Atwell re-elected mayor for another year

Mayor Suzanne Atwell was named mayor of the city of Sarasota for another year Friday at City Hall. Commissioner Willie Shaw was selected to serve as the city’s vice mayor.

Commissioner Paul Caragiulo nominated Atwell, who received the votes of Caragiulo, Atwell and Commissioner Shannon Snyder.

“The challenges we face require a guard and a sense of optimism I believe you possess,” Caragiulo said. “This city is not for sale, and I truly believe we need your leadership for another year.”

Shaw nomianated Commissioner Terry Turner to be mayor. But the nomination only had the votes of Turner and Shaw.

Turner, meanwhile, nominated Shaw to be the city’s vice mayor, and there were no other vice mayor nominations. The nomination for Shaw as vice mayor was unanimous.

“I want to thank you for your continued support,” Atwell said. “I have confidence in this city as we move forward. We have extremely challenging times ahead of us, but we are going to make it work and not kick the can down the road any longer.”

Shaw also expressed his thanks for his nomination.

“I am confident we will survive the (budget) crisis we have before us,” Shaw said. “I look forward to the challenge before us.”

For more information about the meeting and Atwell’s state of the city address, pick up a copy of Thursday’s May 17 Sarasota Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].