It took a while but the city of Sarasota has finally settled on electing two new commissioners. I guess I’m not surprised that the two worst choices are on their way to wrecking havoc on the city. There will not be any change coming from pedestrian utopianist Suzaane Atwell or the closet Democrat Terry Turner. This election just goes to show that the gears of bureaucracy are firmly entrenched in Sarasota. If you get endorsed by the Seirra Club, talk about Smart Growth, and promises to support diversity (whatever that means) there’s a good chance you can get elected.
The city of Sarasota will be looking for new ways to gouge the citizens. Atwell says she doesn’t want to raise taxes or fees, but it’s time to install parking meters.
There are “missed opportunities” happening right under our noses. Parking meters are the first and easiest thing that comes to mind for me. This is a way to create additional revenue by placing them in high traffic zones in the city. They won’t curb downtown’s appeal and the funds raised from the meters, could be utilized toward downtown improvements.
The only “missed opportunity” is the fact that Sarasota won’t see real change. I guess in Atwell’s version of the world parking meters take pototo chips. The ones I’ve seen take coins. I live downtown and that would mean “increased fees” for me. Instead of finding ways of reducing costs Atwell will try to raise more money for the band of idiot commissioners to waste. One way to free up more money would be to quit authorizing costly feasibility studies.
Then there’s Terry Turner. As we all know Turner is a closet democrat. His first act as commissioner should be to fix his voter registration. Of course Turner was endorsed by most of the established city commissioners.
He [Turner] was also endorsed by Clapp and received a campaign contribution from Kirschner. Both Clapp and Kirschner were elected on slow growth platforms and voted against two recent developments: Whitaker Bayou and the Proscenium, just north of downtown.
Ah, endorsed by Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Is it any wonder Turner was elected? I’ve received numerous items in the mail defending Turner from “unfair attacks.” Pointing out facts about a person is considered unfair in Sarasota. Turner says it is unfair to portray him as being opposed to all growth. I guess every man has his price. I haven’t talked to one person the past six months that’s happy with the direction of the city. The waste and incompetence of these people is staggering; however, until the city limits change the same idiots with different names will be calling the shots. All over the country these slow growth politicians are sucking the citizens dry under the flag of smart growth. Propaganda works.
I got up bright and early Tuesday morning to participate in the Sarasota city elections. I braved a long line to vote… I jest, there was no one at the voting precinct when I voted. Many citizens of the city were likely just trying to get to work on time. This is the season where the morning traffic is nearly impossible to navigate. It seems as if every retired snowbird east of the Mississippi is cramming the roads to spend their child’s inheritence at the local breakfast place. I digress… the results are in and the city of Sarasota is still backwards. For whatever reason the city refuses to join the rest of civilization by electing a mayor. Word is that the remaining city commissioners will start holding tribal councils. They might as well go to the beach gather around the fire and throw sticks into the air. That would be an improvement over the status quo. The measure lost 4,406 to 6,799. Clearly turnout was an issue.
In other news there’s going to be a runoff for city council between pedestrian utopianist Suzaane Atwell, closet Democrat Terry Turner, and Paul Caragiulo whose platform is anyone’s guess. There are two spots up for grabs. A runoff election will be held on April 14 and I’ll be sitting at home for that one. Atwell and Turner are just more of the same. Turner can’t figure out what party he belongs to and Atwell believes in some kind of fantasy pedestrian world. Just think, at least one of these people will have a chance to be our rotating mayor.
Overall a sad night for Sarasota. A city that is run poorly, with citizens too apathetic to do anything about it, a newspaper in favor of the status quo, and with leaders who are completely inept. Sound familiar?
I’ve been getting quite a bit of mail for the upcoming Sarasota commissioners election. Today’s best hit piece is on Terry Turner. I haven’t written about Turner because there isn’t much on his website other than he’s endorsed by the Sierra Club. Citizens for a Better Sarasota have sent out a mail advertisement that questions why Terry Turner is a registered Republican. They make a compelling case. Since 2003 Turner has donated $36,600 to Democrat candidates and causes. In that same period he donated $250 Republicans. It kind of makes you wonder why he’s registered as a Republican? He’s given money to John Kerry, Christine Jennings, and Hillary Clinton. I’m surprised he didn’t change his party affiliation before running for commissioner. Turner has also got in trouble for donating to an anti-development group in 2007. It’s not clear this will have any effect on the race. Despite the fact Sarasota is mainly Republican, the city limits favor Democrats.
In 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain won just three of the city’s 27 voting precincts. And Democrat Christine Jennings may have lost her bid for Congress against Rep. Vern Buchanan, but she carried the city of Sarasota. And in 2006, Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, easily carried Sarasota over Katherine Harris, though it is her home city.
That sums up the same problem facing most cities in the United States. Democrat city planners run all these towns. Is it any wonder urban areas are in such sad shape? Is it really that surprising then that Sarasota is run by clowns?
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