Last week's referenda sees more voter participation than Town Commission races

In this election cycle, about 400 more Longboat Key voters participated in the two referenda than the two Town Commission races.

According to Tuesday’s election results, 3,699 total ballots were cast. With 6,344 total registered voters on the Key, there was a 58% total voter turnout.

The At-Large Town Commission race between Jim Brown and Gene Jaleski had a total count of 3,291, while the District 4 race between incumbent Larry Grossman and Jack Daly had a total count of 3,261.

The former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort referendum had a total count of 3,685, while the Mote property referendum had a total count of 3,656.

Based on this data, voter participation in the two referenda was more than 12% higher than the Town Commission races.

The information gathered in this election cycle is not the first to suggest a lower participation in Town Commission elections than referenda. In 2015, the Town Commission race in March saw a 30% voter turnout, while two referenda the same year saw turnouts of 58% and 37% respectively.

In his commission race, Daly ran a visible campaign, posting signs on Gulf of Mexico Drive and meeting with residents outside of Town Hall during early voting.

As Daly was the only candidate in both races to campaign this way, he theorized it may have affected the final tallies.

“Perhaps the lack of campaign activity from the other candidates may have contributed to the lower turnout,” Daly said.

At-large commissioner Irwin Pastor had a few ideas about what might have been responsible for the lower turnout.

First, Pastor said the focus the referendum regarding the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort property received may have minimized attention paid to the Town Commission races.

“(The Colony) was centerfirst, right off the bat,” Pastor said. “It stole the show in terms of the election.”

Further, Pastor noted the races were not competitive in terms of policy and governing experience.

“It wasn’t what I would call a contentious election in terms of issues,” Pastor said, mentioning that George Spoll retained his District 2 seat unopposed.

The last possibility Pastor considered is that some voters are unaware that they can vote in every Town Commission race, regardless of whether that race is at-large or based on district. He said it’s an issue he addresses every time there’s an election.

“It’s amazing how many times I get asked about that,” Pastor said.