Incumbent Erik Arroyo wants to continue the work of the current commission, challenger Kathy Kelley Ohlrich thinks the district needs a change
By Florence Fahringer
Original Air Date: September 20, 2024
Host: Erik Arroyo is running for re-election to represent District 3 on the Sarasota City Commission. He accepted WSLR’s invitation to defend his record after challenger Kathy Kelly Ohlrich’s appearance on a WSLR public affairs show. Florence Fahringer spoke with him this morning.
Erik Arroyo
Florence Fahringer: Three Sarasota City Commission districts are up for grabs this election cycle. District 3 covers the easternmost reaches of the city, covering the majority of land east of 301. The incumbent commissioner for District 3, Erik Arroyo, is running for reelection. Here he is, summarizing his record as a commissioner.
Erik Arroyo: Over the past years, we’ve worked to ensure that we lower taxes and fees, provided record investment in public safety, in our infrastructure, record lows in crime statistics, we address cost of living and affordable housing, more than any other commission in the past, more than any other commission in history. And our work is not done.
FF: He has only one challenger, Kathy Kelley Ohlrich, a former elected official in Ohio who has since served on a number of boards for the city government. Ohlrich is particularly concerned with land use within the district. Here she is, talking with hosts of the “Your Vote ’24” program Juan Montenegro and Cathy Antunes.
Kathy Kelley Ohlrich: People are really concerned about our parks. They’re really concerned about the regulations for short term rentals. And they’re really concerned about providing affordable housing for everybody who needs it. And so, those are issues that I plan to focus on once I’m elected.
FF: Affordable housing is a concern for both candidates, as they both fundamentally disagree on the success of the current commission’s workforce housing projects. First, Arroyo’s review of this commission’s performance, followed by Antunes’ and Ohlrich’s review.
EA: I think this commission — and I can’t take credit all myself — this commission and the prior commission from 2020 to now, has done more for affordable housing than any other commission in history. With affordable housing, we passed just historic levels of initiatives, including comprehensive plan changes that required four out of five votes. We passed zoning code text amendments, and it has yielded right now in the works over 600 new units that are going to be affordable in the city of Sarasota, which has never been done before.
Kathy Kelley Ohlrich
Cathy Antunes: And when you say priced out, most of these units that they’re calling attainable are for people who make six figures or more. That’s the reality of it. So a hundred grand, that makes you eligible for attainable housing, which I think in the minds of most people … that’s not what they’re thinking when they’re thinking affordable housing! It’s just, there’s such a disconnect.
KKO: So usually when there’s increased density, they decrease the square footage of units. And we can’t have all one bedroom units in the increased density, because a lot of the people who do need the affordable housing are families with two or three kids.
FF: While 100% AMI is just shy of $100,000 in District 3, Arroyo assumes these households would have two working parents.
EA: Family of four, so that means two working parents and two children. It’s at about $100,000 a year, so two teachers making $50,000 a year and taking care of the kids at 100% of AMI right now, is someone making about $50,000 a year. So 80% of that is closer to 50 and so on.
FF: The main point of disagreement between the candidates is whether or not they believe the current city commission’s record is up to par. Arroyo takes pride in the commission’s achievements during his tenure, and describes discontent with the recent commission as coming from a minority faction.
EA: This is not the time to take a step back. And opponents of these plans that we’ve approved want to do that. They want to undo what we’ve done, what we’ve approved. I respect my opponent. I think her heart’s in the right place. She’s doing what she believes is best for the community. But she was against this project. And we just cannot afford to take a step back right now.
There’s a number of projects that have taken advantage of our density bonuses along the corridors and in the downtown core. But at every phase of unpacking that, there were opponents, and the opponents were a small group of individuals; Kathy tends to be one of them.
FF: Ohlrich, on the other hand, sees discontent as more widespread among District 3 residents.
KKO: Sometimes it seems a lot like an us-versus-them mentality, commissioners defending what they’re doing, especially when there are citizens who are speaking in opposition to what they’re doing.
FF: Whether or not discontent is the sentiment of the majority of District 3 residents will be revealed on November Fifth, the day of the general election.
This is Florence Fahringer, reporting for WSLR News.
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