were going to do. I was the financial guy that had to freeze bank accounts funding the war through ways that people couldn’t see. So I’m very proficient.
NS: Some aspects of Baker’s background demand further public scrutiny. While Baker’s campaign website describes the reason behind his appointment to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation by Governor Jeb Bush 26 years ago as a way to “clean up” the agency, Baker served in that role for less than six months before being forced to resign amid a state investigation into his actions as executive director.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, at that time, Baker faced allegations of making racially insensitive remarks, elevating a former business partner to a high position in public office, tracking employees’ personal lives and financial mismanagement of the low-income housing program, among other substantial claims that board members and employees levied. Baker denied these allegations, saying, “I’ve done nothing illegal. I’ve done nothing immoral. I just fought for the changes I thought I was mandated to do.”
Baker also heads real estate and development companies that operate in this region. His company, Myakka Crossings Inc, is currently building workforce housing projects in Florida, including a community of tiny homes and a retail strip center in North Port. Since Baker currently oversees the approval of developmental plans and capital improvements for Sarasota Memorial Hospital, which has an annual budget of over $2 billion, his direct participation in and benefit from regional construction raises concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
What incumbent Baker and candidate Woeltjen share is a stated commitment to keeping Sarasota Memorial Hospital public and opposing any attempts at privatization. They both also support expanding the hospital’s footprint and believe it’s imperative to retain its current high-quality staff and maintain its above-average healthcare outcomes. According to financial disclosures, both candidates also hold Pfizer stock, with Woeltjen saying it would not be significant to their duties as board members.
The decision between them may come down to whether one prefers Woeltjens’ direct work history in hospital management as Chief Financial Officer and his clean record or Baker’s independence from hospital management and his reputation as a financial watchdog. Baker has the benefit of having already gained experience in the role, for which his ideological opponent, Rohe, has vouched for his financial vigilance. So far, Baker has raised only $3,000 for his campaign, with $2,000 coming from developers. The election will take place on August 18. WSLR reached out to several other board members for comment but did not receive a response.
Baker said that, while he can’t outvote the board or overplay his hand as a single member, just having someone on the board known for closely examining proposals can serve as a barrier to lax standards.
BB: It’s a lot better for a CEO if everyone just comes in and they say “yes” and eat their lunch and go home. I think if management knows that the board is a functioning board that is going to ask the tough questions, they’ll do their homework a little bit better. That’s my hope.
NS: Reporting for WSLR News, Nic Steinig.
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.