Sarasota County Commission: Mike Moran

Why do you want to serve on the County Commission?

I have a 19-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son. My daughter is off to college, and my son will be off within the year. The statistical odds of them coming back here and having a career here are very concerning to me, which led me to run and bring more economic diversity and career creation here.

What are the top three issues facing Sarasota County that the commission would have to address in your term?

Economic diversity and career creation is definitely one. Better relations with municipalities here in the county would be very important to me. Road and traffic issues are also a major concern.

Homelessness is a big issue in Sarasota County. What’s your stance on the county’s pursuit of a come-as-you-are homeless shelter and jail diversion program?

My vision, hopefully, is going to be a little bigger than that. I think as a community, we need to have at least some thoughtful discussion about putting together a special purpose district here, which would be a voter referendum that would provide a long-term funding strategy. We could come with the most wonderful idea of how to deal with homelessness, but at the end of the day we have to figure out how to pay for it. With a voter-backed referendum for long-term funding, I think it would serve two different purposes. The first is obviously the long term funding, but the other part would be the board would be made up of the stakeholders related to this, and they could drive the priorities and the initiatives.  

What does the county need to do to help create more affordable housing?

First, the county doesn’t create anything. Government doesn’t create anything. The free market entrepreneurial world creates things. The government can either enhance that or create hurdles. I think we need to have very, very thoughtful discussion as a community here that we need to be a little careful that the most well-intentioned ideas could hurt the people we are trying to help. For example, you have a subdivision that is approved for 100 homes, and the government forces affordable housing on 15 of them. We have to be careful that the developer trying to get a proper return on investment on the property would increase the price on the other 85 homes, and we’re hurting the very people we are trying to help.

What’s one thing you would have handled differently than the sitting County Commission?

I would say I’m very like-minded with the County Commission that sits. I think I add a very unique business perspective to things.

How would you assess the county’s relationships with its municipalities, particularly the city of Sarasota?

I am currently appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to sit on the Southwest Florida Management District. We are responsible for 16 counties and all the municipalities within. Our entire function and our entire job is to partner with these counties and these municipalities to bring out water protection and preservation and supply projects. We — the staff and the board — have just incredible success bringing those relationships and mentoring those relationships, and I look forward to bringing that same attitude to the county seat.

What would you do to ensure those relationships are healthy?

Respect and being open-minded is the cornerstone to any healthy relationship. I think that has to be brought with any discussions we have with the city.

What is your position on the proposed project to dredge Big Pass to renourish Lido Key?

I am extremely troubled by this project. You have professionals in many different departments who have dedicated their life to water preservation programs. They have dedicated their life to their education their careers, their designations. You have very high level people having arguments about how this supposed to be handled. We need to stop and take a deep breath. Siesta Key is a humongous economic driver for us, and we need to slow down and make sure we get this right.

How would you go about addressing issues outside of District 1?

Years and years ago, I heard the most tortured state a human being could be in is be unheard or unrecognized. Over the last two years, actually since living here, I have done my best to truly listen and make sure people are heard. Will we disagree at times? Probably. Will I always listen and listen to their side of issues? Absolutely.

How should the county handle growth outside of its existing urban centers?

You do not need to be a land planner to know that our growth is going to happen to the east and to the south. What is frustrating many residents of the community, including myself, is why we seem to sometimes have issues of having the infrastructure, roads, sewer, water, being ahead of entrepreneurial growth patterns. I can assure you I will bring a very healthy pressure to the staff of Sarasota County to make sure that we have all of our resources to make sure that we are ahead of traditional growth patterns.

Your opponent is critical of the influence developers have on county policy currently. How would you evaluate the county’s relationship with the development community?

About two weeks ago, I went to the Florida Permitting Conference in Orlando. These are the greatest minds of Florida together. You have environmentalists, developers, county staff, Army Corps of Engineers. They were showing some incredibly successful master-planned communities, many of which were in the middle of the state. The undeniable common theme of all of these successful projects were a very healthy relationship between the community and the development community. I am going to do my best to create a bridge there where all interests are recognized.

I have thousands and thousands of hours of community service in this community. I have developed many, many very respectful relationships. I plan on pulling on some of those relationships to make sure the taxpayer of this community is represented.

Why do you think it’s a priority for Sarasota County to retain its youth?

I think Sarasota County or any community that is losing its youth at the rate we’re losing it needs to be absolutely concerned. I am going to do everything in my power to create more economic diversity here and shift away from hospitality and construction to make sure that my kids can come back to this community with a career, not a job.