Sarasota, Florida, has always been many things in the minds of residents and visitors. For over a century, people have come to enjoy our vibrant performing arts scene, world-class cuisine, boating, fishing, golf and tennis, and natural recreational activities. It has a rich and colorful history as the Circus Capital of the World and is known as an elite leisure destination. All told, Sarasota has earned a reputation as one of the best small cities in America.
Sarasota has an interesting mix of hard-working, intelligent, and artistic people that helps make it unique. Infused with its historically Midwestern values and pleasantness, it’s easy to see its appeal. Not that any particular geographical region has a monopoly on kindness and decency. However, many long-time residents initially moved here as snowbirds from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Now, people from all over the country and the world are coming to experience all we have to offer.
Despite the growth, that same helping spirit, generosity, and civility are still alive in Sarasota. Maybe you’ve even been on the receiving end as neighbors and friends come together to help those whose homes were damaged by the recent flooding. That decency and civility have been tested of late as more people filter their interactions through the lens of extreme partisanship. Sadly, nastiness, even brutishness, has emerged as some seek to marginalize and demonize certain groups in our community.
My parents moved to Sarasota in the early fifties; my mother was from Springfield, Illinois, and my father came with his family from Anderson, Indiana. They both graduated from Sarasota High. My Grandfather, Garnet Stottlemyer, and his descendants raised families and have run successful businesses here for decades. Like many families, there are Republicans, some Democrats, and some Independents. We have personal and business relationships that span the ideological divide. It can be challenging sometimes, but it is worth forging those friendships across the aisle in our churches, through sports, and in charity and other community organizations.
Sarasotans used to be able to debate the issues of the day – tax policy, environmental regulation, social programs, and many more – civilly because we all knew that we agreed to the underlying rules of the game. There used to be a universal respect for democracy, free and fair elections, the peaceful transition of power, and law and order. Additionally, there was a shared disdain, particularly following the horrific events of WWII, for autocracy and authoritarianism and their inherent danger. Over the last decade, that stable ground of shared basic principles has eroded.
Historically, Sarasota has been considered a tolerant, inclusive, and politically moderate community that values people’s privacy and personal freedoms. That reputation has been threatened recently by an influx of individuals and groups who’ve decided to make Sarasota an ideological laboratory for radically expanding their far-right social and public policy agenda. From the takeover of New College to the politicization and infusion of culture war issues on the school board to the movement to privatize Sarasota Memorial Hospital, there has been a concerted attempt to transform our wonderful and diverse community into a homogeneous, right-wing political utopia.
We’ve all seen the continual efforts coming from Tallahassee to legislate religious beliefs and weaken people’s democratic power. Sarasota is on the frontlines of this takeover battle, but just like with the extreme Project 2025, we can clearly see what’s happening here. Together, we can push back and turn things around. It begins with the August 20th primary election featuring school board, hospital board, and county commission races. Sarasota County voters will also play a big part in making Florida’s reproductive freedom amendment successful come November 5th.
Sarasota residents are fighting back against the far-right campaign to undermine our strong public schools, impose book bans, marginalize gay and transgender people, and strip women of their reproductive rights. The majority of us also want smart growth, not unrestricted development. This growing Coalition for Decency, Democracy, and Freedom consists of Republicans, Independents, Democrats, teachers, professionals, business leaders, artists, civil rights groups, people of faith, military servicemen and women, philanthropies, and even just average citizens who are fed up with Sarasota being in the national news for all the wrong reasons.
Since we won’t magically wake up one day soon and agree on everything, let’s keep finding ways to coexist and be tolerant of each other. Sarasota is not a thought experiment, and we are not anyone’s ideological guinea pigs.
Reject extremism, tune out the conspiracy theories and divisive rhetoric of the culture wars, and go vote. Support reasonable candidates who will advocate for the well-being of all our residents and students, not just a select few. Let’s elect those who will keep Sarasota the welcoming, dynamic American city it has always been.